Kristina Jones just became the 14th ever African American female founder to raise $1 million or more for her startup.
She is the co-founder of Court Buddy, a legal tech startup that instantly matches consumers with vetted solo attorneys based on the client’s budget. It makes it easier for the millions of Americans to connect with single and small firm lawyers who struggle to find clients.
Raising capital for black women entrepreneurs is so hard that only 0.2 percent of overall venture capital dollars go to them. And of the the rare unicorns who do receive money, the average dollar amount is $36,000, compared to the average $1.3 million doled out to the typical white male founded startup.
So for Jones to raise $1 million, alongside her co-founder husband, she has overcome enormous odds. But there is some hope:
“To be honest, I actually think being an African American woman worked to my advantage,” she told Forbes. “I think that being the cofounder of a sound, fast-growing business that has revenue and a growing number of users, and that I just happen to be African-American and a woman, helped. “
“As women, we tend to undersell our power and the success of our businesses, which can hurt us in situations where investing is involved,” she added. “For minority women, we need to understand that we do have a seat at the table and it’s about believing in ourselves and not letting a “no” stop us from moving forward.”
Read the full Forbes interview with Jones here.