Episode
Concrete Lessons: Munashe Makava on Family, ETA, and Building Businesses | Ep. 52
- Published
- Sep 2, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3873
- Processing state
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- https://jaredwjohnson.com
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Summary
At the heart of entrepreneurship is the responsibility to create value. Not just for yourself, but for employees, customers, and the community. In this episode of Before You Buy or Sell a Business, Jared Johnson sits down with Munashe Makava, an NYU MBA graduate who began his career at Deloitte and Goldman Sachs before stepping into entrepreneurship through acquisition. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Munashe shares how his parents instilled an entrepreneurial mindset early on, why the birth of his first child was the push to finally buy a business, and what he learned transitioning from Wall Street to owning two concrete companies in the U.S. Munashe breaks down how he evaluated opportunities, why geography mattered more than industry, and what he wishes he had done differently during negotiation. He also talks about team building, mentorship, and why the hardest part of being an entrepreneur is people—not the numbers. Main Takeaways: Entrepreneurship isn’t only startups: ETA reduces some risk but still demands leadership Geography can guide your search just as much as industry Build your deal team early, including tax strategy support, to avoid missed opportunities Strong seller and broker relationships can unlock deal structures others overlook Employees who think like owners are the key to long-term success Mentorship and networks multiply opportunities and help overcome self-doubt Episode Highlights: [03:42] Growing up in Zimbabwe, working at Deloitte, and moving to the U.S. for an MBA [09:25] How becoming a father pushed Munashe to pursue entrepreneurship [15:17] Why entrepreneurship isn’t the “holy grail” for everyone and the difference between being an entrepreneur vs. entrepreneurial [22:04] Narrowing a search by geography and being industry-agnostic [28:40] Find…