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In a remarkable move, Hampton University alumnus Nasir Qadree has raised $186 million in venture capital through his company Zeal Capital Partners. Qadree’s interest in finances piqued after overhearing a conversation between entrepreneurs while busing tables in New York. He shared his story with Jabari Young during an interview with Forbes.
Qadree credits his grandfather for his motivation for success. Jackie Moore, a former NBA player, was Qadree's grandfather. Moore, who was born in 1932, played forward for the Philadelphia Warriors between 1954 and 1957. Qadree was motivated by watching his grandfather reach the pinnacle of basketball achievement during that time.
Qadree earned his marketing degree from Hampton University in 2008 and started his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. In 2010, he transitioned to State Street Corporation. During this time, he also co-founded The Bees Knees Baking Company, a coffee shop in New York City, with two friends, investing around $150,000 to launch the business.
After selling his stake in the shop in 2015, Qadree moved to Washington D.C. and joined Village Capital as head of education technology, which eventually led to a role managing AT\&T’s Aspire fund. In 2020, he launched Zeal, an early-stage venture capital firm, and successfully closed his first fund with major investors, including Bank of America and PayPal.
Recently, Zeal raised $82 million. Its investors include HBCU endowments at Hampton University and Spelman College, M&T Bank, MassMutual, and Citi's Impact Fund.
Zeal oversees three funds: Fund I, Fund II, and Barclays Black Formation Investments. The firm has also backed innovative startups like Esusu, a fintech company co-founded by ForbesBLK 50 honoree Wemimo Abbey. Zeal is also an investor in the AI hiring software company Humanly, which is valued at $66 million, according to financial research firm PitchBook.
“We’re truly going to democratize acts of capital and think about innovations that are turbocharging economic mobility,” Qadree says. “There’s also an opportunity to disrupt systems so that more folk can get a fair swing at the plate.”
