Ask HN: Any black women founders out there? What's your story? Today I've read my nth article about gender bias in silicon valley and just realized they've all. been. about. white. women. ...Maybe an Asian or Jewish woman thrown in once in a while. Is it b/c there just aren't many? I would love to hear stories from black women founders, as well as their opinion of the coverage on this issue. |
I run an early stage startup PlusNavigator, Inc. a solution simplifying the shopping experience for plus size women. Founder Institute alum, cited in the NYTimes this past summer, I'm Chicago based. I've learned to pitch my little heart out, and have had favorable interest from respected persons in the VC community...its now a matter of delivering qualitative traction for the business.
The process seems somewhat uniform once you're out there and competing with your fellow peers and their startups, irrespective of race/gender however the process of GETTING into the active conversations around startups, accelerators, incubators, and serious conversations about effectively positioning your company is something that the individual has to own.
My personal path started in desktop support, then enterprise IT sales, and I've always had a strong affinity for tech. Solving the woes of millions of plus size women, by leveraging technology seemed immediately viable.
A lovely tech sis of mine Obi is working on PopInGym, another brilliant idea...and its JOY seeing her at SXSW each year.
While there is a difference between tech enabled companies and tech companies, I think the future of startups makes that difference close near indistinguishable, and it turns into solving every day problems by leveraging tech.
Access to mainstream startup communities makes a difference. Since August, I've worked out of Chicago's highly regarded 1871 digital startup community, having to compete against a large pool of applicants, an in-person interview, and panel voting review for acceptance to work on my startup there. The programming, education, and network fostered certainly helps to neutralize the lack of diversity some.
It seems I have an great deal of female, and black female founder colleagues to name a few Obi (PopInGym), Bolaji (SociaLifeChicago), Feyi (CancerIQ), Christine (ItsAShort.com) among others.
The news coverage certainly isn't sensationalized. We're out there, we have a story to tell, and its inclined to empower other women just like us...because we know there are others out there, waiting to claim their space at the tech table.
Also, culturally, black women entrepreneurs tend to pursue things other than computer science. The following are the business projects of black women entrepreneurs I personally know in the Midwest:
1. A music performance/album sales career ( this is entrepreneurship )
2. Coaching and motivational seminars
3. A staffing agency
4. An event planning company
5. A photography business
6. A law firm
And to move to black men, even the two entrepreneurs I know who have CS backgrounds are focused on music production and a culture magazine. I do not think my experience is atypical.
Well, your experience with male founders is not typical with where I live (Richmond). But I do agree that they are much more represented in the media.
Many are developers as well. Here's a list of companies: http://www.digitalundivided.com/alumni-companies/
In terms of my experience, I can count on my hands the number of other black women developers I've encountered thusfar. Whether it's at conferences, in my classes or at work, I'm often one of a couple or the only black woman around (and oftentimes black person in general). I'm not happy about it and have become an advocate for getting more women of color (and women in general!) in STEM fields, specifically in computer science.
I've shared more on my experience as being a black female coder here in this post: http://blackfemalecoders.tumblr.com/about
I encourage you all to check it out and please get in touch with me if you are interested in sharing your experience! (twitter @lifeissweetgood)
If you expand the definition of a "startup" to include tech-enabled companies, you will see a large number of companies backed by Black women, many of whom are making millions.
Some quick examples are Marve Frazier at Moguldom Media (Bossip, Madame Noire), Natasha behind YBF, and even myself. Some of us have investment, including traditional VC firm/PE, like Heather Hiles of Pathbrite, Zuhairah Scott of Kahnoodle, and some of chose not to go that route.
Education coupled with social norms (hence the lack of female founders from every ethnicity)is really the issue.
If you would poule together all the succesfull white tech guys and combined them into an average. Using education, upbringing, basically soc-eco background. You would get a very different guy if you compared it with the average white male in america.
Its about exposure troughout your youth especially into the STEM areas.
Also are you the Kathryn Finney ? I actually bought your book: TBF in high school I really liked it and still have it. Someone in this thread said they noticed a lot of black women (but I think women in general) are into Fashion oriented start-ups.
And that really is true ! Girls are more exposed to beauty related things and guys are more exposed to technical stuff because I guess that is what society still values.
To use your example, if a company is run by a black woman, no responsible reporter is going to put in their article "Oh, and by the way, this company is run by a black woman." Just think of how negative that sounds.
I get the sense that they are lots of female entrepreneurs of colour, but largely invisible for some reason (self-imposed or otherwise).
http://www.hanselman.com and @shanselman
He knows of quite a few and can help you.
This 2011 article on 10 Black Women In Tech will also expose you to the women who know the women, if they aren't the women themselves http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2011/11/10-black-women-in-tak...
Well,that's exactly what I'm asking. When people who talk about women in tech, they use the phrase broadly. But you don't often see black women founders standing up in solidarity.
I am curious: 1) is it because there are very few founders, 2) they aren't as vocal, 3) or b/c we, the listeners don't pay attention?
Greg Greenlee Founder of Blacks In Technology (http://www.blacksintechnology.net) Founder of BIT Tech Digest (http://www.bitdigest.net)
Greg Greenlee Founder of Blacks In Technology Founder of BIT Tech Digest All around techie!!!
What I remember of undergrad is that companies were desperate to hire smart CS types. These jobs were, more often than not, represented as the pinnacle for students. With good options to join top-tier IT and other firms, most "success" stories were about doing just that. Not so much about starting companies by wielding your code chops.
Three questions: 1) Do the gender messages of women pioneers like Sheryl & Marissa resonate with black entrepreneurs or does the message feel "hollow"?
2) Are there any mainstream outlets that you think do a fairly good job of covering success (or struggles) of BFFs?
3) Who is your dream mentor?
Greg Greenlee Founder of Blacks In Technology (http://www.blacksintechnology.net) Founder of BIT Tech Digest (http://www.bitdigest.net)
The hardest part, in my opinion, is getting people to understand that this conversation is not limited to one subset of the community. It involves everyone in some way.