Diversifying startups and VC power corridors

Jennifer Fan is an assistant professor of law and director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law. Startups have a seemingly intractable problem: a lack of diversity. Despite research showing that diverse founding teams have a higher rate of return than white founding teams, one characteristic of startups remains relatively unchanged: the dearth of BIPOC and women founders, investors, board members and counsel in the venture capital (VC) ecosystem. Why should we care? Venture capital has provided early funding for the most innovative and profitable companies of our time — Apple, Amazon, Google (now Alphabet), just to name a few. These companies have changed the way we live, work and play by impacting how we communicate, how we process information and how we buy goods. With approximately one-quarter of U.S. professionals employed by the high-tech sector — comprising about 5% to 6% of the total workforce, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — imagine how much more innovation could happen with more diverse individuals at the table who bring different life experiences and perspectives. We’re alrea… Click below to read the full story from TechCrunch
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