A thought leading small new media company in Western Canada.

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McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves, founder and CEO of The Nimble Company // www.thenimblecompany.com

Founded: 
2005
Number of Employees: 
3
Annual Budget:
$180,000

McLean’s Story

For McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves the boundless possibilities of new media were impossible to resist. So he abandoned his lucrative career in television to realize his ideas for the post-television generation. With vision and talent he created a company specializing in online video solutions, a company that could be innovative and agile in responding to the opportunities of the day: The Nimble Company.

Nimble’s first creation was RapSpace.TV—a “web 2.0” social network for hip-hop fans around the world. RapSpace allows anyone with a webcam or microphone to publish, share and review original performances online. One of RapSpace’s most unique and potentially transformative qualities is its leaning toward progressive rap, the socially and politically-minded alternative to the gangsta rap flooding the airways. Diverse voices are finding a community for reviving the positive power of rhythm and rhyme—and with great success. Barely a year old, RapSpace.TV is poised to become one of the largest, user-generated hip-hop music labels with over 10,000 registered artists on the site. When asked why Nimble began with music, McLean answers simply: “A big part of being an entrepreneur is doing what you really enjoy.”

Meeting Renewal Partners

By investing in Nimble, Renewal Partners drew McLean into their network, introducing them to the Media That Matters and Web of Change conferences, as well as the spirited experience of the Social Venture Institute (SVI). “SVI was an eye-opener from just witnessing the combination of environmental, capitalist and social values,” explains McLean. “I realized that it’s possible to be a capitalist and keep your soul. For me that was a watershed moment.”

Social responsibility is at Nimble’s core. Having Renewal as an investor has reinforced that part of their culture and given it credibility. As expressed by McLean: “People take us more seriously when we say we have an investment from Renewal Partners.”

Making Ripples

Nimble’s tech-driven social responsibility plans are having international impact. In 2006, Nimble traveled to Africa to set up computer workstations at Kenya Music Week. McLean describes African kids in front of a webcam sharing their stories and homegrown hip-hop. “There are a lot of people in the world with powerful stories,” explains McLean. With RapSpace.TV and other media brands, Nimble wants to make those stories heard through positive and passionate forms of self-expression. In doing so, Nimble is inspiring technophiles worldwide to use media for social change.