StartOut Pride Economic Impact Index

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There are millions of entrepreneurs in the U.S., and in the last 20 years about 150,000 high-growth entrepreneurs have entered the ecosystem (defined as those who have raised VC funding, received at least $1 million in Angel funding, generated at least one patent and created jobs beyond the founding team, had an IPO, or been acquired by another company). StartOut and Socos Labs came together to measure the contributions and unrealized potential of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs among these high-growth entrepreneurs.  

In July 2020, with generous support from JPMorgan Chase, StartOut, Socos Labs, and Crunchbase launched the StartOut Pride Economic Impact Indexes (SPEII), the first of our Inclusion Impact Indexes created to gain insight into LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs’ economic impact. These indexes measure LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs’ impact in terms of job creation, patents, financings, and exits, and provide insight into what these metrics could be if these entrepreneurs had equal access to critical resources.