“No One is an Overnight Guru.” Mukami Kamau Put in the Work!
At 8, Mukami Kamau became fascinated with the world of finance and determined to pursue that career path. Now she is an Investment Associate at Chui Ventures.
After visiting her aunt’s workplace at a top bank in Kenya, Mukami Kamau became fascinated by the world of finance, and at the age of 8, made up her mind to pursue that career path. Many years later, she applied herself and participated in our Career Catalyst and the Financial Analyst Programmes. Today, Mukami is an Investment Associate at Chui Ventures, a Nairobi-based venture capital firm that invests in tech and tech-enabled businesses. She started a cleaning business herself in 2015, and now doubles as an entrepreneurship mentor, sharing the experience and skills she has picked up over the course of her career.
Why were you motivated to pursue the field you work in now?
I live by Martin Luther King’s words, “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve.” My greatest motivation to pursue a career as a venture capitalist is the opportunity to serve a community of the best entrepreneurs and get a bird’s eye view of the numerous challenges and innovative solutions in the world. Arguably, this is one of the world’s most highly sought-after careers and intellectually stimulating jobs.
How has The ROOM helped you get this far in your journey?
The ROOM helped kickstart my self-discovery journey, which led me to pursue a career in venture capital. Thanks to the dedicated team who helped me, I evaluated my skill set and matched them with my personal and career aspirations, leading me to fulfil my goals.
What does a typical day at work look like for you? What are some of the key tasks and projects that you manage?
One of my favourite things about my job is that no day is the same. I typically start my morning by catching up on industry news or reading educational articles. After that, if I am not listening to pitches from potential investee companies or attending meetings, I help my team with anything that comes up, and take on any scheduled calls at the end of the day.
What were the biggest lessons you learned on the job?
Overtime, I have learned to work harder and focus on using and developing my strengths. No one is an overnight guru at what they do! We all have to put in more effort to get to where we want to be. Finding pride and enjoyment in my work has also helped me succeed in various projects.
What’s something you experienced in your role that you weren’t prepared for?
The turbulence in evaluating early-stage enterprises. I have come across businesses that show promise in the beginning and fail to succeed later on and vice versa. However, after talking to my peers, I have come to learn that this is simply part of the job.
What’s your favourite part about what you do?
I enjoy being a connector of people and ideas, and would even consider this as my superpower. I always look forward to opportunities to network with others.
How do you aim to make a difference through your work and add value to the world?
I hope to pay forward the learnings from my work by sharing my knowledge with entrepreneurs through mentorship.
What do you hope to achieve in the next 5 years?*
I aspire to master my position and advance into a managerial role in the next five years . I also plan on pursuing an MBA in one of the best business schools in the world to further my career.
If you could give one piece of advice to other young professionals looking to enter your field of work, what would it be?
This is the job for you if you are curious, great at networking and enjoy making impactful connections.
The ROOM is home to a highly specialised community of agile digital talent, including talented Financial Analysts like Mukami. Find out more about how The ROOM is connecting companies with the in-demand skills of the future through its pool of world-class tech talent.