Content:
Building a great team is one of the, if not the most difficult things when building a startup. You can always copy a product or service - just have a look at Indian JioMeet having a rather similar design as American Zoom - but it's impossible to consistently replicate the thought process of an outstanding team. By nature, the thought processes of two teams vary because the people composing the team are different.
People have different upbringings, desires, educations, career paths, sexual preferences, etc. hence have had different experiences in life causing them to see the world from different perspectives than their peers. Getting people with different opinions and viewpoints in one room is what we call diversity of thought. The beautiful part about it is that it offers massive benefits for society, individuals and startups alike - a win-win-win-situation!
By default, humans act in their own best interest. When making decisions, we naturally choose what is right for us individually - we buy pants that fit US, we cook food that WE like, we play music WE enjoy hearing. However, this natural tendency can have significant repercussions when building a product meant for everybody.
In tech, there are countless examples of problems that arose when solutions that should be developed for an entire population were developed by a small subsegment of that population - often white men, who without malicious intent only considered themselves as 'users'. Diverse teams mitigate this risk significantly as team members speak up when the product disqualifies them from using it, creating a more inclusive and safer environment.
Equality of opportunity means that people compete on a “level playing field” - a good indicator for such a playing field is social mobility as talent should strive independently of their socio-economic background.
In this regard, the tech and startup industry is uniquely positioned to lead the way in building such an equitable world as breaking into the industry has lower costs for qualifications and skills when compared to other industries like medicine and law.
This is already happening: according to BCS, "three-quarters of those who are in a tech profession in the UK are better off than their parents were at that age."