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How can I get around the Jewish insider circles?

I am not a racist, but I noticed (and I think it would be hard for anyone not to) that the vast majority of SV players are Jewish AND prefer making most deals among themselves (and with a few willing Indian guys).  Zuckerberg, Moskovits, Horowitz, Kleiner, Meyer, Brin, etc etc.  They are also dominate the tech press.

I am a white Christian startup guy and found it extremely hard to get connections for money and PR in the Valley.  A college friend of mine, a Jewish guy, started his firm almost at the same time and moved here from the East Coast like I did, and he got attention with all the bigwigs in no time.  He even got invited to their houses although he was a complete stranger to them and is socially a bit akward.

Has anyone experienced the same, and how did you get around this?

  • Maybe the reason why your friend had more success with the VC in the Valley is simply because his idea, strategy and business plan are better than yours. Maybe being Jewish has nothing to do with it. I think if you spoke with Warren Buffett or Bill Gates they might suggest that you look inward, stop looking for excuses for your failure and instead analyze why your friend’s business idea succeeded when yours didn’t. Money is, at best, agnostic. I think you’ll discover good ideas attract money, not religious beliefs. Good luck in finding the real cause of your failure I’m highly confident the Jewish Good Old Boys Network you refer to had nothing to do with it.

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  • It’s actually a white, WASP network. The two most idealized guys in Silicon Valley/tech world are Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, both of whom are not Jewish, but rather white, especially Gates who is from an upperclass Anglo family.

    You also have Larry Ellison, also not Jewish. Elon Musk, is not Jewish either and he’s worshipped now in the tech world. Stop looking for excuses for your failure. I’m a black guy, which means that I’m much less likely to get funded than a white guy like you, but I’m not going to bitch about it and blame racism.

    I feel that ultimately, if your company has enough traction, no VC will turn you down, so that’s what I’m focusing on; building a company that grows quickly.

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  • Being an immigrant, what I’ve noticed about America is the blatant PC-ness of the folks here. In private conversations its a widely held belief that ethnicity plays a role in investing circles. Yet in public everybody seems to pretend that it doesn’t exist.

    I have to echo the Black guy’s sentiment though. That just because you don’t have a ready made network doesn’t mean you can’t succeed, its just that you may not have the initial support network. But hey life isn’t fair right? Think of the peasants in China. Why do they deserve to be toiling in the fields and you having the privilege of doing a startup?

    If you’re dead set on this path though, I’d recommend joining a small company lead by a Jewish person and get on his/her good graces. The Jewish people I’ve known tend to work with other Jewish people in business but they have an eye for competence and if you can prove yourself, in my experience they won’t discriminate against you.

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    • So if its ok for jews to do it for fellow jews…. does that make it ok for whites to do it for fellow whites ?

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  • Surprised to see so many people claiming this isn’t a thing. Really?

    Obviously, the OP shouldn’t have included an anecdote about him vs. his friend.

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  • If you want a real world perspective about certain covert influences, read By Way of Deception by Victor Ostrovsky. He claims to be a former Mossad case officer. His assertion is that there is a network of “sayanim” living around the world, who will help when called upon by the Israeli government, sometimes in a financial capacity. I suspect that such relationships are real, but I wouldn’t be daunted by them in the context of building a startup.

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  • I think its human nature to identify with people from a similar background and that may lead to more opportunities- but you can’t really help it or change it. So build your own network at WASP events, church, baseball, football, concerts, bars, biking clubs, steakhouses, etc. You have a leg up on Jews, Indians, Chinese, Mexican, Blacks in way more circles- so stop whining about one circle you can’t get into.

    Or just change your name…

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  • I think the OP does have a valid point and observation. I used to work with Jewish and they are a very closed group (to the point of racism).

    Let’s all just get real here, guys. Imagine you are white/yellow/black and going to a south Indian group asking for capital and support.
    They’d likely:
    1), reject you and think you’re too upfront or brash

    2) just look at what you have to offer. And just base their friendliness to that and that alone. If you are good, really good…. a couple or few of them might give you their cards while the rest watch with a guarded curiosity.
    If your idea sucked… perhaps they may even laugh behind your back after you are gone “What the heck was that dude thinking, coming to our circle”!?

    Now imagine a south Indian, from the same hometown as them, meeting the same group and greeting them in their home language. Just IMAGINE what would take place after they found out he was here all alone, with nothing but a dream and an idea? They would probably encourage, support and a couple or a few may even work on the idea together. At the most, if his idea really, really sucked, they may still invite him to hang out with them at their next BBQ gathering.

    This is life. And you can switch the races and nationalities with any. But the results will be similar. We tend to like people who are similar to ourselves. Let’s not pretend this does not exist.

    Now that’s out of the way:

    Don’t let that stop you, though. What you think and focus on, you manifest.
    So, just FOCUS on your idea and your startup.

    Make it the BEST you possibly can, then improve on it some more.

    Make it so amazingly good that anyone you pitch to, be he /she black, white, yellow, orange, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Vegan or Vegetarian, will grab hold of you and beg to be your investor and support.

    When you have this….. then race is the least of your worries. Focus on what you can do. Not what you cannot change. Don’t worry about the ‘Jewish thing’. Be your best!

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  • Word, privilege is that byatch that shows up in different guises. Alas, our fair protagonist finds himself in a setting where he is not the default population stat, thus, consumer of most privilege. Would you complain if you met whites and/or fellow Christians and they invited you to their homes and networks? Course not, you wouldn’t even detect anything amiss! The valley is still majority White, but it’s interesting that you fixate on a cohesive minority group; probably because you expect access (economic, social, etc) everywhere, usually ahead of such groups.

    Since you insist on such lines: Guess what, there’s networks for every type, so you better get out and find ours. Hide yo’ sorrows, hide yo’ wailing[1], ’cause they privileging everybody out here men. Find your “white Christian startup guy” network and quit whining, ’cause ain’t nobody got time for dat[2]!

    [1]http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=antoine+dodson
    [2]http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sweet+brown

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  • What I see in the OP is often called ‘confirmation bias.’ You have a theory and you can find anecdotal evidence to support it. However, there could be as much or more evidence to say your theory is BS. I could provide some of that, but it would be playing the same non-scientific game. You need real data to make such a claim.

    There are two things to learn from this:

    1. Getting money is hard for everyone. Even if your perception was true, it would be one of N obstacles to overcome. Do you complain about all of them, or work hard to work around each one? (hint: overcoming obstacles vs. complaining is a trait all VCs look for)

    2. You have to accept the possibility that you’re wrong. I can’t prove you are, but I can see that you’re not being very objective, and so you don’t convince me one bit.

    Bottom line: look within yourself for answers, vs. trying to pin the blame on others, esp. (even if you’re right) for characteristics they can’t/won’t change or even understand.

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  • Advice on how to get accepted in the Silicon Valley Jewish Insiders Financing Club. If your startup is getting traction and growing revenue, mazeltof you are now so kosher, an authentic mensch – take our shekels, please!

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  • Gentile here who has worked with and for many Jews and Israelis. They’re some of the more meritocratic people I’ve ever met. They’re direct, humble, and don’t fear women who work hard.

    Mormons on the other hand? talk about an insular culture. As a hard charging woman who doesn’t believe a family is how I get to heaven, who also swears, drinks liquor and coffee, and pretty much thinks most organized religion is a crock, it’s pretty hard to get mormon men to take me seriously. they believe women who don’t have kids are doomed to go to hell–how is that going to help me get ahead?

    It’s all a matter of finding your tribe (joke intended). If you don’t like or don’t trust Jewish people that will come across.

    Or you can just decide to become a better human and stop jumping to conclusions where none exist.

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  • What a surprise… SV is comprised of the same caliber of racist WASPs that plague every other sector of the white-collar world. It’s almost as if, due to a genuine lack of solidarity, empathy, and respect amongst those members of your own ethnicity, you’ve chosen to portray Jewish cultural cohesion as nepotistic.

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    • Its funny , its members of your group that have spent the last 100+ years saying “white institutional racism” is bad and wrong…… and here you are defending your jewish brethren for doing THE SAME THING.

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  • Confirmation bias for certain. If someone could provide stats in this thread, that would help clear the air a little.

    What’s sad is that people will come across this question, read “does SV have a Jewish insider network?”, and regardless of its merit, will walk away with a seed planted in their head. Every time they see someone with a Jewish name getting funded, they will remember the OP’s comment… Every time they see someone without a Jewish name getting funded, they won’t even make the connection back to this thread.

    So, bringing up the question has actually hurt more than it helped. Perhaps an honest and well-intentioned concern by the OP (however misguided and wrong it actually is) is now contributing to prejudice.

    Honestly, is there a way out of this cycle?

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  • This is rich (pun intended).

    What VC’s, specifically, lend a helping hand to entrepreneurial jews? I could use some help. Never played my Jew card before but willing to give it a try.

    Names and numbers, please.

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