The hidden bias of a brief investor comment

By Ana Díaz-Hernández, Anadiazhernandez.com

Investors in Silicon Valley have been getting heat lately about not having diversity in the founders of their portfolio– and in my opinion, rightfully so.  We’ve heard it before: Most people who get funded are Caucasian young men, 19-30 years old, who attended the same Top 10 private colleges, and wear hoodies while they pitch.  An over-simplication perhaps, but the hidden biases are there. Let’s consider this:

“I don’t trust a guy who comes to pitch in a suit– I assume he’s not a fit or too old school.”

I actually heard this from a well-known investor at an event at Stanford. What’s wrong with this statement? Well, in short, lots. Let’s deconstruct it:

1) “Trust a guy” – This particular investor said “guy”, as if only men pitched him. Maybe in his case, in fact only men pitch him, but not because of a lack of female founders out there.

2) “Pitch in a suit” – This is one example, but I’ve heard and read similar statements by VC’s and entrepreneurs that reflect white hacker culture. Not every tech entrepreneur knows “pitching in a suit” is a faux pas in Silicon Valley.  Particularly if they are from another part of the country where the startup hoodie culture isn’t as prevalent, or if they are from a family that told them “wear a suit if you want to be taken seriously.”

One of the elite Historically Black Colleges in the United States – Morehouse – has a well known adage: “be well read, well spoken, well traveled, well dressed and well balanced.” That means students regularly wear suits to class. Many of those students would not know wearing suits was not done here.  Is wearing a suit a good reason to discredit a candidate?

3) “I assume he’s old school” – This could be agism: The investor community constantly discredits entrepreneurs who have been around for a while. The justification is that they use old-fashioned technologies, they don’t know the young market, or they’re too entrenched in existing user patterns to see creative solutions to an issue.

This could also be racial bias. That candidate might have great ideas or a life experience that represents a market need you don’t relate to. Don’t automatically discredit it.

4) “Not a fit” – This is the biggest cop-out in venture capital and in recruiting in Silicon Valley. What is that code for? “Not what we usually associate with success”. “Not like the others”. “Not something we can pattern recognize”. I understand how hard it is to recruit candidates or to choose companies to fund. But I’d recommend checking your assumptions there. Are you pattern matching based on significant data?

Here’s my tip to investors–While those assumptions could be true, try applying this mantra during a pitch: Identify what makes you distrust the person pitching you. People usually make up their mind about how much they like someone in the first few seconds of an interaction. Ok, now you’ve identified the source of your distrust– spend the rest of the pitch trying to disprove yourself. Ask the candidate targeted questions to address each issue you have. You might find the entrepreneur will surprise you.

This article was originally published in anadiazhernandez.com.

ana diaz-hernandezAna grew up in California, Mexico and Southern Georgia — but is now a proud resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Stanford University and participated in several research initiatives relating to urban planning, public health, civic engagement and philanthropy. Prior to working in technology, she worked in water and sanitation research for the Smithsonian Institute, The World Bank, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

[Photo by svilen001]

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