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Austin is known for a lot of things including a and sharp increases in population. But one thing the Texas capital is not receiving (positive) recognition for? Being diverse.

A number of organizations and entrepreneurs are hoping to change that. This story is the first of a three-part 附近上门 News series looking at diversity in tech in Austin and the Lone Star State as a whole.

Let鈥檚 be clear that this problem is not exclusive to Austin. Just three percent of America鈥檚 venture capital-backed startups are led by women, and only around one percent are led by African-Americans, according to a 2015 White House. Additionally, only , venture-funded or not, are founded by women.

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For this first article, I interviewed a few minority startup founders about what it鈥檚 like to be an ethnically diverse entrepreneur in an industry that鈥檚 been , quite simply, being too white.

Joah Spearman, Founder & CEO of Localeur

When Joah Spearman launched聽 right before SXSW in 2013, the site consisted of recommendations on places to eat and drink for travelers to use. Today, the site features more than 50 cities around the world, has partnered with JetBlue Airways, and it is close to profitability, according to Spearman.

And all that with no venture capital funding.

Spearman, 34, believes that entrepreneurship by nature is intended for a 鈥渧ery small group of people.鈥� But being a black founder puts him in a smaller minority of what already is a minority group, he said. In fact, Austin has a declining African American population while its overall population continues to grow, according to by the University of Texas.

鈥淚 grew up very poor with free school lunches, and I was the first in my family to go to college,鈥� Spearman said. 鈥淏ut I believe my background helped me to have a level of grit, determination and perseverance that founders with a little more privilege might not have.鈥�

In his experience, black founders face an inherent and often unconscious bias when seeking capital. But Spearman has tried to make his being 鈥渄ifferent鈥� work to his advantage.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to live up to built-in expectations to fit the norm, since I don鈥檛 fit that typical white male, Ivy League-educated engineer norm,鈥� Spearman said. 鈥淚鈥檓 replaying my determination and grit in the form of entrepreneurship and business.鈥�

So far, his strategy has worked. With Spearman鈥檚 lead, Localeur has raised close to $3.5 million from angel investors 鈥� a group that he describes as robust and diverse.

鈥淢y investors include African-American men and women, gay and straight people, white men 鈥� the whole gamut,鈥� Spearman said proudly. 鈥淚 believe my investor base should be as diverse as the global industry we鈥檙e serving, which has not traditionally been the case.鈥�

Among those investors are , CEO of WP Engine; , former VP of Global Partnerships for Facebook and current EVP at Outcome Health; (founder of Bazaarvoice and data.world), and聽 (CEO of Silicon Labs), among many others.

Sabari Raja, Co-founder and CEO of Nepris Inc.

In 2013, Sabari Raja and friend Binu Thayamkery co-founded, a startup aimed at leveling the playing field for all students in STEM, especially girls and minorities.

While working in the education division of Texas Instruments, Raja realized there was a gap between industry and schools. So she co-founded Nepris, a cloud-based industry connections platform that enables teachers to connect his/her classroom to the real world by exposing them to real job skills and diverse role models.

Since its inception, Nepris has won 18 awards and raised $1.65 million dollars from prominent impact investors like the , New Schools Seed Fund, and . Today, there are nearly 25,000 teachers and over 20,000 professionals on the Nepris platform. The business has partnerships with companies such as AT&T, Samsung, and GM. Revenue grew threefold in 2016.

As a woman of Indian descent, Raja said she was oblivious to the challenges she might face due to her ethnicity or gender when starting out.

鈥淔rom day one, I never consciously thought about the bias in fundraising,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 thought if I do all the right things and work with the right people I will be able to raise money.鈥�

That is until a conversation she had a couple of years ago with a 鈥渨ell-known鈥� female investor.

鈥淪he told me that our solution was great and that I was clearly passionate about it,鈥� Raja recalled. 鈥淏ut then she asked if my male co-founder accompanied me to funding pitches. When I told her sometimes, she advised me very seriously 鈥� 鈥業f you have a male co-founder, take him with you. It immediately increases your credibility. You need to 鈥楤ro up.鈥�”

Raja was shocked by the advice. But she realized quickly that the investor was just speaking realistically after she cited a finding that a pitch delivered by a man had a 60 percent greater chance of being funded.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 good,鈥� Raja said. 鈥淏ut it was reality.鈥�

For her part, Raja believes her ethnicity and gender has only served to help set her apart from a room full of white male entrepreneurs.

鈥淪ometimes I think I can get people鈥檚 attention because I鈥檓 different, like when there鈥檚 10 white guys pitching and I鈥檓 the only woman,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I look at that as an advantage. I just know that I better be ready to be really confident and rock a presentation.鈥�

Raja can only recall one instance when she felt her gender was an issue. Once at a software conference, an older male investor commented on her appearance after a pitch, rather than what her company did.

鈥淚 knew the market and what I was talking about,鈥� Raja said. 鈥淏ut none of that mattered to him. He told me what I had going for me was how I looked.鈥�

But despite what she describes as a lack of direct bias, Raja acknowledges that her challenges might be greater if she were of a different race.

鈥淥f course, in tech, there鈥檚 [fewer] women in general, although that鈥檚 probably less true in edtech,鈥� Raja said. 鈥淏ut I think there鈥檚 this stereotype that if you鈥檙e Indian you鈥檙e more likely to be good in math and science even if that may not be true.鈥�

Francisco Bonilla Kuhlmann, Co-founder and CEO of Altruus

Francisco Bonilla Kuhlmann first moved to Austin from his native Mexico in 2012. Soon after, he co-founded, a gift-giving platform focused on giving retailers a new mobile sales channel through its user-paid option, and a highly efficient marketing tool through its business-sponsored option.

So far the company has raised about $155,000 from angel investors, and it is in the process of raising another $750,000 to scale.

Bonilla Kuhlmann said so far he hasn鈥檛 perceived any bias from potential investors due to his ethnicity.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been treated super nicely and face the same challenges as any other entrepreneur,鈥� he said. 鈥滻 think if you鈥檝e got the numbers, traction and solid arguments, it all works.鈥�

For Bonilla Kuhlmann, the only bias he鈥檚 found has nothing to do with race and more to do with business model.

Austin, he鈥檚 found, is more B2B-focused.

鈥淐ompanies are more likely to get funded if they’re B2B, or in the AR, VR, AI spaces,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much harder to raise funds when you鈥檙e focused on the consumer.鈥�

Next up in our series: We鈥檒l chat with Austin-based organizations focused on increasing diversity in the city鈥檚 tech scene.

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