Slow Shift Towards VC Diversity
Posted: August 20th, 2009 | Author: Lindsay | Filed under: startups | Tags: business, diversity, startups, venture capital | No Comments »The Wall Street Journal published an article in their VentureWire series titled “New Study Signals a Slow Shift Toward VC Diversity” where they list some statistics from a demographics survey of venture capital professionals. I found the article interesting enough to summarize it for you because no matter how diverse Silicon Valley is, most of us know that venture capital firms are still dominated by a fairly elite men’s club. No females or minorities should be surprised by the following statistics.
- 88% of survey respondents are white
- 75% are male, so 25% are female
- 66% are white male
- 64% hold some type of advanced degree
- 52% have an MBA
- 70% of males have an advanced degree
- 45% of females have an advanced degree
What I did find surprising were the following statistics regarding start-up experience:
- 20% of VCs worked at another venture firm prior to their current firm
- 16% worked at a large private or public company
- 12% worked at a start-up company
- 10% worked as a C-level entrepreneur
- 17% of men with traditional investor titles previously worked as C-level entrepreneurs
- 2% of those female counterparts (only 1 person) previously held that position
Many new start-ups looking for investment put their future and aspirations in the hands of people that have never been in their shoes. Would I go to graduate school to be taught by someone who hasn’t finished college? No. It seems the only reason I would let someone that hasn’t been an entrepreneur or worked for a start-up decide if my idea has any merit or market value is because he (or she 25% of the time) holds the keys to the dollar bills that give me the opportunity to pursue my dreams.
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