I probably shouldn't chime in but since my name was brought up a couple of times I feel compelled.

Yeah, I'm Indian. Yeah I'm American too (born and raised in Kentucky).

Is there prejudice in the world? Yeah, sure.

Have I experienced prejudice/racism? Of course - and not just in Georgia or Kentucky but all over the world.

Does it matter one bit (at least to me)? Nope.

Anyone that shows prejudice (based on race or otherwise) is someone I don't need to be friends with, do business with, or interact with. I've never felt like a customer wouldn't buy because of some racial prejudice or an investor wouldn't invest because of the same. If they did, would I even want to do business with someone so small minded? No, I wouldn't.

Starting a company is hard. It doesn't matter if you don't have one hurdle or another - there are a lot of obstacles to a successful liquidity event. Entrepreneurship isn't a path where success is guaranteed. If it were, everyone would do it.

So my point is this - sure, prejudice may exist and you may think it will hinder you from succeeding. So what? No one said this was going to be easy. On the contrary, the large potential rewards upon success all but determine that it will be very, very difficult to achieve (go read an economics book if you don't get the reasoning as to why).

So just get to work, start your company, and be successful. This stuff is all noise and if it derails you - you need to become a better entrepreneur/leader rather than complain that someone kept you from succeeding.