Elizabeth Gore is fighting for survival.
Just six months ago, the founder of financial technology startup Hello Alice was getting ready to close an investment round to grow its business offering grants and networking opportunities to entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups. Then it got sued.
The August lawsuit, filed by conservative activist group America First Legal, took issue with a grant program that Hello Alice co-runs for Black-owned small businesses. Only offering the money to Black entrepreneurs was, the suit claimed, discriminatory.
Elizabeth Gore Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
The impact of the suit was immediate. Houston-based Hello Alice, which also offers credit and loans, shared the news of the case with potential investors as part of its due diligence process, and two-thirds of the capital was pulled out. It’s s