Life as a startup founder is never dull. That’s doubly true for Black founders, who routinely struggle to raise funds, be noticed and get their fair share of attention.
For the new year, TechCrunch+ conducted a mini-survey to found out what Black founders are expecting in 2023. All three founders brought up the same concerns — the economy, the environment, and equality.
Abimbola Adebayo, the founder of Pinnu Analytics, said she is planning for the downturn to continue, and has started ensuring that her business and herself are earning income in multiple currencies. “It’s impossible to predict, but with how unstable life has been recently, I would not be surprised if it continues,” she said.
Vernon Coleman, the founder of Realtime, said he was paying close attention to the upcoming presidential election. “Whoever is elected or re-elected will impact me as a founder as they will affect business policies, inflation, unemployment, and how and when we recover from the downturn,” he told TechCrunch. “I’m sure there are plenty of founders out there working on solutions for more accurate, modern, and timely election technologies.”
As for equality, Coleman and the others are not convinced much will change for them as Black founders.
Sevetri Wilson, founder and CEO, Resilia, said, “There is a popular saying that goes, ‘When white America catches a cold, Black America catches pneumonia.’ This applies to Black founders as well. I think this will be the case in 2023, and we are already seeing it now, as evident in data and reports.”
Read the full mini-survey here.
(Note: This survey is separate from the Black founder survey we are conducting. If you are a Black founder with a story to share, please fill out this form.)