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It seems like the author could search and replace “racism” with “sexism” and put out an otherwise similar article based on her experience having to use her husb
by henriquez 6y ago
It seems like the author could search and replace “racism” with “sexism” and put out an otherwise similar article based on her experience having to use her husband’s LinkedIn rolodex to reach these people.
I think it’s shameful that VCs make empty promises to support black founders - but it’s also not surprising. Most of the people paying lip service to racial equity now didn’t give a shit six weeks ago before it was fashionable to do so. But empty promises are par for the course as they’ve been for decades. My experience living in Minneapolis where George Floyd was murdered is that the same people suddenly promising to fix the problem are the ones who created it.
VCs only want to make money. The author raised insufficient evidence that she was a victim of racism. If any unfair discrimination occurred it’s more likely sexism. But the simplest explanation is also the most likely: the VCs just weren’t interested in her pitch.
- hckr_news 6y ago> the VCs just weren’t interested in her pitch Why not? Not even 5-10 minutes of their day? I guess all the noise coming out of VCs the last few weeks is all just virtue signaling and hot air.
- bagacrap 6y agoWould you not be equally incensed if they cut her off after 5-10 minutes? She sent out a pitch deck and they weren't interested.
- glitcher 6y agoThe author seems clear to me that she is considering both racism and sexism. > Curiously, when I used my husband’s email to send our pitch, that’s when I started getting some responses. Do VCs only read pitches submitted by men? Do they prefer to hear from someone who is Asian rather than Black?
- henriquez 6y agoSo she assumes bad faith but isn’t sure of the exact nature of that bad faith, meanwhile the merits of her pitch or business idea are not even a factor in her discussion of why she could have been rejected. (Let’s see, a personal trainer app when people are quarantined ...) I’ve seen numerous other founders here on HN handle rejection with more humility and constructive resolve. I don’t think the author is doing herself - or her husband - any favors with this kind of response.
- perseusmandate 6y agoThe reality is that VCs are genuinely inclined to fund black founders since their funds are overwhelmingly old white men. This is an industry that cares a lot about not generating controversy. VCs got hit hard by Me Too- Lightspeed, Kleiner, Binary, Sherpa, 500 Startups, and others all imploded or let people go due to allegations of sexism. It's a Partner based business where, in general, they rarely hire a new senior Partner and cut them in on the carry. Investing in black founders and hiring minority junior VCs ends up being the easiest way to brand themselves as racially equitable.
- anotherfounder 6y agoI think it isn't just as simple as wanting to fund black founders. If you do not understand how systems work and actively fix them, you are unlikely to be helpful to black founders.