It's all about access. YC can only fund the best applications it gets. Those often come from, I'm guessing, people whose creative sides have been nurtured while also getting some kind of constructive exposure to programming. Just like anything else, the socio-economically disadvantaged often don't get the access or education they need to wield or understand the power of programming. I do think that is changing, as evinced by the programs and organizations that have sprouted up to address the issue. But it's a slog.
Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
71–80 of 150 posts
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not many black programming role models. Sad to say but many black youth still see sports and entertainment and the only way to achieve a high level of success in America. My primary goal in life is to try to change that perception by becoming a successful programmer.
I'm not sure about this... do you really believe that programmers need role models for success? We have people that we idolize but its not because of common-place programming ability or merely their job but because of what they've achieved----Bill Gates with Microsoft, Linus Torvalds with Linux, etc. Programmers seem to usually be self-described 'geeks' and thus like programming for its own sake.
Many programmers may be self-described geeks, but they must have been exposed to computers and programming at some point in their life. I think his point is that such an opportunity doesn't exist for most black youth.
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure about this... do you really believe that programmers need role models for success? We have people that we idolize but its not because of common-place programming ability or merely their job but because of what they've achieved----Bill Gates with Microsoft, Linus Torvalds with Linux, etc. Programmers seem to usually be self-described 'geeks' and thus like programming for its own sake.
Don't need specifically black role models but it would help. Just proof positive that being a programmer can be interesting and lucrative. Coming from a social anthropology background and having experienced it in grade school myself, there is an issue of "talking and acting white." Programming falls directly under that umbrella unfortunately. Is it complete BS, absolutely. But at the core of it, we're talking about p…
> Don't need specifically black role models but it would help.
That is exactly what the OP is asking for.
To tell about my experience, I did not grow up with "black programming" models. Even to date, I can't think of a single black man over 50 who is a programmer that I know personally or professionally.
I got into programming for the same reasons I assume many other HNers did: computer were readily available for my use, and I enjoyed the logic exercise. Once I found something I was good it, it was irrelevant if other people thought it was 'cool'.
Luckily though, I grew up black in a black nation so accusations of being 'white' was the furthest thing from most peoples minds. You weren't 'white', you were just 'uncool'. I think that's a significant difference because one is an attack on your identity, and the other merely on your social credentials.
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#74was just wondering if anyone that looks like ME has EVER made it Assuming that there might be something "unattractive" about being black -- a big assumption but one I'm willing to play along with for purposes of this thread -- how about fat people? Old people? People who don't live in cities? People who didn't go to an ivory league college? Conservatives? People who have physical defects? On a few occasions, it's bee…
Just looking for some inspiration. It's that simple. I don't think 'THE MAN' is trying to hold me down. If I had that mentality I would have never made it this far.
If it's inspiration you seek:
http://mixergy.com/lawrence-watkins-great-black-speakers-int...
http://mixergy.com/ephren-taylor-interview/
Both are black founders - but there's so much more on Mixergy that you should check out. Andrew Warner is pretty awesome at that stuff.
I particularly liked Ephren's interview, I've been listening to Mixergy for a number of months now and he is still a stand-out for me.
EDIT I just remembered that Peter Gruber tells a great story about Magic Johnson pitching him on a chain of movie theaters. http://mixergy.com/peter-guber-interview/
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a fairly typical German viewpoint. It's something that caught me a bit off guard when I moved to Germany 9 years ago. Germans have a real aversion to noticing their own racism, no doubt that's a product of cultural baggage, but racism is pretty rampant in Germany and permeates all levels of society. A few of questions to suss things out a bit: What would you or your friends parents think if you announced your…
> What would you or your friends parents think if you announced your engagement to a Turkish girl / guy? I have been in a relationship with a Turkish girl for eight years, dude. Everyone was OK with it. Not once did anyone say anything about it. You know what? It was just fine. > That's a fairly typical German viewpoint Did you just assert that I'm a "fairly typical" German racist? If you knew me at all you wouldn't…
Sorry, no, my intent was not at all to paint you as being racist. What I meant as "typically German" is that most Germans, even those who are not particularly racist themselves, have something of a blind-spot for noticing the depth of racism within German society.
And sure, there are families where race is a non-issue. I could list examples as well of where I've seen things go the other way, but that's side-stepping my point: surely you'd agree that in many, many families it would be an issue?
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
> people naturally discriminate for people who look like them Do they really, naturally? I don't think that many people are walking around, constantly repeating an inner mantra like "I'm a middle-aged white male", always comparing everyone against what they themselves look like in the mirror? Who does that? > Its the nature of the human beast to not be rational. It's my experience that most humans only think like "be…
> Do they really, naturally? I don't think that many people are walking around, constantly repeating an inner mantra like "I'm a white middle-aged male", always comparing everyone against what they themselves look like in the mirror? Who does that? The term "naturally" implies that it is an automatic function (e.g. breathing is natural ). Did you not realize this or are you intentionally leaping to the straw-man argu…
I know what you meant by naturally. I also think we could discuss this for ages and not come to an agreement. I don't subscribe to evolutionary pop psychology, we're simply not speaking the same language.
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure about this... do you really believe that programmers need role models for success? We have people that we idolize but its not because of common-place programming ability or merely their job but because of what they've achieved----Bill Gates with Microsoft, Linus Torvalds with Linux, etc. Programmers seem to usually be self-described 'geeks' and thus like programming for its own sake.
Many programmers may be self-described geeks, but they must have been exposed to computers and programming at some point in their life. I think his point is that such an opportunity doesn't exist for most black youth.
Yes, but the discussion right now is do blacks need black programming models in order to become interested in programming?
If merely access to computers and exposure to programming is necessary, then its obvious why we don't have too many black programmers today. In the 80s and previously, computers were expensive and it was unlikely that someone from a lower socioeconomic bracket would have easy access to them.
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#78I really don't think YC cares about ethnicity. I also don't quite get the point of this post.
I don't see the question or the discussion so far as meeting the standard for "An interesting new phenomena." It looks like something that would be better served over on Quora than on HN. It's a reasonable question, but just as many subjects--explicitly including politics--are of interest to HN's readerships but still not HN-worthy, it doesn't appear to meet the standards in the FAQ for the front page. Discussions of…
For example, if we know that YCombinator funds double the proportion of the rest of the industry, that would be interesting and new.
Based on the other comments here, it seems as though the sample size would surely be too small to give us any meaningful amount of confidence in such statistics.
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's an "Interesting new phenomena" for you to chew on: How dare you suggest that I'm Black? My father is Scottish-Canadian. I went to St. Andrews, a Scottish-themed boarding school. I grew up listening to Rush. I play hockey. I listen to Jazz music. I ride a mountain bike. I'm told I speak with a standard North American accent. What is this "Black" thing you speak of? Now before you answer, let me tell you that I…
Here's an "Interesting new phenomena" for you to chew on: How dare you suggest that I'm Black? My father is Scottish-Canadian. I went to St. Andrews, a Scottish-themed boarding school. I grew up listening to Rush. I play hockey. I listen to Jazz music. I ride a mountain bike. I'm told I speak with a standard North American accent. What is this "Black" thing you speak of? I figured you'd say that ... I think you've bl…
I'm not saying anything about the topic. It's really the specific discussion, which at the time I wrote my post, was rather non-specific. Questions I would personally find interesting might include:
"I'm black and interested in applying to YCombinator. Does this matter?"
"13% of the population is black but 25% of the YCombinator founders are black. Why is that?"
"I'm black and pitching my company to VCs. I've noticed that they seem excited after they read my pitch but in person they barrage me with objections and then they don't return my emails. Is it my skin colour or do all founders face this?"
It just seems to me that if HN is going to discuss this, there should be something HN-ish about this and not simply a general, non-specific rehash of a jillion other discussions about the participation or lack of participation by blacks in tech. But you know, I'm just one guy, so who really cares what I think? I'm certainly not going to complain bitterly if the discussion leads to positive change.
Re: Has YC ever funded a company with a Black founder?
#80If you watch the slide show: http://ycombinator.com/ long enough, a black guy will show(< 3 mins in).