Diversity Beyond Women

What if innovation isn’t being held back by a lack of ideas, but by who funds and who gets funded?

We often talk about gender diversity in angel investing — and yes, women remain severely underrepresented. But that’s only one piece of the puzzle.

Founders and investors from ethnic minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, first-generation graduates, and those from low-income or non-Western backgrounds all face the same barriers: networks, capital, and the “how it works” playbook weren’t built with them in mind.

The data speaks for itself

• Minority angel investors make up just ~7% of active angels, limiting representation in funding decisions.

• Black, Latino, and Asian-led companies received only 12% of angel capital in 2023, down from 16% in 2020.

• Founders from underrepresented backgrounds raise significantly less capital — in some cases 16% less than peers — despite delivering stronger returns, more patents, and more job creation.

• Startups with ethnically diverse leadership teams deliver stronger results: 3.26× vs. 2.50× ROI for homogenous teams, and the advantage grows even more when diversity reaches the C-suite.

  
  

Why this matters

When funding continues to flow through the same small circle, we all lose out. Not just underrepresented founders — but everyone. Because ideas, markets, and solutions that could change the game never get the capital to grow.

At AtVenture, we’re here to change that. We open doors for more people — as investors and as founders — so innovation reflects the breadth of our world, not just a narrow slice of it.

Because difference isn’t just good for society. It’s good for business.