BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Here Is What Entrepreneurs Really Look Like

Following
This article is more than 7 years old.

When most of us hear the word entrepreneur the first image that comes to mind is that of Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk or Mark Cuban. That’s no surprise when those are the faces we most often see and those are the success stories we most often hear.

The #FacesofFounders campaign launches today to remind us that it’s not just young white males starting companies. It’s not just techies, either.

“There are a tremendous number of women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color who are unrecognized, unfunded, and under-leveraged. This is not just an equity issue. This is an exciting business and innovation proposition for America,” says Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, the family foundation she co-founded with Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and chairman of Revolution.

“We need to support all of the nation’s entrepreneurs – from all places, all races, all genders – creating and scaling new businesses to create stronger communities, close the opportunity gap and scale creative solutions for our most persistent problems," says Case.

The campaign kicks off today with a photo booth at the South by South Lawn festival at the White House, where about 2,000 entrepreneurs are expected. Other founders, as well as investors, advisors and others active in supporting entrepreneurs, can simply upload their pictures to FacesofFounders.org. Founders can choose a caption for their photos such as “I Am an Entrepreneur,” or “Startup Hustle,” and then share them on social media.

Entrepreneurs can also tell their stories on the site by answering a handful of questions. Five entrepreneurs will be picked in January to participate in a media campaign.

Inclusive entrepreneurship is a primary focus of the Case Foundation. After considering the “shocking” data on women and entrepreneurs of color—the little data that even exists—the Foundation began looking at ways to make an impact, says Sheila Herrling, SVP of Social Innovation at Case. As it stands, women founders receive less than 10% of venture capital funding, according to PitchBook. Less than 1% of founders are African-American, according to CBInsights. Case joined with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Google for Entrepreneurs and UBS to create #FacesofFounders.

“We wanted to disrupt that image of young white males and to create a movement for all the entrepreneurs out there,” says Herrling. “The next wave of great entrepreneurs is coming from the groups that aren’t on the radar screen now.“

Supporting diverse entrepreneurship means increasing three forms of capital—social, financial, and inspirational—for all founders, says Herrling. This campaign is about inspiration, but the importance of aspiring founders seeing the faces of people like them and hearing their stories is no small thing.

“It is important for founders to help them confront the fears, to learn to fail forward and persevere,” she says. Becoming comfortable with failure is particularly important for women, she says, who often feel that the stakes are higher.

And for those who mumble the common excuse that they would fund more women and minority entrepreneurs, or add them to their boards, or put them on stage at startup events if only they could knew more of them, well, here’s a easy way to find them.