Austin Mosaic Award Winners Honored for Diversity and Inclusion in Tech

Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in diverse entrepreneurs, has 100-plus companies in its portfolio. But it has heard pitches or reviewed business plans of about 5,000 -- and more than half of them are worthy of investment.

Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton said that if she personally had $100 million, she'd invest it all in underrepresented founders.

“We see so many companies," she said. "We want to meet that demand."

Hamilton, who was once homeless and has gone on to become a high-profile champion of and investor in startups led by diverse founders, encouraged the crowd gathered at Google's downtown Austin offices Thursday night to support inclusive business practices and make the extra effort to identify and invest in promising entrepreneurs.

"Be somebody's first 'yes,'" she said.

Hamilton's message led into an awards ceremony that honored companies and individuals in Austin that have exemplary diversity and inclusion practices.

You can see all the finalists here.

Now, here are the 2019 Austin Mosaic Award winners:

The Austin Mosaic Awards, now in their second year, recognize the companies and people with the most impactful diversity and inclusion initiatives in Austin. It drew from community nominations, and the finalists were selected by a panel of judges who have experiences in diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The awards were created by Janice Omadeke, founder and CEO of The Mentor Method; Rubén Cantú, founder of SocialGood.us and a professor at the University of Texas; and Naji H. Kelley, founder and CEO of BLNDED Media (which has an editorial partnership with Austin Inno).

Among last year’s winners were Indeed, Galvanize, Chi’lantro BBQ, Threatcare and The New Philanthropists. The Mosaic Awards also honored four individuals for their work — Angelica Erazo, Charlie Jackson, Gloria de Leon and Gary Bledsoe.