Black founders on building mission-driven startups with YC support

Executive overview

Getting underrepresented founders into tech — and supporting them once there — requires dismantling the assumption that they don't belong. Three YC founders (Squire, Edlyft, Promise) share how they identified overlooked problems, navigated early-stage risk, and built companies tied to communities they came from.

Structural support, not raw talent, determines who makes it through.

The founders who solve the biggest overlooked problems are often the ones closest to them.

Identifying the problem

• Two decades of barbershop inefficiency — cash-only, long waits, no software — despite tech transforming every other service
• Edlyft founded on the observation that capable CS students were failing without support structures, not ability
• Promise targets government debt repayment — a high-burden, low-digitisation problem affecting vulnerable communities

Breaking into tech without the obvious path

• Neither Squire co-founder started with a CS background or saw themselves in the field
• Mentorship and academic support — not natural aptitude — were the deciding factors
• Visibility matters: not seeing people who look like you creates a self-excluding narrative

Early validation tactics

• Edlyft: stood outside large CS lecture halls, asked students directly what was hard, secured first 5–10 users that way
• Squire: physically hauled a barber chair to co-working spaces to bring the service to customers before shops adopted the software
• Both founders treated friction as proof of concept, not deterrent

Why YC worked for them

• Imposed timeline gave Edlyft structure: "by demo day, we need X done"
• Access to a community where someone has already solved your current problem
• YC alumni network created cross-founder support, including mentorship between Black founders

On risk and mission alignment

• Risk exists for every founder — barbershop on the corner or venture-backed startup
• Commitment holds when the problem is personal and the institution you're trying to shift will outlast you
• Self-reflection on what's important is the foundation of the decision to start