the negotiating position tips in your favor. Once you get there, trust me, VCs will run after you.
One final point: can all businesses get there? No. Some businesses simply do not fit the venture model, and they will never be fundable. But you can build those businesses as self-financed businesses and become very successful outside of the venture capital ecosystem. There is nothing wrong with that success or the wealth you create as an outcome based on that success.
Also, some ventures in cleantech and biotech are just not conducive to bootstrapping. The capital requirements are high. But entrepreneurs in those segments face challenges irrespective of demographics.
So, please, entrepreneurs, do not get hung up on the excuses that certain pundits are coming up with based on age, gender, or ethnicity.
The game we play is largely a numbers game. If enough women, black, or older entrepreneurs were coming up with big ideas like those generated by Facebook, Google, or Apple and doing the groundwork to get these ideas validated, well, by hook or by crook, Silicon Valley would not reject them.
Whatever Silicon Valley is, it is not stupid.
