In many cases, startups think of diversity as an add-on and not built-in. I can understand why. Building a startup is difficult, especially when you’re on the ground floor. Founders are hustling trying to figure out product, customers, revenue, etc. Adding another component such as team diversity may not seem feasible. However, if we assume that team diversity can be directly linked to profits, does it become a beneficial built-in strategy? (Studies have shown that teams with 1 or more female co-founder performs better than all-male teams. Currently, there are no other studies that measure other aspects of diversity — race, age)

Let’s assume that team diversity has a positive correlation on profits. If this was the case, would founders spend more time sourcing and identifying diverse co-founders and early employees? Could diversity be a strength in their revenue growth strategy? Would investors then require teams to present a diversity strategy in their pitches?