Cape Town has become a winter hotspot for German founders: work in the morning, dinner with investors in the evening. But does it really work for everyone?
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. In Cape Town he also runs the FOMO WhatsApp group. He writes from Cape Town for Gründerszene about life, work and networking between the ocean, open tabs and open minds.
The beach is full at seven in the morning. A few founders are standing in the water with a surfboard, others are walking along the promenade. At ten o’clock many people are back at their laptop. Slack, emails, calls with Germany. The next dinner begins at 7 p.m. Cape Town is a place where work and life mix differently.
On a good day I get six or seven hours of concentrated work here. In Berlin there are more like ten. Sometimes twelve. Often two more hours at night when there is finally peace.
Cape Town doesn’t make you more productive, but it does make your life more enjoyable. The only question is: what phase of your company are you in right now?
When Cape Town brings you something
Cape Town specifically worked for me. At a small dinner I met the reporter John Puthenpurackal, who works at Axel Springer. A few conversations later, the intro to the startup scene came – and this column was born.
At another dinner, a marketing manager for an infrastructure investor sat next to me. She had never heard of FOMO. Two conversations later it was clear: we would organize an event together for your target group.
And I met a contact person who I only knew briefly in Berlin by chance at a conference here. Two days later we were having lunch – this led to a collaboration for an event.
Cape Town accelerates relationships. You don’t even see people at a networking event with a name tag. You see them several times. During the run. At lunch. At sundowners. At the next dinner. Trust develops faster. And trust is business.
But Cape Town has a second side
I spoke to a founder who consciously doesn’t communicate that she’s here. Her investors don’t know she works in Cape Town. Why? Because she knows that she works less here. She kites. She surfs. She enjoys the sun. It’s not a clear advantage for your company. For their quality of life.
And that is an honest answer. Cape Town is an upgrade for your life. Not automatically for your growth model. One observation quickly becomes apparent here. I meet a disproportionate number of founders who have already sold companies or have had several rounds of financing behind them. People who have raised Series C or Series D rounds. People with teams and operators. Why? Because they can afford it.
Close the deals in the jacuzzi
If your business is already running, your team is operational and you maintain strategic relationships, Cape Town can be an unfair advantage. Then on Sunday you sit in the jacuzzi of a members club like Wonderland, you happen to meet an investor who you have known for two years in Berlin, and two days later you arrange to meet for a conversation. Such moments happen more often here.
But founders who are currently looking for product-market fit or who have raced their first round are less common here. They don’t sit at the wine tasting. They’re sitting at home.
And then there is a third group: founders who consciously prioritize differently. Bootstrapped businesses, agencies, e-commerce brands. Companies that are not dependent on VC growth. For them, work-life balance is part of the strategy.
How often have we sat here at dinner or by the pool and looked at each other and said: Life could be worse. And that’s true. Getting up at 25 degrees feels different than in the Berlin winter. Sunlight changes your everyday life. Your energy level. Your rhythm. So the real question is not: Is Cape Town good or bad for founders? The question is: what are you trying to maximize right now? Your company – or your life?
The when Cape Town makes sense for me checklist
Cape Town may make sense for you if:
- Your business is heavily based on relationships and personal contacts can accelerate your growth.
- You are about to enter a fundraising phase and informal conversations with investors are more valuable than additional hours on the laptop.
- Your operational team works stably and you can concentrate more on strategy and partnerships.
- Your business does not depend on maximum daily execution and you can allow yourself to work slightly fewer hours.
- You consciously want to optimize your life – and not just your growth.
Cape Town is probably not a good idea if:
- You are currently looking for product-market fit and every concentrated hour counts.
- You have just raced a round and have to achieve tough sales or growth targets in just a few months.
- Your business is heavily execution-driven and relationship management currently plays little role.
- Your runway is tight and distraction can cost you dearly.
- You come mainly because “everyone is there” – and you can’t say exactly which strategic advantage you want to use here.
