How Startup Organizations can Help Black American Entrepreneurs: An Open Discussion

With systemic racism currently at the forefront of the American consciousness, many corporations have pledged their support for Black Americans. But how can these organizations, and specifically those that help entrepreneurs, make real internal changes that actually lead to meaningful long term results? What are the specific challenges that Black American entrepreneurs face along each step of their startup journey, and what measures can accelerators, investors, and other organizations put in place to help?

The Founder Institute has tried to think deliberately about these challenges internally, but wants to continue to improve. To date, FI has announced dedicated open office hours for Black American entrepreneurs; as well as borrowed methodologies from our Female Founder Initiative, which has helped to significantly increase the number of women business leaders in our accelerator programs, in order to launch the new Black American Founder Fellowship for all of our U.S. chapters. The Founder Institute has worked to highlight the growing strength of Black American entrepreneurship despite the ongoing racial disparities, to compiled a list of external resources and organizations that are actively supporting Black American founders, and to highlighted Black American entrepreneurs from within our network who are already making waves in their respective industries.