Finding Your Pride On Product Hunt , a Den of LGBT Makers and Allies
Product Hunt has always felt like a place where underdog founders can try their luck—not with VCs, but with a real community of builders. It reminds me of what made the early internet so special: it was a place where fragmented groups could find each other and power up together. For my personal use, as a maker, historically it’s been more about supporting my friends' companies when they had launches and now I use it to keep up with the continues rollout of new tools mostly aimed at makers looking to vibe and make faster.
Right now, I feel anxious for America (and the world) feel from political chaos and our economic prospects. Resilience in our community has been a source of strength. LGBT are also natural contrarians to the status quo to such an extent I would say it is even a builder superpower.
As a gay founder who’s launched startups, scaled platforms, and navigated venture capital, I’ve seen firsthand how queer founders create businesses that are more inclusive, more sustainable, and more empathetic.
This morning, I was casually browsing Product Hunt, looking to see what LGBTQ+ founders were sharing during Pride Month. I was surprised—maybe even a little bummed—not to see anything. So I decided to spend a little time this Saturday making one. I am sure you’re out there so I wanted to write something. I’d love to find other founders here too and I am happy to support you.
If you're an LGBTQ+ founder—or an ally—here’s a quick roundup of where to find support, funding, and community for queer folks building in tech
Accelerators, Funds & Founder Support
A non-profit accelerator specifically for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Backed by SVB, JP Morgan, and more. I’ve been a long time member of startout as a general member but they also have this excellent accelerator that I joined when I founded Buffalo Market.
Startout is a great easy place to meet your first fellow LGBT makers. They have branches in NYC, SF, LA, and Austin.
One of the most active queer-friendly investment groups out there. Gaingels backs companies that are serious about diversity at the cap table. Gaingels who mammoth. They are not some niche investor but huge. I also counted on them during some really tough economic times, post series A. They invest from seed to later stage.
They’ve funded many queer founders and have a long-standing commitment to underrepresented groups.
Lesbians Who Tech & Allies – Pitch Events & Summit
Their annual pitch contest is one of the few spaces where you can pitch while out and be met with cheers.
Communities That Help You
Out in Tech
50,000+ members worldwide. Job board, Slack, IRL events. Chapters in NYC, SF, London, and beyond. Great place to find early teammates and design/dev help.
TransTech Social
Founded by Angelica Ross, this is a space that builds skills and careers, especially for trans creators and coders. Zero cost, so just about as inclusive as you can get.
While these are the explicit LGBT focused ones, there are plenty of people from VCs to tech mentors who have been strong allies. Forerunner and Precursor felt very supportive to me in my career. I had some of the best times with 500. Within SPC, someone organized a pride brunch to help LGBT meet each other. But many times it simply from friends who know I am struggly with x or y issue who introduce me to someone else in the community who knows about the things. I was giving a talk about 500 when someone from Branch.io back when they did attribution came up with me with a suggestion that truly moved the needle of my viral coefficient. Being out there has helped so often and I am very happy to return the favors.
If You're Launching a Startup Right Now
Whether you're building something big or weird or small and meaningful, visibility helps. Feel free to reach out! Launch it this month. Post it on Product Hunt. Tag your profile with the lgbtq interest and mention it in your profile .You never know who you’ll inspire.
And if you’re a cis/straight ally founder reading this: give a boost. Leave a comment. Invite that queer friend to launch with you.
Replies
So glad you wrote this, Sean. Visibility still makes a real difference.
I appreciate this reminder that PH can still feel like community, not just competition.
Bubbles
Great initiative @howell4change. As a gay founder myself I've definitely found a supportive community to be very helpful in navigating startup life
Bababot
I love seeing a post like this during Pride Month. Visibility like this really matters, and I'm bookmarking every single resource you mentioned. Thanks for creating this space today.
Reading this reminded me of the first time I walked into an LGBTQ+ founder meetup in SF, it was like finally exhaling after holding my breath in tech spaces for so long. Your words captured that feeling exactly. I’ve always been hesitant to “out” myself when launching something, but now I’m rethinking that. Authenticity and visibility do matter. Really grateful for this thoughtful post and all the links you shared. I’ve passed them along to others who’ve been feeling isolated too.
Serand
This hit me in the heart. I’ve often felt like I was straddling two worlds, one where I build and dream big, and one where I quietly carry the weight of being “other” in a space that doesn’t always see us. Thank you for putting together something that speaks to both. The mention of Gaingels and StartOut especially stood out. I’ve bookmarked this for myself and will be forwarding it to a few friends who’ve been trying to figure out where to start. Posts like these remind me why I still believe in community driven platforms.
The part about queer founders being natural contrarians hit home. We're used to craving out our own space makes total sense why so many of us lean into entrepreneurship.
minimalist phone: creating folders
Hey Howell, thanks for taking this initiative and pointing these projects out. In our country, they started being restrictive over the LGBTIQ+ community and don't like the approach as our government is gonna backwards in mentality.
Maybe a good thing would be to gather these initiatives (Internationally) and make the community stronger, at least in mutual support. I have many friends from the community and would like to share with them the opportunities they have, even during these difficult times.
P.S. A few weeks ago, I came across a founder from the LGBTIQ+ community with an inspirational story: Maddie Wang.
Wow, your post really spoke to me. I've always felt that queer builders bring a unique empathy and resilience to tech and it's empowering to see you articulate that so clearly. The way you shared your personal journey and practical resources was both inspiring and grounding.
Reading this post gave me chills in the best way. As a queer developer who's been lurking on Product Hunt for a while, I always wondered if anyone else was out here. Your message reminded me that visibility is impact.