Understanding LGBTQ+ Business Types: Friendly, Owned, and Purpose-Driven
Takeaways:
- The future of queer entrepreneurship looks optimistic, with increasing focus on community and innovation.
- Understanding the three types of LGBTQ+ businesses helps entrepreneurs strategize effectively for their ventures.
- Purpose-Driven businesses not only generate profit but also foster meaningful social change within communities.
- Diversity and inclusion are crucial for creating supportive environments in both businesses and society.
- Engaging with LGBTQ+ businesses can lead to greater visibility and resilience in the marketplace.
- The significance of allyship cannot be overstated; it plays a vital role in supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Coca Cola
- Meta
- Apple
- Startout
- Carlo for Capital
- Grindr
- Tinder
- Pride of Lionesses
- Hoshen
Transcript
I would love to ask you both, what do you think is going to be the future of queer entrepreneurship?
Michael Ross:Because we've been talking a lot about the past and about the present, but as you know, many of our episodes are available also for years after.
Michael Ross:Do you think it's going to get better or worse?
Barak Crips:I think it's going to be better.
Barak Crips:I'm always optimistic, by the way.
Barak Crips:Yeah.
Michael Ross:Let's talk more and about the LGBT communities around the world.
Michael Ross:I'm Michael Ross and this is Straight Friendly.
Michael Ross:Hello.
Michael Ross:Hello and welcome back to our entrepreneurial series here on Straight Friendly Global.
Michael Ross:On our previous episode, we've been talking generally about the four sectors of or organizations.
Michael Ross:Nonprofits, the governmental referral sector.
Michael Ross:And here we will be focusing with the second sector with businesses.
Michael Ross:We have our guest speakers, B and Savit Ben Shimol.
Michael Ross:Hello.
Michael Ross:Hello.
Michael Ross:We really recommend you also to listen to our previous episode where we've been talking about governmental and nonprofits in relation to LGBTQ entrepreneurship and activism, and even also innovation.
Michael Ross:In this episode, we'll be reading even more about innovation.
Michael Ross:So with us, Saeed Ben Shimal, who's an expert in diversity and inclusion as a consultant.
Michael Ross:She's a former CEO of Pride of Lionesses, an organization of parents of trans children and mother of a young transgender man.
Michael Ross:Hello, Salet.
Savit Ben Shimol:Hello.
Savit Ben Shimol:Great to be here.
Michael Ross:We have with us Barak Crips, who up until recently been the vice CEO of Hoshen, an Israeli non profit, deals with education and social change and change making, where they create workshops and courses in order to understand their LGBTQ communities and is also specializes with digital marketing.
Michael Ross:Hello, Bagh.
Savit Ben Shimol:Hello.
Michael Ross:Hello.
Barak Crips:Nice to be here again.
Michael Ross:Good to have you both here.
Michael Ross:So before we will dive into this subject of the types of different LGBTQ+ businesses and entrepreneurship, let's start.
Michael Ross:First of all, we're generally talking about the second sector, what is known to be the private sector.
Michael Ross:So the goals for entrepreneurship in the private sector is to maximize profit.
Michael Ross:So if we will think about huge corporates that we might know about, such as Coca Cola, that we all know when you have investors, it's a lot about maximizing the profit, sometimes can contradict with social change.
Michael Ross:Yet it also has so much of an impact all around the world.
Michael Ross:I mean, like all over the world, we do know about corporate organizations.
Michael Ross:We even see how in these days when we are bypassing through a technological revolution, revolution also of data.
Michael Ross:But in some cases, technological companies even have much more effect on money than some of the governments that we might think about.
Michael Ross:So like for instance, if we will compare between the yearly budgets of a third world countries, either if in, in Africa or in some other places.
Michael Ross:So for corporates like Meta, Facebook and so on Apple, sometimes they have much more budgets and so much of effect.
Michael Ross:We will be dealing also of course with startups and technologies here in this episode.
Michael Ross:For the private sector, we have to emphasize also solo entrepreneurship.
Michael Ross:Many times when we talk about business and also we'll check the materials and the studies and the research all around the world related to business and entrepreneurship.
Michael Ross:So many, many times we discourse first of all, very masculine, we have to say, and very much about huge corporates.
Michael Ross:But actually current data shows that most of the entrepreneurs and the businesses are actually solo entrepreneurs, which is very interesting.
Michael Ross:We're in times also where digital content and digital tools allow us to create different initiatives and have impact.
Michael Ross:Just like here with this podcast, without being a huge corporate of, of of media and sponsors and commercials.
Michael Ross:Actually today we have many tools that allow and shape the whole way people do business.
Michael Ross:Current research also finds that actually more than 80% of the solo entrepreneurs are not willing to recruit huge teams.
Michael Ross:Usually they would just like to recruit and work well with a bookkeeper or tax consultancy and maybe sometimes administrations.
Michael Ross:This is a very important also for our discussion here because when we talk about businesses, it's not just about corporates and the big companies, but sometimes we might think about when talking about business.
Michael Ross:So the income models are dependent.
Michael Ross:Income sources are dependent mainly on paying customers, on having clients.
Michael Ross:So the competition is much, much, much harder.
Michael Ross:But at the same time, the efficiency, the agility works much, much faster.
Michael Ross:We can have examples of businesses like a small nail salon which is growing to different branches and startups as we have been talking about.
Michael Ross:So definitely like the prongs are efficiency, competition, innovation.
Michael Ross:But with the cons, it's very difficult to manage a business.
Michael Ross:Very, very difficult.
Michael Ross:And we'll also be dealing here what it's like to manage a business.
Michael Ross:As a minority.
Michael Ross:Most of the businesses that we know about already in the first year, the majority actually fell many times.
Michael Ross:The reasons for the, for the failure are actually not for not having a good business, not because of not having a good product, but many times it's about cash flow issues, it's about issues of experience and sometimes also issues of legislation.
Michael Ross:So before we dive into the different types of LGBTQ businesses and entrepreneurship, let's generally talk about business.
Michael Ross:Let's do, let's do business, let's do business, let's talk about the money, let's talk about this, let's Talk about money.
Michael Ross:Have the money.
Michael Ross:Yeah.
Michael Ross:And actually both of you have some experience with businesses and corporates.
Michael Ross:And I think also Stavid, you have a very interesting story, but before having your current business, right.
Michael Ross:Like these days, you are also a previous episode, you've been talking about your involvement as an Israeli NGO that unites mothers of transgender kids and children.
Michael Ross:These days you have also your own business.
Michael Ross:So you are actually solo entrepreneur as well, a business one.
Michael Ross:But before all of that, you were working in another kind of corporate, right?
Savit Ben Shimol:Yes, different kinds of corporate companies in different states.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I think that is very interesting because diversity is everywhere and they have general challenge if you're talking about money.
Savit Ben Shimol:Okay.
Savit Ben Shimol:So it's known that if you have diverse, it increases, you know, all your incomes because everything is more interesting and more innovative and it looks different and you can address different sectors and clients.
Savit Ben Shimol:If you have diverse employees in your company, in one hand, they are trying to think, okay, we want to have diverse LGBTQ individuals and also other diversity sections, different genders, different religions.
Savit Ben Shimol:And on one hand, you want to have your employees from a big range of the community.
Savit Ben Shimol:On the other hand, you have the problem that sometimes you don't want your client to see that you are much better.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I give lectures in companies and I consult other companies all about, of course, story of my life and other things that is important to understand if you are trying to be diverse and inclusive about your employees and in general.
Savit Ben Shimol:And sometimes I hear.
Savit Ben Shimol:But we think that this is going to be not comfortable for all our employees to see that we are talking about transgender.
Savit Ben Shimol:And being a mother of a transgender, it's too much.
Savit Ben Shimol:Maybe for some people, or if you want to be a very innovative company, but at your customer service, you want to have a transgender individual, you can also have a problem because you might lose money if you, you know, if you're too progressive.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I think this is the double challenge because as we said, it's all about money.
Savit Ben Shimol:And in one hand, you want to increase your income, you want to make change in the world.
Savit Ben Shimol:I can see all over the place from lots of companies, Israeli and global, that it's important for them to show that they are open minded and their love for everyone, but also complicated.
Savit Ben Shimol:Not that easy because they have diverse people inside the company and among the customers.
Savit Ben Shimol:And it's not always easy to be that, you know, okay, I'm going with the flag.
Savit Ben Shimol:Talk about the flag.
Savit Ben Shimol:Put the flag in front of your building.
Savit Ben Shimol:Is it okay?
Savit Ben Shimol:Everybody's gonna like it.
Savit Ben Shimol:Sometimes it's not that easy.
Savit Ben Shimol:And you have to make big choices and they're interesting choices that not always are comfortable for everybody else.
Savit Ben Shimol:But if you're a startup company and like, okay, so we are like 10, 12 people and you're all like, okay, very cute and you understand everybody and so it's easier.
Savit Ben Shimol:But as big as the company gets, it can be more complicated.
Savit Ben Shimol:But I can tell you that from my experience, more and more comments to bring that issue up and they understand how important it is to have that, that kind of conversation or put it on the table as we say, not just to say, okay, let's not talk about it too much.
Savit Ben Shimol:Think it, I think, I think challenge, but it gets better.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I think it's important because also if you want to have other job opportunities for the LGBTQ + individuals, you need companies that can have those people on board.
Savit Ben Shimol:And we have all the challenges of the non binary people around that can make everybody uncomfortable.
Savit Ben Shimol:So I think there are big challenges around the whole idea of inclusion inside companies and this is something that they all deal with.
Michael Ross:I do find diversity to be a very, very important topic and we will definitely deal with that in this episode.
Michael Ross:But I would also love a to hear from you, Barack.
Michael Ross:As someone who's dealing with digital marketing, so is Digital marketing for LGBTQ + people, are you seeing some different tendencies, some different needs from your clients?
Barak Crips:It's interesting.
Barak Crips:Well, I can say like for Israel, in Israel we are very small community.
Barak Crips:In with small communities, it's rather you bring something amazing and everybody's like, I need to have it or I need to go there.
Barak Crips:Or we can be very suspicious because it's really hard to bring products or new stuff like in the US for example.
Barak Crips:So we don't really have it here, like abroad.
Barak Crips:So we don't have small cafes and we don't have special product for LGBTQ people, like as the US for example.
Barak Crips:But we do have lots of culture, a lot of culture.
Barak Crips:We have lots of parties, we have lots of events and recently we have some studios for like beauty salons.
Barak Crips:But again, I'm talking about like a couple of few like four free.
Barak Crips:So I think in order to speak with a community, you need to speak their own language, like how it's working right now.
Barak Crips:You need to understand what they're missing, what they need and how to approach them.
Barak Crips:So you need to understand again the community.
Barak Crips:And sometimes it can be very easy because it's a small community.
Barak Crips:So you don't need to go like far fetched, you know, like think like Crazy, because it's here, it's around the corner here in Tel Aviv or in Jerusalem.
Barak Crips:But as I said before, like, we have lots of culture in Israel, which is very interesting, because you can see a lot of people are creating, like, small parties or events, and they can become huge.
Barak Crips:For example, I've heard a story a long time ago about some guy who got a small club in Tel Aviv.
Barak Crips:He brought some drag queens.
Barak Crips:He created, like, events, great events.
Barak Crips:And with the days he become of Nissim.
Barak Crips:So of Nissim right now is like the largest DJ in Israel, probably the one who collaborated with Madonna and his couple of times in a year, in normal year, not like now, creating mega party for the LGBTQ+ community and actually for everyone, like, right now.
Barak Crips:So everybody's, like, going there.
Barak Crips:But he started small.
Barak Crips:He started in a basement in a small street in Tel Aviv.
Barak Crips:He had an idea.
Barak Crips:He had an idea and he had passion, and he wanted to create culture for the community.
Michael Ross:But it's a business.
Barak Crips:This is what's really important to understand that.
Barak Crips:And right now, nowadays, again, you can see a lot of people are trying, a lot of people, like, creating parties, events.
Barak Crips:They are becoming also very creative.
Barak Crips:They are going right now to do, like, parties in the desert, for example.
Barak Crips:It's a new concept that we are having right now.
Barak Crips:Let's go outside of the city and have, like, a rain.
Barak Crips:And we need to understand it's a business, but sometimes hit the community.
Barak Crips:So we don't really see it, because we are like, it's the same people.
Barak Crips:They're like, I know them, they're friends of mine, the dj.
Barak Crips:But they earn money for this, and I love it.
Michael Ross:It's really.
Barak Crips:It's shifting us.
Barak Crips:And also for you, like you said, like in the previous episode about, like, voguing.
Barak Crips:It was so inspiring for you.
Barak Crips:Let's see what happened.
Barak Crips:In the US, voguing became pageants, became drug pageants, became RuPaul Drag Race.
Barak Crips:It's huge.
Barak Crips:It's global.
Barak Crips:So you need a good idea.
Michael Ross:You also can see how it all affects everything.
Michael Ross:I mean, like, for instance, the example of RuPaul's drug race brought to the conscious in so many countries, voguing culture and also the drug culture.
Michael Ross:So we definitely see these kind of correspondences between the different sectors.
Michael Ross:I have to admit that for me, as an entrepreneur and also as a lecturer, for me, the issues of LGBTQ economies and startup and businesses is, for me, the most interesting one.
Michael Ross:So I will really try to hold myself and be focused here in this discussion.
Michael Ross:Which I'm very passionate about this subject.
Michael Ross:And actually, while you were both talking, I realized that I want to present actually something here, something which I was not planning to do.
Michael Ross:We have to take into consideration the fact that LGBTQ plus people are a minority group, just like any other kind of a minority.
Michael Ross:It can be a Jewish minority in some other country.
Michael Ross:It can be also characterized by race, by color, by language, by gender and gender.
Savit Ben Shimol:And many other women all over the world are Exactly.
Savit Ben Shimol:And just because of being women.
Michael Ross:So we do, we do know about also in business also, but both for clients and for entrepreneurs.
Michael Ross:But there are some very interesting data and research that deals with minorities.
Michael Ross:I think what's also very interesting here is the fact that we have to take into consideration a term which is called minority stress that every kind of minority suffers from as a minority, let's say even.
Michael Ross:Let's say the example of women who are actually not a minority.
Michael Ross:We have more women than men in societies, yet culturally.
Michael Ross:And we cannot also much differentiate with the impact of the LGBTQ movement and revolution correspondence with other revolutions, also with feminist movements as well.
Michael Ross:Now, what we see that if a person holds several identities of a minority, what I call usually having a double minority identity, so in one hand it creates some problem, but also what I say always in entrepreneurship, and especially for business entrepreneurship, that every problem is an opportunity.
Michael Ross:So if we divide for a moment between entrepreneurs and the clients.
Michael Ross:So for the clients who are lgbtq, we do know, according to research, that most of LGBTQ people make daily decisions in order to avoid discrimination, and discrimination is related not only to the clients.
Michael Ross:And as Barack, you also have mentioned about having the language, actually you both mentioned guide.
Michael Ross:But also it's not only about the diversity, but it's also about having a language, a dialect, someone who understands.
Michael Ross:And we do know that for people who are minorities, especially also for LGBTQ + people, if they went to some business where they felt comfortable, most probably that they will return to.
Michael Ross:And I also want to share here some very current data which is related to entrepreneurship.
Michael Ross:And we've been talking about investment and about this big corporates and like very, very masculine environment.
Michael Ross:And it's actually very much also affecting entrepreneurs who deal with LGBTQ plus issues.
Michael Ross:As someone who was working on creating a global startup, I can't tell you about.
Michael Ross:There's so many experiences that I had around that.
Michael Ross:And throughout my journey, I discovered many different organizations and VCs, venture capitals, very blessed and help LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.
Michael Ross:There's even one organization which is called Start out that help entrepreneurs who are LGBTQ+ to form their startups.
Michael Ross:And I would love to share here some data.
Michael Ross:I was talking about it also at some global conference of New York University about the future of the workspace based and what we can see here that Start has found that starting LGBTQ+ founders, they created 36% more jobs.
Savit Ben Shimol:Wow.
Michael Ross:And had 44% more exits.
Savit Ben Shimol:That is amazing.
Michael Ross:That is really amazing.
Michael Ross:It is related also to the, to the discourse of minorities as we know.
Michael Ross:22%, another minority, let's say the Jewish minority.
Michael Ross:22% of Nobel Prize winners are Jewish, which is another example of minorities.
Michael Ross:Actually minorities and double, double, double minorities can have so much of impact.
Michael Ross:So I will just finish here with the data and then we will continue with our discussion here.
Michael Ross:And we didn't even get to the types of businesses.
Michael Ross:So what you can see also here that LGBTQ + funders create 114% more patents, yet with 16% less funding compared to the average founder.
Michael Ross:And actually some other current studies show that less than half percent of the 2.1 trillion in startup funding goes to LGBTQ founders.
Michael Ross:Initiatives like Startout and Carlo for Capital are crucial in providing the support these founders needed.
Michael Ross:And LGBTQ founders face unique challenges in the startup world.
Michael Ross:An organization like Startup help them and they offer them vital resources and network to help overcome these barriers.
Michael Ross:And promoting diversity in startup funding isn't just about fairness.
Michael Ross:It's about fostering innovation and supporting LGBTQ funders to ensure a richer and more inclusive tech landscape.
Michael Ross:That just like with the queer revolution, it will not affect only startups and only LGBTQ plus people, but it can affect the entire world.
Michael Ross:Wow.
Michael Ross:That was a.
Michael Ross:I told you I'm passionate about this subject.
Savit Ben Shimol:Yes, absolutely amazing.
Savit Ben Shimol:And you know, I noticed that you made that slide.
Savit Ben Shimol:Barack was while sleeping.
Savit Ben Shimol:That was great.
Savit Ben Shimol:Because this is insane.
Savit Ben Shimol:I love it because, you know, we.
Savit Ben Shimol:I think that information is so important because sometimes we say things and if there is some base that we are talking about, it's like those amazing, amazing numbers that it just makes it more and more crucial.
Savit Ben Shimol:We need to do something about it and we need to talk about it and we need to open the door for more LGBTQ people to have the courage to make that first step.
Savit Ben Shimol:This is so important.
Savit Ben Shimol:They need to have the opportunity because as you mentioned, the minorities, they suffer from.
Barak Crips:I think the key word is courage is something that we as LGBTQ community need to find in order to be ourselves.
Barak Crips:And when we find it and when we like changing our all environment and perspective of the World, first of all, we're changing us, then we're changing the environment.
Barak Crips:If I have it in me, I can apply it to my future.
Barak Crips:I need to listen to myself.
Barak Crips:I'll need to listen to what into my guts, you know, and to use my imagination, my brain.
Barak Crips:And then the world is ready.
Barak Crips:I think this is what we have and minorities as well.
Barak Crips:Usually minorities can be like the underdogs and we need lots of problems.
Savit Ben Shimol:We are trying to survive through the day from all the heterosexual around them and all the suffer that they can go through.
Savit Ben Shimol:So their minds are not clear.
Savit Ben Shimol:But right.
Savit Ben Shimol:When you can be yourself and you don't need to pretend to be someone else and try to make other people to write you so you can put that aside side and okay, just try to trial.
Savit Ben Shimol:This cannot happen if you don't have the opportunity.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is like.
Savit Ben Shimol:It goes both ways because you need to have the courage to bring yourself out and the people with the money need to give you the chance and the opportunity to okay, open the door for you.
Savit Ben Shimol:Let's do it.
Savit Ben Shimol:Let's say I give you some money.
Savit Ben Shimol:Let's just.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is like, this is the both ways.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is exactly why the allyship is so important.
Savit Ben Shimol:Because the money is everywhere.
Savit Ben Shimol:And you cannot just wait for the LGBTQ community to support themselves.
Savit Ben Shimol:They need us the sexual control to understand how important it is to give them the opportunity that they need.
Savit Ben Shimol:And as I always say, it's like just open the door for them.
Savit Ben Shimol:It's our job, my job.
Savit Ben Shimol:You don't have to fight your own fight.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is important if you want to improve the whole community.
Michael Ross:There is a very interesting discussion here that what we are having because usually when we're talking about business, think about money, we might have some negative feelings, but we see actually that according to real data, when doing the right thing, doing the right thing can be also very financially beneficial.
Michael Ross:Doing the right thing, definitely, as I.
Barak Crips:Said in the previous episode, you don't need money to create art.
Barak Crips:And to be entrepreneur is creating.
Barak Crips:It's to create something that you imagine it.
Barak Crips:And to imagine is kind of a form of an art.
Barak Crips:So of course we look for the money we want.
Barak Crips:We need money to exist.
Michael Ross:Right?
Barak Crips:But you cannot think about it.
Barak Crips:You need to come with your passion first of all, and then you'll get it.
Barak Crips:This is from my perspective though, giving.
Michael Ross:Her also another example.
Michael Ross:So.
Michael Ross:And first of all.
Michael Ross:So I decided to stop with each of the startup.
Michael Ross:But let's say in the startup world, you must fundraise you cannot have a technological team without having the investment, with a huge investment of at least several million US dollars.
Michael Ross:Yet we do see some discrimination there.
Michael Ross:And I would like to emphasize that with some example, how diversity is so much important in business and queer entrepreneurship, how much it can affect the world, because the need once again of this kind of entrepreneurs.
Michael Ross:And also I agree very much with what you said here about the courage and about doing the right thing as well.
Michael Ross:Also would like to give an example in the startup scene about dating apps.
Michael Ross:Many of us, this is a single one or the polyamorium one, probably know Tinder, right?
Michael Ross:One of the most popular dating app.
Michael Ross:So actually Tinder was created after some other app.
Michael Ross:The first dating app in the world, which was based on geographical location, is actually Grindr.
Michael Ross:And Grindr started as a very small business.
Michael Ross:By the way, Yoel, one of the founders and the main founder, who is Health Israeli.
Michael Ross:Many times as Israelis, we are very proud of some of the entrepreneurship with the sherry tomatoes and the chips and the ways that got global.
Michael Ross:So who knows?
Michael Ross:Also a Grinder here, although he's also an American.
Michael Ross:And what is very, very interesting about Grindr, that it was the first app to use geographical location.
Michael Ross:And the innovation here probably comes for a reap because of a real need.
Michael Ross:Because if I walk into the street, let's say, and I see someone and I'm not sure if they are LGBT or not, and if I will make some kind of mistake, I can go for some social sanctions.
Michael Ross:So it's really, really interesting how we can see the impact that LGBTQ entrepreneurs can have, not only for LGBTQ plus people, but generally affecting societies.
Michael Ross:And also we are aware of some different research that can show that if you want to understand what area or what neighborhood will be probably in the future gentrified, just go and check whether the LGBT people are hanging.
Barak Crips:It's really interesting about Grindr.
Barak Crips:I want to take us back to the history of the gay community.
Barak Crips:If we think about it, during these Most of the 80s 90s people went to the docks or to the parks to find people like them.
Barak Crips:So if we think about it, they were walking or cruising in some areas and they were looking for people like them, irradiates, you know.
Barak Crips:So basically, if we think about it, what Grindr did took this kind of behavior and made it digital.
Barak Crips:Well, so it's really.
Barak Crips:So it's really interesting to think about it like this.
Barak Crips:Well, entrepreneurs and people with startup, usually they take kind of behavior and they make it better, make it futuristic, digital, let's say.
Barak Crips:So it's really interesting and this is why it works.
Barak Crips:It just like didn't brought us something that we don't know.
Barak Crips:They just made it smarter.
Michael Ross:Let's talk for and about the LGBT communities around the world.
Michael Ross:I'm Michael Ross and this is straight friendly.
Michael Ross:The production of this episode came to reality thanks to the support of the Friedrich Naumann foundation for Freedom in Jerusalem.
Michael Ross:So we've been talking a lot about entrepreneurship and about business entrepreneurship.
Michael Ross:I think that this whole discourse is very, very, very interesting for all of us.
Michael Ross:But we promised we will also talk about the three types of LGBTQ businesses.
Michael Ross:And I have to say this is some methodology which I created when I was working on creating some startup.
Michael Ross:By the way, one of the main reasons I decided not to do the startup right now, I decided to pause it.
Michael Ross:I was way too much, too overloaded with a lot of burnout, actually.
Michael Ross:And we will talk about it maybe in some other episode because this is something which is also very crucial for entrepreneurs of any kind of how, how not to burn out.
Michael Ross:Because we want people to be with entrepreneurship, but it will be sustainable.
Michael Ross:We want and need more and more entrepreneurship in order to make the world that we live in to be a bit, a little bit better, at least a little bit.
Michael Ross:And as we all know, we have, we can have a lot of impact and especially LGBTQ + entrepreneurs or any kind of entrepreneur who want to do some impact.
Michael Ross:So another reason that I decided about postponing the staff of a startup is actually the events of October 7, which are very painful to all of us.
Michael Ross:And this is something which we haven't been talking that much in these recordings, but we definitely among us in the preparations we were discussing that.
Michael Ross:And I think this is probably a complete different subject that we will keep for another time.
Michael Ross:But we do have to emphasize the fact that boycotting people who've been minorities, who are minorities, and being boycotted by others, sunny being boycotted by some of our allies or who we thought to be allies, and being very, very difficult.
Michael Ross:And actually it also happened in the production of this podcast that we've been boycotted.
Michael Ross:And it's very, very fortunate because actually a lot of what we do is about connecting different people.
Michael Ross:So we definitely see how many subjects also are involved in entrepreneurship.
Michael Ross:But anyway, when I was working on creating my own startup, so I had to do a lot, a lot of research and to understand better what LGBTQ+ businesses are, and I created this kind of free definitions or free separations or characteristics, just as we had about four Sectors So to try a bit to explain about the different types of LGBTQ plus businesses.
Michael Ross:Actually it's related not only to businesses, but let's.
Michael Ross:Let's focus with.
Michael Ross:With businesses.
Michael Ross:We are about also to finalize this episode.
Michael Ross:So I'm in advance I would say that may I might be not completely politically correct, but just for the practice of understanding better the economies.
Michael Ross:So here are the three types.
Michael Ross:So the first type of LGBTQ businesses or economies.
Michael Ross:So usually when people talk about that, it's about what I call being friendly.
Michael Ross:A gay friendly business.
Michael Ross: fore COVID around those years: Michael Ross:So we saw for instance in Poland how there were stickers of actually of LGBT free zones which were not allowing or saying that we don't have LGBT people or LGBT people are not welcome here.
Michael Ross:So while having this kind of awful, awful, awful situation.
Michael Ross:So we do see the importance for that.
Michael Ross:Yet being friendly like for instance companies that change their logo and branding around Friedman, it is an important thing.
Michael Ross:But there is also a whole and lot of industry around that do this business that presents to be LGBT friendly or gay friendly.
Michael Ross:Do they have also workers who are transgender, for instance, do they deal with the different issues and pain that happened around LGBTQ plus communities?
Michael Ross:And usually in most of the cases where the academic discourse deals with queer economies.
Michael Ross:So this is actually what is being dealt with.
Michael Ross:And that's why I heard many times from different activists that they say that there is no side thing as a queer economy.
Michael Ross:And I would say that I disagree with that.
Michael Ross:And I think that one of the mistakes that people do is when they talk about LGBTQ plus businesses, they talk about the first kind.
Michael Ross:The second kind of LGBTQ plus businesses deals with the orientation, the sexual or gender orientation of a, of a business owner.
Michael Ross:So like for instance, if I want to have a lesbian plumber, for instance, or I would prefer to go to a hairdresser who is also gay.
Michael Ross:Now for sure, probably I will feel more comfortable in a place like that.
Michael Ross:But this has nothing to do with a product.
Michael Ross:And the third type of LGBTQ businesses are focused with a product actually.
Michael Ross:And I would say that for me personally, this is the kind of businesses which are the most interesting for me where I care about the product and actually started.
Michael Ross:Also we can also emphasize for her case as a person who.
Michael Ross:So tell us, tell us a little.
Savit Ben Shimol:Bit about that in the third sector.
Savit Ben Shimol:I think I.
Savit Ben Shimol:I had a vision seven years ago when my son started his transition.
Savit Ben Shimol:We had to go through our journey, insane journey of understanding that we had and all we went through for the first year.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I understood how difficult it can be and how my son could never have choices and opportunities that he has now if we could not make a change.
Savit Ben Shimol:So I decided that I'm going, you know, to make this my life project.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is what I do for the last six years.
Savit Ben Shimol:I give lecture and I go and have workshops in companies and in different places just to help the retrospectual individuals in the company.
Savit Ben Shimol:How to understand the lgbtq, LGBTQ plus individuals.
Savit Ben Shimol:Because this is something in your mind that you have to with.
Savit Ben Shimol:I told you just before, we all have binary mind.
Savit Ben Shimol:We cannot understand if something like it doesn't work, if I see something that it's not in my mind.
Savit Ben Shimol:So I need to make my mind flexible.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is what I do.
Savit Ben Shimol:And also I advise to families and I accompany either managers and companies or families or LGBTQ individuals themselves how to deal with the situation that they need to deal with and how to make their life and how to improve themselves and their families and their companies.
Savit Ben Shimol:And, you know, I believe that this is something that's needed and it's needed from me as a heterosexual woman.
Savit Ben Shimol:And this is what I.
Savit Ben Shimol:My business is all about.
Savit Ben Shimol:This.
Savit Ben Shimol:This is what I do.
Savit Ben Shimol:Diversity and inclusion and consulting in all over the country.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I really believe that this is key to having a better community.
Savit Ben Shimol:And it's on us, my responsibility to do that, not my son's responsibility.
Savit Ben Shimol:He doesn't need to go and fight the darkness.
Savit Ben Shimol:I need to do that for him.
Savit Ben Shimol:So this is my business.
Savit Ben Shimol:And as you said it, girls inside me, we had our conversation previous, and you know how I think this is important.
Savit Ben Shimol:So I am proud to be the third section that this is my business.
Savit Ben Shimol:Proud of being.
Michael Ross:You are a mocker.
Michael Ross:You are a real mocker and a fighter in alliance, right?
Barak Crips:Then think like if companies want to change their logos in June, they should for that, invite you to their offices.
Barak Crips:Like, let's make it law.
Barak Crips:Let's make it like a community, like LGBTQ + community law.
Savit Ben Shimol:One of my friends, if you want.
Barak Crips:To change it, you know, I have.
Savit Ben Shimol:Few hashtags during the Pride month at June, and one of it is Pride all year round, because it's not only.
Savit Ben Shimol:And the other one, it's not only a colorful cupcake because you know what becomes a big party and the place have colorful cocktails on the table and make different fruits purple, red.
Savit Ben Shimol:Okay, that's not the point.
Savit Ben Shimol:Because this is one day.
Savit Ben Shimol:This is not the whole point.
Savit Ben Shimol:Go to your company and say, okay, we have a party and that's it.
Savit Ben Shimol:There is 365 days a year that people need to work at your company.
Savit Ben Shimol:You have to take care of your employees, you have to take care of your client, and you have a job of making this work better.
Savit Ben Shimol:You cannot just provide products to the world.
Barak Crips:You can do something and that's really important.
Barak Crips:And it's really important.
Barak Crips:And it's on us, the community, to go to the office where you work, to the HR or so on and demand to bring people like Sarit or LGBTQ organization to talk to do something that can impact community.
Barak Crips:The era of cupcakes is officially done and that's it.
Savit Ben Shimol:I like cupcakes.
Savit Ben Shimol:I like colors.
Savit Ben Shimol:I love it.
Savit Ben Shimol:I love those disgusting, colorful donuts.
Savit Ben Shimol:But, you know, and it brings us to the surface the gay friendly businesses, because if you want to be friendly, you just, it's not okay.
Savit Ben Shimol:You have a flag, change your logo to the gay flag colors and it's not over with that.
Barak Crips:And it's really important.
Barak Crips:Right?
Barak Crips:But on advertisement perspective, it's also really important.
Barak Crips:People have the people know it.
Barak Crips:Like the social media sees it.
Barak Crips:If you are not an LGBTQ + ally during the year or if it doesn't match your DNA, your company DNA, people will notice it and people will comment on these logos.
Barak Crips:We have again, like zero tolerance for people who are trying to pink wash the community.
Barak Crips:It's really, really important.
Barak Crips:Like times have changed, but again, it's on us.
Barak Crips:It's on us, the community in the company.
Michael Ross:Well, I can say, but like, for me, as someone who also gives lectures and deals with LGBTQ plus stuff all around the year, but it's extremely, extremely difficult when you have like one season in the year.
Michael Ross:And like, if people really want to make business, I think it has to be like all around the year.
Michael Ross:I think there should be some more advocacy around it.
Michael Ross:I know.
Michael Ross:Like, for me, honestly, Pride month is the worst month of the year.
Michael Ross:Like, I'm dead too much.
Michael Ross:And that's also deal with activism, not only with business.
Michael Ross:Right.
Michael Ross:But.
Barak Crips:Right.
Barak Crips:But it's also really good for the company.
Barak Crips:Let's say we're talking about entrepreneuring, like what's good for your business?
Barak Crips:Business, like to have this DNA like to say, like, hey, I'm liberal, I'm here for the community.
Barak Crips:I'm here for the people.
Barak Crips:This is how you do marketing nowadays, like almost every company have few agendas, not only one agenda like before.
Barak Crips:Like I'm here for recycling, I'm here for whatever you can have couple of agendas.
Barak Crips:And the LGBTQ plus agenda is it says you are a liberal country company and you see the people and people sees that and then they feel safe and they want to buy from you, they want to interact with you.
Barak Crips:So it's amazing.
Barak Crips:It's really something that can.
Barak Crips:You can use in favor to create benefits for your company.
Barak Crips:Right.
Barak Crips:But again, there's ways to do and I guess and I believe that almost every LGBTQ+ community all around the world can provide the information and the knowledge and how to do it correctly.
Savit Ben Shimol:Yeah.
Michael Ross:So I would like also to share some of my little bit experience as an entrepreneur who's focused very much actually in the product which are designed for the LGBTQ plus before and solving real problems.
Michael Ross:And we will actually in that way also we will get to the conclusion at the end of the episode.
Michael Ross:And these two episodes actually I would say share from my personal experience as an entrepreneur who comes from Israel.
Michael Ross:And that market size is also a very important issue of yours.
Michael Ross:First of all, when we talk about the LGBTQ + population, so depends on what research we will be based on.
Michael Ross:But even if I will be pessimistic and I will point to the lowest number, we're talking about the fact that 7% of the populations, no matter where LGBTQ + people, doesn't matter if it's in Israel, it's in France or with Nigeria, it's ratio of if they will feel comfortable or not and if they will come outside of the closet or not.
Michael Ross:And one of the reasons that the name of Strange Friendly is like that is because for me personally, I think that it's also very important to look on some larger market and audiences which are not only gay friendly or lesbian friendly, not only in GPT, but also the surroundings are also very much affected.
Michael Ross:Their families, as their friends, their managers and so on and so on.
Michael Ross:So I do believe that there's also a much larger market for them.
Michael Ross:Yet as an entrepreneur I can say that especially let's say with content creation, eventually as an entrepreneur who runs business, you must have some enough income in order to cover expenses and have a revenue and to maximize revenue.
Michael Ross:And when you create a product, let's say, which is only for Israelis, it's very difficult.
Michael Ross:I can give an example when we had to import from Europe to Israel out to vin, which is a gay TV channel.
Michael Ross:And I mean like how many people already in the country that 9 million citizens live in it, how many LGBT we already have.
Michael Ross:It will be less than a million.
Michael Ross:And I can share it from my experience, what I see as someone who's a digital nomad, who's traveling all around the world and working with so many different economies and countries, but I do something which I a little bit miss.
Michael Ross:I don't see enough in smaller countries.
Michael Ross:And maybe this is also raising some ethical questions.
Michael Ross:But I see how in some countries, for instance in the United States and in Canada, how there are different organizations like Chamber of Commerce, let's say in the United States States versus the nglcc, which helps and connect between lots and lots of like dozens of thousands of LGBTQ plus entrepreneurs from.
Michael Ross:From all around.
Michael Ross:There's so many programs like that also in Canada, and it's quite big.
Michael Ross:I have to say that whenever I see that, I'm amazed by the size of it as well as we also have been kind of venture capitals.
Michael Ross:But I feel like it is dependent on sizes, market on market size.
Michael Ross:And maybe this is something which something in economy maybe I believe should be a little bit fixed.
Michael Ross:And we do know how and we've been talking about how like the minorities, double minorities are some of the best entrepreneurs, but as they are going through discrimination for in fundraising for startups, maybe there's also a need to make things to be more accessible for this kind of founders.
Michael Ross:Just some idea I do see start out and some other organizations that also help LGBTQ entrepreneurs.
Michael Ross:Who wants to create a startup, but it doesn't deal with the subject itself, with the product.
Michael Ross:And I think real good entrepreneurship is about finding real problems and real good solutions.
Michael Ross:And I'm lacking of seeing enough think tanking and organizations that are locating different.
Michael Ross:We're entrepreneurs from different countries where they can have a think thinking of how can we create the next startup that will fight loneliness within the LGBTQ communities.
Michael Ross:And we definitely see also how dating apps affected not only loneliness, but the use of drugs, of alcohol, smoking, and so on.
Michael Ross:That's my personal observation for that.
Michael Ross:So would you like to add anything before we're done or actually we're done here.
Michael Ross:I'm having so much fun with you guys.
Savit Ben Shimol:It was amazing and a great.
Michael Ross:So thank you very, very, very much.
Michael Ross:So spontaneous, so amazing.
Michael Ross:I had guts feeling that it's gonna work out and I had so much fun and it was such an interesting discourse which I can.
Michael Ross:I believe that it will affect so many entrepreneurs around the world.
Michael Ross:I hope that we broke at least one stereotype or two and gave some practical information.
Michael Ross:So thank you very, very, very much.
Savit Ben Shimol:I had the best time.
Savit Ben Shimol:Thank you very much.
Savit Ben Shimol:Michael and Barak, love you both.
Michael Ross:Thank you very, very much.
Michael Ross:Thank you guys.
Michael Ross:And maybe last question.
Michael Ross:I would love to ask you both.
Michael Ross:What do you think is going to be the future of queer entrepreneurship?
Michael Ross:Because we've been talking a lot about the past and about the present, but as you know, many of our episodes are available also for years after.
Michael Ross:Do you think it's going to be get better or worse?
Barak Crips:I think it's going to be better.
Barak Crips:I'm always optimistic, by the way.
Barak Crips:Yeah, I'm always, always optimistic.
Barak Crips:I think it's going to be better and I think we're going to see more like, yeah, like to make our society better.
Barak Crips:This is what I feel alongside high tech, of course, but I think we need it.
Barak Crips:We need to connect, to make real connection between people.
Barak Crips:And I think we're going to see it, hopefully.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I wanted to add one more thing before we finish.
Savit Ben Shimol:If you want to make something new, you need fuel.
Savit Ben Shimol:You need to be financially and mentally.
Savit Ben Shimol:And I think we all need to work on the both sides of that because you need to make yourself better and have the character to do the things, but you also need someone that believes in you and can give you the push that you need.
Savit Ben Shimol:So I can hope for the better, that the best is yet to come.
Michael Ross:Especially that being an entrepreneur is living life on a roller coaster, that's for sure.
Michael Ross:Those are very important insights.
Michael Ross:Thank you very much.
Savit Ben Shimol:Thank you so much.
Barak Crips:Thank you very much.
Barak Crips:Have a good one.
