2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

A Few Good Connections: Exploring the Social Networks of Underrepresented Racially Minoritized (URM) Entrepreneurs in Tech Fields

Presented at ENT-1: Innovative Approaches to Student Engagement and Belonging in Engineering

Research has long established the importance of social networks in fostering entrepreneurial success; however, limited attention has been given to how the specific types of relationships and support systems vary by founder race/ethnicity (Kerr & Mandorff, 2021; Upton et al., 2019; Sorenson, 2018). This oversight results in an incomplete understanding of how underrepresented and racially minoritized (URM) entrepreneurs access critical resources and leverage social capital. Although it is generally recognized that URM founders face disparities in access to resources, education, and capital (National Science Foundation, 2019; McGee, 2020), it is essential to examine the specific types of relationships (e.g., family, friends, mentors, technical experts) and forms of support (e.g., emotional, spiritual, career advice, networking) that entrepreneurs have access to, as these play a vital role in the success and viability of their businesses. This study, rooted in social capital theory, aims to investigate the specific types of social relationships and forms of support that influence business founders, with a particular focus on variations by race/ethnicity (Bourdieu, 2000; Berkman & Krishna, 2014; Kawachi & Berkman, 2014). Using a novel network survey, collected from a diverse sample of 358 entrepreneurs of tech ventures, we examine the types of social networks that entrepreneurs rely on. Employing Social Network Analysis (SNA), our results reveal that URM founders are significantly more likely to rely on friends and family, while non-URM founders are statistically more likely to have access to industry experts within their immediate circles. Similarly, URM founders are significantly more likely to receive emotional or spiritual support, whereas non-URM founders are more likely to obtain problem-solving support from their networks. This indicates that URM entrepreneurs tend to build personal, trust-based relationships, while non-URM founders tend to rely on more transactional connections with professional or industry-specific experts who can provide them with specialized guidance. Our findings highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of entrepreneurial networks, challenging the assumption of a one-size-fits-all approach to support structures. By uncovering key differences in the networks of URM and non-URM tech founders, our research highlights the need for targeted interventions and policies that leverage the unique strengths and address the specific needs of URM entrepreneurs.

Authors

Dr. Ebony Omotola McGee The Johns Hopkins University [biography]

Dr. Ebony McGee, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Innovation and Inclusion in the STEM Ecosystem, is a 13-time NSF investigator awardee, is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Innovation and Inclusion in the STEM Ecosystem at Johns Hopkins University. An electrical engineer by training, she is renowned for her work addressing race and structural racism within the STEM ecosystem, and their impact on the mental and physical health of Black and other minoritized students and professionals. Dr. McGee has spearheaded multiple initiatives, such as R-RIGHTS, EDEFI, and ICQCM, to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM and has received grants to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of underrepresented groups in STEM. Her research incorporates Afrofuturism to reimagine a STEM future where Black individuals thrive and has resulted in her highly acclaimed book, "Black, Brown, Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation." She founded Racial Revolutionary and Inclusive Guidance for Health Throughout STEM (R-RIGHTS) and co-founded the Explorations in Diversifying Engineering Faculty Initiative (EDEFI), as well as the Institute in https://www.icqcm.org/ support from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the WT Grant Foundation.
Dr. Shelly Engelman Johns Hopkins University [biography]

Shelly Engelman, Ph.D., is the Director of Research and Evaluation at Custom EduEval LLC in Austin, TX, and also a Research Manager at Johns Hopkins University. She earned her PhD in Social Psychology and has over 20 years of research and evaluation experience. Dr. Engelman has been a lead evaluator, data analyst and social science methodologist on over 40 federal and state funded grants and programs.
Dr. Thema Monroe-White http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9212-5430 George Mason University [biography]

Thema Monroe-White is an Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence, and Innovation Policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government and the Department of Computer Science at George Mason University. Her interests include bias mitigation in artificial intelligence (AI), critical quantitative and computational methods, and racial equity in innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E). She is particularly concerned with understanding the pathways to achieving social and economic empowerment for minoritized groups via I&E, AI education, and emancipatory data science. She has received multiple NSF awards to investigate issues of racial equity in the STEM ecosystem, including serving as a lead member of the research team for the Inclusion in Innovation Initiative (i4), a $3.5 million cooperative partnership to develop a national infrastructure for diversity and inclusion within the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) Program. Inspired by her work on intersectional inequalities in science, she has also received funding to investigate the harms of structural racism on the scientific enterprise, and the benefits derived by the inclusion of historically marginalized groups in the scientific workforce. Thema holds a Ph.D. in Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as Master's and Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology from Howard University.
Dr. Binh Chi Bui The Johns Hopkins University [biography]

Binh Chi Bui is a STEM entrepreneurship postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University's School of Education. He earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Houston, M.A. in Educational Studies from KU Leuven, and B.Sc. in Teacher Education from Can Tho University. Before starting the current position, Dr. Bui held research positions at the University of Houston’s College of Education and the University of Michigan’s Marsal Family School of Education. His research interests include college access, academic success, and employment/career success, focusing on racially minoritized students.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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For those interested in:

Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
engineering
engineering technology
professional
race/ethnicity