Black Female Founders Face Constant Rejection. They're Thriving Anyway.Despite the lack of funding, black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs today. Here's why.

45岁以下的大部分女性,害怕一个合适的婚姻对象cular time of the month. (Fellas, stay with me.) So, Arion Long, an African American millennial out of the Washington, D.C., area, came up with the Femly Box, a way to make the monthly menstrual routine less burdensome and more like a gift. Her ultimate PMS kit includes a supply of organic, all-cotton feminine products, along with wholesomewellnesstreats, like shea butter, herbal tea, and organic chocolates. For about $30 a month, it comes in a pretty package that getsdeliveredright to a woman's door, just in time for her cycle.

When Long, a former health plan communications specialist, launched her business in 2015, she had only one problem: gettingfundingfrom investors. "Let's face it," she says. "I was talking to middle-aged white men. They didn't know the product or use the product. And they didn't care. I'm a brown-faced, five-foot-one-inch young woman, who wasn't taken seriously. I had done my research and was ready. But young white men -- some of whom had simply jotted down an idea on a beverage napkin -- got the nod." Long was hoping to snag a modest $10,000 to $75,000 investment. Everyone she talked to said no.