In the eight years that Maps Maponyane has been in the public eye, he has distinguished himself as a bankable brand.
This is, in part, what has allowed him to make the impressive evolution from fashion and television to now working in the startup space as both a founder and venture capitalist.
Maponyane is part of a tech company called Niche Streem, which develops niche music streams, and is a director and venture capitalist for a tech company called Silicon Maboneng, which creates tech solutions with a focus on development, according to a GQ article.
With his signature look – glasses, clean cut with a millennial, boy-next-door charm, Maponyane is also a brand ambassador for the likes of Investec Private Banking and Samsung, and in 2013 and 2014, for global fragrance brand, Joop! Homme. In 2015 he collaborated with online retailer, Spree, to design and produce his first fashion label, The MapsXSpree Collection.
How did he get there? By playing the long game. He spent years crafting his brand and makes sure he remains consistent with it.
Know exactly what makes you unique and what you can deliver and don’t budge from it, he says. This philosophy has helped him avoid seeming “all over the place, chasing any opportunity or money” that comes his way, he says in an interview on Youth Leadership Platform, a youth platform on the online radio station, CliffCentral.com.
“Brands will continue to think of you every single time because there’s no one who does it like you,” he adds.
“I always want to make sure I go to bed a better person that night than I was when I woke up that morning”
Be unforgettable – Here are the 5 things Maponyane does that has helped him become a recognisable name.
1. Build An Authentic Brand
Part of [getting the endorsements I’ve gotten] was because I had to figure out who I am and be confident in that. I went through a whole process of trying to work out who I really am and what I can offer. I needed to know that from the onset so that I could go into it knowing that this is what would distinguish me.
2. Be Uniquely Good At What You Do
That’s how I’ve fundamentally built my career. It’s always been based on the fact that if you’re going to hire me for any single job that you want me to do, I will always make sure that I am an absolute pleasure to work with, that I’m professional about it, that I’m completely reliable. And I will always deliver and maintain that pleasant environment to be in when you’re working with me.
As a result you’ll want to keep working with me. You need to get a great experience from interacting with a brand.
3. Be Positively Productive
My main thing is always productivity with anything I do.
I think if you can focus on how much you can maximise every single minute of every day, and make sure that you are progressing, then you’ve achieved your goal for the day. I always want to make sure I go to bed a better person that night than I was when I woke up that morning.
4. Always Be Learning
Reading is everything. I think for what anyone is doing at any point in their lives, in whatever sector, whatever industry, everyone should be reading up a storm. There’s no better food for your brain, better learning you can get, more equipping that you can give yourself, than just reading.
You should be learning every single day about whatever it is that you do, in one way or another, and always stimulating your mind as much as possible. It should be the foundation of every single person’s career and whatever it is they’re moving towards in their lives.
5. Outwork Your Competition
It’s that thing of knowing that perhaps you’re not the most talented or gifted, smartest, strongest, biggest, [or] fastest, but if you have the attitude of, whatever you’re doing, no one will outwork you, then you can never fail.
