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haha...thats great, Here as well; I've never felt like race was a big issue in my local startup community. There are plenty of black, brown, olive, tan, yello

haha...thats great, Here as well; I've never felt like race was a big issue in my local startup community. There are plenty of black, brown, olive, tan, yellow, and peach individuals sprinkled throughout in most events I attend here in Houston. Sometimes it would be nice to connect with them just we share that kind of commonality, but I always felt that creating a "black startup" meeting group would be extremely cheesy and too inclusive. I don't care what color they are as long as they come up with good ideas and do what they say they will do. That being said...markets are markets and if you have some cultural or ethnic insight into an opportunity for a business or a way to help your specific community; you should count yourself lucky for being born whatever you are and try to capitalize on it. Theres no reason the team you build has to be racially ?inclusive/exclusive?, and actually the aforementioned diversity actually helps strengthen teams in my opinion by providing those different cultural or ethnic perspectives.

bilbo0s 16y ago
I don't know what part of Houston you are in, but I know there are a lot of REALLY bright guys that get together over at the G's and Z's on Alameda in the Third Ward. I live down Sunset by Rice Village but I was in that coffee shop one night when they got together. I have to confess that I was shocked actually at how bright those guys were. They felt pretty inclusive too... I mean hey, they let me sit in. So I don't think it is necessarily, a "black" group. Only issue was that I only met one of them who was into software/web startups. Most were in energy modeling or global scale logistics. Think Houston Halliburton, not San Fran Twitter. The one I met in web startups made children's iPad games. Math if I remember correctly. Pretty cool guy though, he spoke a lot of languages. I'm looking up a couple of contact emails for those guys and I will direct them to this thread...maybe you can drop in next time they get together.
- chriswesallen 16y ago
  Thats cool....I grew up in that neighborhood and never knew. I'll start checking it out and see if I can meet them. You seem cool as well, hit me up on twitter we can hang as well... Equal opportunity for friends over here
curtisspope 16y ago
I totally agree. Sometimes when we put the "Black" in front of what we do, it kind of limits it. Ideas are colorless
yummyfajitas 16y ago
...the aforementioned diversity actually helps strengthen teams in my opinion by providing those different cultural or ethnic perspectives. I don't really agree with this. My company (currently 3 people) was ethnically homogeneous before I came onboard. Diversity of thought did not increase much when I was hired, even though I am ethnically different. (I studied computational science in college instead of computer science, talk about diversity). We may hire a 4'th person - a business guy who would bring a LOT of new ideas and skills to us. Ethnically he is the same as everyone else here. Diversity of ethnicity != diversity of thought. It's a fallacy to equate the two.
- chriswesallen 16y ago
  LOL....good response...but I disagree with your disagreement. We as humans generate ideas that often feel spontaneous, but are actually the result of a lifetime of experience mixed with innate problem solving ability and our present state. theres a ton of research on creativity i can send you I know your life experiences are different than mine, without having a hint as to your race. Race comes into the picture because having a different race often means you have different cultural aspects thats formed you as the person you are today. Sure a group of programmers are going to come up with different solutions to a problem vs a group of designers. Diversity of ethnicity just ensures that prior to chosen profession, each individual grew up with a cultural background that does influence the ideas they come up with
  - mcritz 16y ago
    Diversity of people and opinions are why cities are preferable to rural areas. It’s also why inclusive cultures like America, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Argentina are more innovative than monocultures like Mainland China, India, and certain European countries.
    - djacobs 16y ago
      Really? 1. Chinese people do not have diverse opinions? 2. Every civilization that has people with differing opinions has been innovative?
timmy_k 16y ago
It has strengthened our team for sure... chriswesallen and I are co-founders

bilbo0s 16y ago

I don't know what part of Houston you are in, but I know there are a lot of REALLY bright guys that get together over at the G's and Z's on Alameda in the Third Ward. I live down Sunset by Rice Village but I was in that coffee shop one night when they got together. I have to confess that I was shocked actually at how bright those guys were. They felt pretty inclusive too... I mean hey, they let me sit in. So I don't think it is necessarily, a "black" group. Only issue was that I only met one of them who was into software/web startups. Most were in energy modeling or global scale logistics. Think Houston Halliburton, not San Fran Twitter. The one I met in web startups made children's iPad games. Math if I remember correctly. Pretty cool guy though, he spoke a lot of languages. I'm looking up a couple of contact emails for those guys and I will direct them to this thread...maybe you can drop in next time they get together.

chriswesallen 16y ago
Thats cool....I grew up in that neighborhood and never knew. I'll start checking it out and see if I can meet them. You seem cool as well, hit me up on twitter we can hang as well... Equal opportunity for friends over here

curtisspope 16y ago

I totally agree. Sometimes when we put the "Black" in front of what we do, it kind of limits it. Ideas are colorless

yummyfajitas 16y ago

...the aforementioned diversity actually helps strengthen teams in my opinion by providing those different cultural or ethnic perspectives. I don't really agree with this. My company (currently 3 people) was ethnically homogeneous before I came onboard. Diversity of thought did not increase much when I was hired, even though I am ethnically different. (I studied computational science in college instead of computer science, talk about diversity). We may hire a 4'th person - a business guy who would bring a LOT of new ideas and skills to us. Ethnically he is the same as everyone else here. Diversity of ethnicity != diversity of thought. It's a fallacy to equate the two.

chriswesallen 16y ago
LOL....good response...but I disagree with your disagreement. We as humans generate ideas that often feel spontaneous, but are actually the result of a lifetime of experience mixed with innate problem solving ability and our present state. theres a ton of research on creativity i can send you I know your life experiences are different than mine, without having a hint as to your race. Race comes into the picture because having a different race often means you have different cultural aspects thats formed you as the person you are today. Sure a group of programmers are going to come up with different solutions to a problem vs a group of designers. Diversity of ethnicity just ensures that prior to chosen profession, each individual grew up with a cultural background that does influence the ideas they come up with
- mcritz 16y ago
  Diversity of people and opinions are why cities are preferable to rural areas. It’s also why inclusive cultures like America, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Argentina are more innovative than monocultures like Mainland China, India, and certain European countries.
  - djacobs 16y ago
    Really? 1. Chinese people do not have diverse opinions? 2. Every civilization that has people with differing opinions has been innovative?

timmy_k 16y ago

It has strengthened our team for sure... chriswesallen and I are co-founders