Cephas Ndubueze is the founder of the newsletter and event platform FOMO, which has built a solid community of founders, investors and entrepreneurs in Berlin and Munich. He writes from Cape Town for Gründerszene about life, work and networking between the ocean, open tabs and open minds.
Good morning from Shape Town!
It’s mid-January. 7 a.m. local time. The sun is already high. I’m taking my time. Read a few pages in my new biography. Then a quick check-in with the tag: What’s coming up? What’s waiting?
I step onto the terrace. Below, people are jogging along the coast. I remember Cape Town’s nickname: Shape Town – a city defined by bodies, nature and movement. And think to myself: Okay. Time for action.
Running shoes on. A lap along the coast. I leave my small villa in Camps Bay – one of the most beautiful beach areas in the city – and walk towards Sea Point. On the left is the sea. On the right is the view of Table Mountain. A backdrop that makes even running pleasant.
Ice water is a must
After 30 minutes: hot, sweaty, pretty exhausted. Saunders Beach, a small bay at the end of the promenade, known for its ice-cold water. No hesitation. Into the water. Cold plunge is not a trend here, but routine.
Back to Camps Bay. Above. Ten minutes. 2.50 euros. 8:15 a.m. Sport done. Recovery done. Necessary – especially after Sunday night at Caprice, one of the city’s most notorious rooftop clubs, somewhere between Mykonos and Soho House.
I haven’t been here a week yet – and on some evenings I’ve already made two, sometimes even three appointments. Why? Because there are so many Berliners and Munich residents in the city right now. Friends. Acquaintance. Acquaintances of acquaintances. Everyone gets out of their usual surroundings. And that’s exactly what happens to people. You have time. No everyday appointments.
Founder’s dinner in Camps Bay
On Monday evening I spontaneously invite you to a founder’s dinner at my place. Really spontaneous. And yet in the end there are almost 15 founders on my terrace. 90 percent German. 90 percent Berlin.
The food is simple. We shop online. A bit of salad. A bit of vegetables. Chicken on the grill. We make the marinade ourselves. At the end there are two trays of oven-baked vegetables on the table: potatoes, zucchini – called marrows here -, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers. Plus three large salads.
My learning for giving dinner: Food can be simple. People don’t come for the food. They come for the people. Prepare the meal together. This brings people together and makes the evening informal. Create two or three places where guests can move around or get moving. This is how new conversations arise – all by themselves.
When networking becomes casual
The actual program runs quietly in the background. Every 15 minutes, four people briefly introduce themselves. Who they are. Why they are here. Your Cape Town recommendation. What they can help with. And what they are currently looking for.
Piran Asci, founder of KoRo, talks about his new startup Mochi – an app that allows you to scan products in the supermarket and identify what is healthy. Johannes Schmid talks about his exit and the fact that he has just bought a house in Sea Point, a district that is developing into a European startup enclave.
Thematically everything is included in the discussions. Business opportunities in Cape Town. New restaurant tips. Weekend festival plans. Spontaneous dates for the next padel game.
Tuesday between drinks and deals
Tuesday evening is Blondie day. The Blondie in Gardens – a bright, colorful, loud trendy shop between a bar, club and living room – is the place where you stop by on Tuesdays “just for a few drinks”. A founder friend invites you. All drinks are on him. Running.
Then it’s off to Asoka, a bar famous for its olive tree. It grows out of the ground in the middle, surrounded by sofas. Even the roof was built around it. Investors, models and expats flock here. We run into another friend. Former angel investor. Now apparently a full-time angel. He asks if we want to come to a house party in Camps Bay. Tuesday. 11 p.m. Why not?
15 minutes later, Carsten Göetze, former joint venture partner of L’Osteria, opens the door to his massive villa – presumably rented for the Cape Town season, with an infinity pool and views over the Atlantic.
Steakhouse, startups and new alliances
The next invitation follows immediately: a dinner by Beyond Boys, a men’s founder community from Düsseldorf that is currently spending half of its winter here. Location: a steakhouse on the upper floor of a supermarket – typical Cape Town: it seems improvised, but expensive.
I meet old acquaintances, but I consciously sit down at a table where I don’t know anyone yet. To my right: Sebastian Labud. Founder. Investor. He tells me that he was the first German to make a million on eBay. After selling his startup to Runners Point – and later to Foot Locker – he now incubates startups with strong founding teams and is building a portfolio of over ten companies.
We talk, laugh, exchange numbers. When I leave, I already have the next invitation in my pocket: his Hollywood Mansion party.
Why Cape Town is different right now
Of course, not every day is like this. But surprisingly many. Cape Town is a place where networks are consolidating faster than anywhere else. People are open. They introduce each other. A place where networking suddenly seems easy.
My three tips for networking:
- Laugh. And bring positive energy into the room. People prefer to spend their time with people who make it easier for them. Not harder.
- We are people first, then founders, employees or investors. Regardless of how successful we are.
- Questions. Questions. Questions. People love to tell their stories. Give them space to do that. Ask good questions. Listen. You will still have enough time to tell your own story.
The next condensation – the Counder Conference
And then the Counter Conference starts on Monday. Around 500 international decision-makers meet at this event in Cape Town – founders, investors, large venture funds, family offices. Names like Ethiopis Tafara (IFC), Hans Otterling (Norrsken22), Dr. Jan Deepen (SumUp) or teams from the OpenAI environment are there. It shouldn’t be a classic event, but rather a curated temporary space. No panels. No cameras. No quotes. People speak differently without a stage and listen differently without the public. FOMO? No worries. We’ll be back next week.
