About
Entrepreneurship remains an unequal space, with Black women significantly underrepresented among startup founders. While prior research has shown that working in a startup increases the likelihood of founding a company, it was unclear whether this effect varied across demographic groups. Christopher Law from Texas A&M University, along with other researchers, aimed to explore this question using a proprietary dataset from Venture For America (VFA), a nonprofit that places recent graduates in startup roles.
Challenge
To conduct an analysis, the researchers needed to supplement the dataset with additional career data across thousands of individuals and companies. Through The Bright Initiative, powered by Bright Data, the researchers collected data detailing career histories from LinkedIn and company information from additional sources, helping to identify which individuals had transitioned from startup employees to founders.
Impact
The research uncovered that while working in a startup increases the likelihood of founding a company for all individuals, the effect is especially strong for Black women. The study found that Black women who worked in startups were five times more likely to become founders than their peers who did not have startup experience. This finding was supported by both quantitative analysis and in-depth qualitative interviews, which showed that startup environments provided Black women with critical exposure, confidence, and motivation to pursue entrepreneurship.
This not only advances academic understanding of intersectionality in entrepreneurship but also offers practical guidance for policymakers, investors, and organizations seeking to close the representation gap in high-growth startups. This study highlights the importance of equitable access to entrepreneurial experiences and demonstrates how data-driven insights can inform more inclusive strategies for supporting underrepresented founders.
Read full research article here: From joiners to founders: Startup employment and underrepresented entrepreneurs
