Exposing the Startup Problem

EXPOSING THE O STARTUP PROBLEM Infographic & Story By Jacqueline Leonhardt ver the years, startup companies have become a major part of U America's culture. From the products these companies create, what the data shows it that all of the people who get their dreams off the ground have quite a bit in common. There have been several studies on the topic and they all agree that if you are a middle-aged, white male with a college degree, you have the best chance by far of succeeding. Why are they more likely to succeed? Because the people who provide funding choose these types of founders far more often. Although, this information might not be too surprising, it highlights how limited the diversity of entrepreneurs really is. to their office culture, to the fashion and look of the people who work there, society has come to embrace these sapling companies. After all, what can embody the "American dream" more than a person creating a successful corporation from their hopes and dreams. But what about the people who start these companies? It seems as though everyone knows someone who has a startup company. But THE AVERAGE STARTUP FOUNDER BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS GENDER 43.7% RACE AGE NUMBER OF FOUNDERS 63.2% Male 13.5% 94% White 1996 36% 56.3% 18% 25.8% 26.6% 45-54 years old 36.8% 33% College Grad 22.9% 41% 94% 41% One of two founders 2014 63.2% White Asian or Black |Hispanic 20-34 |35-44 |45-54 55-64 $50k Average Salary One Two Male Three Female Middle Eastern Four THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE THE COST OF FOUNDERS 0.6% 2.7% 71.4% 15.1% 0.5% 1% 17.2% 0.4% |Less than high school |High school graduate |Some college College graduate 0.3% 0.2% 1996 26.8% Other 0.1% 11.1% College Graduate Less than High School Some 22.5% 0.7% High School Graduate College 0.3% 0.2% 0.0% 1996 2000 2008 2014 $0-50k $50-75k $75-100k $100-125k $125-175k 1998 2002 2004 2006 2010 2012 2014 FOLLOW THE MONEY Less than 1% of venture-capital- backed company Companies with mixed-gender leadership teams only received Companies with a Caucasian CEO Around 12% of venture-capital- backed company founders were An estimated 83% of venture-capital- backed company had founders that entirely Companies with female executives founders were or founding team received 61% of African American only received around less than 1% of in 2014 Asian in 2014 Caucasian in 2014 investments. 4% of investments. investments. http://qz.com/484031/confirmed-startups-in-new-york-are-overwhelmingly-founded-by-white-men/; http://www.kauffman.org//media/kauffman_org/research%20reports%20and%20covers/2015/05/; http://elitedaily.com/money/venture-capitalists-still-overwhelming- ly-fund-white-male-entrepreneurs-minorities-women/; http://www.businessinsider.com/startup-founder-salaries-y-combinator-2014-5; http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/01/14/salary-founder-favorite-startup-get-probably-high-one/ %ɛ° 24.7% 33.0% 23.7% 26.6% 32.3% 29.5%