TenU Hosts: Startup Teams – Diversity
TenU is excited to host an event series to home in on what makes an ideal startup team. TenU Hosts: Startup Teams breaks down and explores the many layers involved in selecting the right people to guarantee startup growth and success. The second event in the series focused on diversity.
Diversity is a powerful component of the ideal Startup Team and creating an inclusive company culture is one of the ingredients for success. According to Forbes, diversity increases creativity, improves decision-making and innovative problem solving. Diversity also fosters a positive work environment, strengthening the team and leading to higher productivity and successful growth. Diverse companies report almost 20% more innovation revenue as demonstrated in a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group. And yet, entrepreneurship is still seen as a ‘bit of a boy’s game’.
In March, TenU hosted and event on diversity in startup teams, as part of a three-event series on how to build the ideal stratup team. Chaired by Simon Hepworth, Director of Enterprise at Imperial College London, the distinguished panel featured:
· Allison Byers, Founder and CEO, Scroobious
· Jo O’Leary, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, UK Research and Innovation
· Rani Saad, Founding Partner, Apex Black
The webinar is available as a podcast created in partnership with Global University Ventures:
The key messages from the event are outlined below:
1. Being curious, embracing discomfort, identifying biases and implementing measures to tackle them can lead us towards greater diversity
Rani explained that it is crucial for underrepresented individuals seeking funding or business opportunities to understand the mental models and the language of potential investors or clients. Immersing oneself in their ecosystem and being on the same wavelength can break down barriers quickly. For decision-makers, it is imperative to get comfortable being uncomfortable and challenge familiar patterns to combat bias. Instead of relying solely on past experiences, they should be open to founders who may initially feel unfamiliar, as this approach can neutralise biases, reduce risk, and potentially increase returns.
Allison emphasised the importance of auditing processes and implementing measures to address biases. Whether running a licensing office or being an investor, recognising systemic issues is key. Auditing processes helps entrepreneurs identify bias or discrimination, which may not always be evident. As an example, Allison spoke about disparities in questions received by founders in investment pitches: men are more likely asked promotive questions, where women are asked preventive questions. Therefore, all would benefit from recognising and addressing gender-based questioning disparities, and entrepreneurs can train to recognise these disparities to respond confidently and effectively.
Jo stressed the importance of curiosity, urging individuals to be curious about their processes, decision-making, and inclusivity. She emphasised the significance of small changes in fostering a more inclusive and successful research and innovation ecosystem. Creating inclusive evaluation frameworks to support diversity and the right conditions for people to thrive and be successful is key. She introduced the narrative CV, which allows individuals to describe their contributions to innovation in various ways beyond traditional metrics.
2. Changes in legislation are necessary to support diverse communities
The panel discussed the biases and disparities faced by women, people of colour, and older entrepreneurs. Rani highlighted the emergence of ageism as a concerning trend in Silicon Valley, where investors are reluctant to support older founders, despite their potential. He underscored the broader issue of investors favouring individuals who resemble them or fit familiar patterns, perpetuating systemic biases.
Allison's advocacy for policy change in California reflects a proactive effort to address these biases. Her involvement in crafting legislation that requires venture funds to publicly disclose diversity metrics is a significant step towards transparency and accountability. This legislation aims to shed light on funding disparities and encourage a more inclusive approach to venture capital allocation. The anticipated enforcement of this law in March 2025 holds promise for driving systemic change and fostering a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems across the world, considering Silicon valley’s influence. Furthermore, such policy initiatives have the potential to create a ripple effect, sparking similar endeavours in other regions worldwide.
3. Mobility within the innovation ecosystem fosters more inclusive environments
Instead of viewing academic progress as a linear pipeline from PhD student to professor, the UK is seeing a shift towards recognising diverse roles and career trajectories in the innovation ecosystem. Jo discussed the government’s strategic efforts to support the porosity and mobility within the research system, allowing individuals to utilise their skills and experiences in different capacities. Collaborative training approaches and programmes such as UKRI’s "People and Teams" action plan aim to break down barriers and recognise the collective effort involved in research projects. Additionally, Innovate UK's "No Limits" platform facilitates matching ambitious individuals with the advice, support, and funding that they need to succeed as innovators.
Simon agreed that the term "porosity" nicely describes the interaction between universities and their surrounding stakeholders, fostering the movement of individuals across these boundaries to enhance understanding and promote diversity. The concept holds significant potential for fostering more inclusive environments.
TenU is an international collaboration of leading technology transfer offices formed to share effective practices in research commercialisation with government and higher education communities, in order to increase the societal impact of research. TenU is funded by Research England and hosted by Cambridge Enterprise.
