On Friday, australiabusinessblog.com reported the latest venture capital data from Crunchbase, and the news isn’t very good from a diversity standpoint: Black founders have raised a paltry $187 million of the $150.9 billion in venture capital invested in the third quarter this year. assigned quarterly. To put that in perspective, that’s just 0.12% of the total investment made in the quarter.

The story started a conversation on Twitter about the current state of venture capital funds for black founders. It exposed pain and heartbreak, but it also revealed the resilience of founders and investors who still have a heart for change. It also exposed the reality that those in power — most, if not all, of the rich, white men, LPs and institutions of excessive power — are sticking to their old habits rather than doing much to bring about real change. in how venture capital is invested.

One way to hold people accountable is to keep talking openly about inequality. This is one of the reasons australiabusinessblog.com decided to create a forum for black founders to submit — anonymously or otherwise — their open, honest experiences about what it’s like to raise money for their startups today.

We want to hear what investors are still saying to you behind closed doors. We want to know how many times you’ve had to switch codes and what the anxiety levels are still like when you walk into certain rooms. We want to know the good sides, like who the allies are, but also the bad sides, like who the bullies are.

We recognize that this is not a new conversation and it is a lot of fatigue to have the same conversations over and over. But it is important to persevere, because there is a lot of work to be done.

The questions are: HERE or below (click on the form and scroll). Answer what you want, as you want; you can name names, or not. Try to answer with a paragraph or 2-3 sentences and give explicit examples where possible. We will publish many of the responses by the end of this year. Thank you for your help!