Don’t tolerate bad or racist ideas in Venture Capital, Silicon Valley, or at Palantir
The founder of Palantir($PLTR), Joe Lonsdale, today publicly made controversial comments about Black entrepreneurs. Joe suggests that the low funding rate of Black Americans in corporate formation was due to the ills of “black culture” and “having so many kids born out of wedlock”.
Presently public sentiment has been swift with many in the venture capital and startup world condemning Joe’s remarks. These types of public blunders by a key member of a publicly traded company can have serious consequences. Lonsdale’s views may be important information for anyone who holds $pltr or other companies which enrich Lonsdale. This incident in my mind calls into questions the quality of leadership of the founders at Palantir and their access to important American military technoloy.
How the boards of Lonsdale’s companies handle this may restore confidence or reduce it. Additionally, as a frequent government contractor issues like this can quickly gain great scrutiny should politicians take a side in this controversy of racism in Venture Capital. Today on tweeter many mind were clearly calling into question Palantir’s practices for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Do Lonsdale’s public actions represent the quality of organizations he has led?
When asked for clarification, Joe stated in later deleted tweets:
It is unclear how this explains VC’s appallingly low rate of black founder funding. A recent Washington Post article clearly places the blame on systemic and overt racism embedded in the industry. The type of which was in grand display today in Lonsdale’s remarks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/22/black-entrepreneurs-venture-capital/
So the real question is will Venture Capital, Silicon Valley, and Palantir tolerate bad & racist ideas within their organizations?
Support Black Founders
To put a positive outcome to this, we should support the founder who had this exchange with Mr. Lonsdale.
Update — Media Coverage
After I published this story I multiple news outlets contacted me and I directed them to interview the founder on the receiving end of these racist outburst. You’ll find their coverage below:
I’d like to thank the press for covering this story. It is said that VC suffers from a pattern of overt and covert racism that if it occurred in any other field would be illegal. To my eyes VC is in needed of regulation specifically due to the discrimination the Black American Descendants of Slavery face within this industry.
