Diversity: The biggest positive disruption to the startup ecosystem

Diversity in its definition already spells variety and success. We begin this on a high note because it is such an important aspect of growth and scaling out in a startup ecosystem! There are different forms of diversity. Cultural diversity in an organization is the quality of having diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture. International diversity is the aspect of having co-workers from different nationalities while racial and gender diversity are just what they sound to be.

The end product of diversity is a global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures in one company which brings around a whole mix of ideas, views, opinions, and experiences. People can learn from each other as they appreciate the differences and similarities. Bringing in different ideas and perspectives leads to better problem-solving. Working in diverse teams opens dialogue and promotes creativity.

Below, we cover topics in entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem in general. We seek to make the case for why having a team composed of people from a mix of ethnic, racial, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds is not only the morally correct thing to do but also the best strategy for designing great products and building massively successful businesses. In a nutshell, we believe that diversity is disruptive.

In today’s globalized, interconnected economy, it would be malpractice and disservice to an organization for the top executives to limit the staff to only members from a particular region. Companies must now worry about disruptive innovation coming not just in the form of technology, but also demography, because a monochromatic workforce will obscure promising new markets and result in uninspired products.

Companies that have worked to add other voices to their team over time have seen big results not only culturally but also in terms of actual riches and the results have enriched and solidified their foundation.

For instance, Mainstage is a global startup accelerator with the Founder, Swen Wegner based in Frankfurt, Germany. The Co-founder Debasis Chakraborty is from Bangalore, India. The Mainstage incubator’s team comprises members from Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and is expanding and growing fast. Mainstage has regularly onboarded startups and scaleups from South Asia from the leads that are generated through Debasis and his team in India. Swen and Pedro Ferreira who hail from Europe have been so instrumental in working on leads from that region. Having team members from Africa Mainstage is quickly opening doors to partnerships within that region too.

Let’s take another scenario. Generally speaking, people from Mexico are more likely to have an extensive network in the Latin American community of entrepreneurs and executives. As a direct result of their distinct experiences, European companies having staff from Mexico are likely to profitably invest in companies up and down the Americas and have a growing Latino-American portfolio. This implies that, together, partners from different regions will help each other open eyes to a half-a-world of lucrative possibilities that otherwise they wouldn’t even have thought of.

Present-day companies have to adapt to building products that speak to the particular needs of a non-white, non-male, but increasingly affluent global customer base. To do this perfectly these companies need a mix of all races and gender in their team. Discussions about corporate inclusion often have a defensive HR-quality to them. But there’s a practical business argument, especially in the case of new markets, to be made: diverse teams produce better products.

Beyond the fact that you get better products if the makers of those products come from and understand the community you’re trying to serve, it’s our fervent belief that diversity is inherently more conducive to building great products.

In our experience, there’s something about creativity and the creative process that’s made unexplainably, magically better when you combine people from varied and divergent backgrounds to work on a problem together. It generates richer, fresher ideas — concepts that you or someone too much like you would never have come up with. It produces cooler, wilder results — technicolor dream coats instead of navy-blue blazers.

Diversity is disruptive because it opens doors to new markets and opens minds to new ideas. Without it, companies lose out on both scale and talent. That’s why having an inclusive workforce isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good for business — and a lot more fun!