In my first year as an investment banker, I was a young analyst, full of energy and eager to begin what I assumed would be a decades-long career with my organization. And while it was an exciting job, I was struck that when I looked around the table at our client meetings, I was one of the few Black people in the room–or sometimes only one.
As I joined meetings with management teams and watched companies raise money to support their businesses, I learned quickly that securing capital is crucial for long-term growth. However, there was a stark contrast in the types of companies that receive funding. Of the roughly 300 companies the firm helped take public that year, only three had Black executive teams, and zero had Hispanic/Latino ownership.
