2023 State of LGBTQ Entrepreneurship Report

Written By Ben Stokes

StartOut gathered data from a variety of sources, including internal databases, Crunchbase, and Pitchbook. In our analysis of 142K founders and 95K high-growth companies across the United States between 2000 to 2022, we discovered that:

  • Only 0.5% of the $2.1T in startup funding was raised by LGBTQ+ founders while nationwide 7.1% of the population identifies as LGBTQ+.

  • LGBTQ+ founders created 36% more jobs, 114% more patents, and 44% more exits, despite raising 16% less funding compared to the average founder.

  • Of the funding raised by LGBTQ+ founders, 85% was raised in only 5 metros with San Francisco raising 6 times more than NYC or LA and 12 times more than Denver or Austin.

  • The largest metros without any LGBTQ+ founders are Orlando (FL), Charlotte (NC), and Birmingham (AL), all of which are located in states without comprehensive non-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people.

Ben Stokes
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The LGBTQ+  Founder Report