Skip to main content

The startup world is stacked against Black founders. Let’s change that

Many people believe that we live in a post-racial society — one where everyone is judged by their abilities and where race or gender never influence people’s assessment of someone.

I know this to be false.

In my field of startups, only 2.6 percent of all venture capital (VC) funding goes to Black or Latinx founders. When you dig deeper into the data, you discover an entire ecosystem that creates that outcome. It starts with the fact that the average white household’s net worth is $171,000, whereas the average Black household’s net worth is almost 90 percent less, at just $17,150. Considering that most startups are initially funded by family and friends, it’s unsurprising that many Black founders often don’t even have initial angel resources to get started.

Even if they do manage to raise enough money to get their venture off the ground, they still face an uphill battle. Eighty-one percent of all VC funds don’t have a single Black partner in their ranks. I’m convinced that when I was raising my company’s Series A, I faced discrimination as a result of this imbalance. Approximately 120 of the VCs that I pitched were white partners, and I received precisely zero term sheets from this cohort. Thirty of the VCs that I pitched were minorities, and I received five term sheets from them.

About the author: Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller is the CEO and founder of The/Studio Technologies, which operates TheStudio.com and SuppliedShop.com. Heller founded The/Studio based on his experience of living in China and working in the consumer products manufacturing sector. The/Studio is a Silicon Valley venture-backed startup focused on democratizing manufacturing and supply chain for small to medium-sized businesses. TheStudio.com makes it easy for companies to make custom manufactured products, and SuppliedShop.com helps small retail stores buy inventory directly from factories.
Joseph Heller

Era of leftover racism

I’ll be the first to admit: I’m half black and half Jewish, and the level of discrimination I have experienced over the course of my career pales in comparison to what my father faced when he was a working adult. It’s true that we live in a post-racial society, legally speaking — but we are still dealing with the generational remnants of a system built on inequality.

For that reason, I’ve coined the phrase “capitalism is the next civil rights movement” to embody my perspective on ending this era of leftover racism. I firmly believe that equal access to capital will finally dissolve the ugly remnants of discrimination in this country, reducing crime and expanding education outcomes by increasing opportunity. And it needs to be approached exactly like the civil rights movement.

Contrary to the spirit of the original civil rights movement is the sentiment in some pro-Black movements that success is a zero-sum game, that our progress will cost other races.  It’s critical to frame Black progress as benefitting all America. I think of Malcolm Gladwell’s idea of capitalization rate, or “the percentage of people in any given situation who have the ability to make the most of their potential.” This is a fight to increase that percentage, not to muscle other groups out of a fixed number.

The vision continues

I’ve contributed to this modern civil rights movement by enduring years of struggle to get my company where it is now, but I know it doesn’t stop here. Right now, just 2.7% of top executive roles are held by Black people in tech companies. We’re changing that at The/Studio, where 22% of our leadership roles are Black, 22% is white, and the remaining percentage is Asian. We did that naturally, by seeking out top talent, no matter what it looked like.

That vision continues in terms of who we design our services for. Our latest service, Supplied, is an offering targeting female entrepreneurs, with over 60% of its customers representing minorities. Our vision for Supplied is to increase equality in the world by giving everyone the ability to purchase affordable inventory for their small boutiques. Originally, many of my colleagues didn’t see the value in pursuing this business —  but I knew that there was a market out there, teeming with bold entrepreneurs just waiting for an opportunity.

Simply put, if all our citizens can make the most of their potential, the U.S. will remain the greatest country on Earth for decades to come. Building toward that is my goal.

Joseph Heller
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joseph Heller is the CEO & Founder of The/Studio Technologies, which operates TheStudio.com and SuppliedShop.com. Joseph…
How to change margins in Google Docs
Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content -- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more
Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs
A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.

Read more