The Transition from Branding & Marketing to Venture Capital, with Daniel Kiani of 7feur Ventures

Daniel Kiani, is commonly known for being the co-founder of globally-renowned branding and marketing agency, SymbaMarketing. Kiani started the agency in 2017 alongside his partner, Nathan Peterman, with close to $0 in the bank.

In as little as 14 months, the two first-time founders scaled Symba to over 250 clients in 15 countries, all without investing a single dollar in paid advertising. Symba now operates as an innovation studio, serving clients in nearly 30 countries and has also launched a subsidiary music-management group, Symba Music Group.

However, Daniel is not done yet. Earlier this year, he started laying the groundwork for his next venture, 7feur, a “first of its kind” hybrid fund/incubator.

7feur acts as a bridge between the Web2 and Web3 fronts by bringing companies on either side together and helping them integrate with one another to distribute their unique value to a wider audience.

“Our thesis is simple: we look to invest in and build alongside talented teams with relentless ambition whose mission we feel personally convicted to execute on. If I wouldn’t be ok with dropping everything to spend a year working at a startup, chances are I probably shouldn’t be investing in it either”, says Kiani.

In only 5 short months, 7feur has been able to secure allocations in some of the worlds hottest startups, including: Republic, Bolt, Xeal, BlockFi, and MoonPay.

Here are a few key points I took away from my recent conversation with Daniel, his words are quoted:

• Leverage – “This is arguably the most important factor upon which your success in the new venture is predicated. You have to take inventory of what skills and resources you acquired while in your previous role then ask yourself what the most valuable application of those skills and resources is now, given the current landscape of the world and its markets. With 7feur, I’m able to leverage my vast network of founders and operators in both Web2 and Web3. Rather than just meeting up to discuss current world events or to get a quick set of tennis in, we can now discuss facilitating certain partnerships between our companies and inquire about certain introductions we can make/other ways to add value. I’m also able to leverage the reputation I’ve built over the years because both investors and founders trust me enough to want to do business with me without having to spend months (even years) getting to know me.”
• Interests – “You won’t make it far operating in a space you’re not naturally curious about. 7feur works well for me because of my innate curiosity regarding blockchain and cryptocurrencies, which dates back to as early as 2016 when I came across Bitcoin’s whitepaper. Natural interest in the space you’re operating will keep you going even on days when you don’t feel like working, because it all feels more like play to you. It’s much easier to get out of bed in the morning when you know you get to spend your day playing around in a sandbox of your choosing.”
•  People – “What you’re doing is important, but equally as important is who you’re doing it with. The greatest tragedy would be for you to finally discover your true passion and purpose in life, but choose to pursue it alongside people with a bad attitude or who aren’t as ambitious as you. Curveballs will be thrown at you, things won’t go as planned. You want to be surrounded by people who are optimistic and have a solution-oriented approach to everything. Change is the only constant in this world, so make sure each person on your team is the type to embrace change. There’s no greater feeling than to be aligned with your life’s calling and to be sprinting alongside people who are trying to sprint just as fast, if not faster than you” said Kiani.

For more wisdom to carry with you on this journey called lifeyou can keep up with Daniel via his twitter.