- KingsCrowd began collecting data on LGBTQ+ founders in September 2021. Since then, we have seen 49 raises with at least one founder who self-identifies as LGBTQ+. (Our LGBTQ+ founder data relies on founders self-reporting their identities, so investors should be aware that these numbers may not reflect the entirety of LGBTQ+ founders who are raising money online.)
- The top industries represented by LGBTQ+ founders are as follows:
- Food, Beverage, and Restaurants
- Consumer Products, Goods, and Services
- Business Services, Software, and Applications
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Recreational Drugs
- Farming and Agriculture
- Media, Entertainment, and Publishing.
- Food, Beverage, and Restaurants had the most LGBTQ-founded companies across all of the industries, with 12 companies total — accounting for approximately 24% of the total queer-founded company raises.
- Food, Beverage, and Restaurants also saw the most representation among minority founders.
- Consumer Products, Goods, and Services companies had the second most representation, with 10 raises.
- Many platforms will highlight LGBTQ+ founders as a tag on a company’s raise page, like Republic did with MINNA’s raise in the image below. Investors can use these tags (as well as those on the KingsCrowd website) if they’d like to search for companies led by LGBTQ+ founders.
Note: All data on online startup investing used for the Chart of the Week comes from the KingsCrowd database and represents a snapshot of the U.S. crowdfunding market.