When I pitched my first startup to angel investors and VCs, I was often told they were concerned that I didn’t have a cofounder. This feedback drove me nuts, because it wasn’t for my lack of trying. I didn’t know many people who had the startup bug back then, and certainly fewer who could afford to work without pay. So I decided to forge ahead alone.
I pitched that startup hundreds of times, and I failed to raise any capital for it. Sometimes I took the feedback personally. I was angry, hurt, and frustrated. There were plenty of successful solo founders out there—why did investors assume I wouldn’t be one of them?
Sometimes I blamed it on bias. As a female, Latina, immigrant founder with an infant at home, I was acutely aware of the huge, systemic gender gap in venture capital. I knew full well that I was an outsider, not “in” with the Silicon Valley elites, and that even when I got a meeting, I faced powerful biases every time I pitched.
The systemic bias I faced while…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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