Privilege in business: How to overcome disadvantage

In today's startup landscape, privilege remains a defining feature, leaving working-class entrepreneurs dealing with insufficient funding and frequently battling with confidence issues. How can the industry shatter this entrenched taboo?

As an entrepreneur, angel investor, and former founder of a successful SaaS business, I might seem like I have it all. However, my journey into the world of business and work was anything but conventional.

The reality is; a privileged upbringing and access to quality education often serve as stepping stones to success, making it rare for individuals from backgrounds like mine to navigate the entrepreneurial world.

According to Deloitte, by the age of three, poorer children are estimated to be, on average, nine months behind children from more wealthy backgrounds. Meanwhile, 54% of FTSE 100 CEOs, 54% of top journalists and 70% of High Court judges went to private school, compared with 7% of the population. And from 2009 to 2019, 42% of venture capital money went to founders from the same 7%.

In an effort to bridge this gap and amplify the voices of entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, I launched the Misfit Founders podcast—a free resource dedicated to showcasing the stories of founders from all walks of life. Each week, I delve into candid conversations with founders at different stages of their journeys, offering invaluable insights into the triumphs and tribulations that have shaped their entrepreneurial endeavours. From coders who left school at 16 to entrepreneurial Mothers taking over the world, there’s someone for everyone to relate to and be inspired by.

Growing up in Eastern Europe, my parents divorced when I was very young and we were very poor. I would wear the same pair of jeans to school every day and long to be able to afford more clothes and food.  My sister and I grew up as teens living alone in our flat as my mum had to move to Italy to make money for the family. When you come from a background like mine, it's rare to be offered opportunities and jobs. The only role model when I was really young was my dad, as he was an entrepreneur for quite a while. Seeing him working for himself and generating revenue gave me the fuel to pursue entrepreneurship and change my life.

I was 18 when I opened my first business, a cosmetics company in Romania with just 200 Euros. Eventually, I was able to buy a PC and taught myself coding and became a software engineer, moving to the UK aged 23, I spent 3 years in UK trying to build businesses, then 5 years working for a company in London, before building Jexo in 2018, and selling at the end of 2022.  

Even nowadays entering a room and meeting so many people who seem to have had a comfy life to that point is like a punch in the gut as I think of all the people who have a story like my own that are not in that room, that have not been given opportunities and chances to be there.

Despite achieving success and recognition, the nagging voice of imposter syndrome continues to linger. I still have thoughts like ‘this was just a lucky break and it wasn't my doing.’ Overcoming self-doubt requires a conscious effort to acknowledge its presence and celebrate every milestone, no matter how small. By embracing discomfort and challenging myself in unfamiliar situations, I continue to fortify my resilience and confidence. I've won that battle and that strengthens me for the next round of self-doubt challenges.

Yet, the question remains: How can we empower more individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue entrepreneurship? While initiatives aimed at fostering diversity are a step in the right direction, true progress necessitates systemic change. Addressing centuries of inequality requires us to dismantle barriers to education, employment, and opportunity.

Fortunately, the advent of the internet has democratised access to information and resources, offering a lifeline to aspiring entrepreneurs in underserved communities. Through platforms like the Misfit Founders podcast, we can amplify diverse voices and inspire others to defy the odds.

As an investor, I’ve made it my mission to try and invest in more diverse founders too. My ethos is Investing in companies that are founded, co-founded by women or have as part of the C-suite of executives female leaders. And moving forward that's what I'm interested in primarily. Reason being, I've seen the imbalance and biases that happen in this space too. I want to help change that bias by focusing on contributing to amazing women leaders and founders, in the hopes that one day there will be no more bias.