In 2015, Joy Buolamwini was working on an art project at MIT.
She wanted to build the Aspire Mirror: a device that would project the faces of inspiring figures onto users' reflections using facial recognition.
Except the software couldn't see her.
Joy is a dark-skinned Black woman.
And the only way the system would recognize her face was if she held up a white mask.
That’s how she decided to launch Gender Shades: a comprehensive audit of commercial facial recognition systems from IBM, Microsoft, and Face++.
The findings were… damning:
Lighter-skinned men: identified with 99.2% accuracy
Darker-skinned women: error rates up to 47%
The systems were trained on datasets that were 75% male and 80% lighter-skinned
The problem was simple: AI learns from the data it’s fed.
And the data reflected who was in the room when it was collected…
Spoiler: not Black women!
So Joy introduced the Pilot Parliaments Benchmark: a new dataset with diverse representation across gender and skin tone.
It became the standard for testing facial recognition systems fairly.
Her research forced IBM and Microsoft to revise their algorithms.
In 2016, Joy founded the Algorithmic Justice League, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing bias in AI through research, art, and advocacy.
She called it the "Coded Gaze".
The idea that AI reflects the biases, blind spots, and limitations of the people who create it.
In 2019, Joy testified before the U.S. House of Representatives.
She explained that even if accuracy improves, facial recognition is still dangerous.
Because it's being used for:
Surveillance without consent
Racial profiling by law enforcement
Discriminatory screening in hiring, housing, and criminal justice
Automated decision-making that disproportionately harms marginalized groups
After years of pressure, IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon paused sales of facial recognition technology to police departments.
Joy is a Rhodes Scholar, a Fulbright Fellow, an MIT PhD, and a poet.
She created a film called "AI, Ain't I A Woman?" showing facial recognition software failing to identify Michelle Obama, Oprah, and Serena Williams.
The piece has been screened globally.
Her work became the subject of “Coded Bias”, an Emmy-nominated documentary now on Netflix.
And in 2023, she published “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines”, which became a national bestseller.
That same year, she consulted with the White House ahead of Executive Order 14110 on "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI."
Joy also launched “Voicing Erasure”: a project exposing bias in voice AI systems like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
The issue? These systems consistently fail to understand African-American Vernacular English (AAVE).
They're trained primarily on Standard American English spoken by lighter-skinned voices.
Finally, she's researched algorithmic bias in:
Hiring tools that screen out qualified candidates based on zip code, name, or speech patterns
Credit scoring systems that reinforce historical redlining
Healthcare algorithms that underestimate risk for Black patients
Overall, her message is clear: AI doesn't just reflect society. It amplifies its flaws at scale.
What happens when your co-founder gets divorced (and their spouse wants half the company)
You're building a company with your co-founder.
You've split equity 50/50. You're vesting over 4 years. Things are going well.
Then your co-founder’s marriage falls apart.
And suddenly, their spouse’s divorce lawyer is asking questions about the company.
Specifically: what’s it worth, and when can they liquidate their half?
In most U.S. states, anything acquired during a marriage is considered marital property.
That includes:
Salary earned during the marriage
Real estate purchased during the marriage
Retirement accounts funded during the marriage
And yes, startup equity granted or vested during the marriage
It doesn't matter whose name is on the stock certificate.
If your co-founder received their equity while married, their spouse has a claim to it.
In community property states (California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, Idaho, Louisiana, Wisconsin), the default rule is simple:
Everything earned during the marriage is split 50/50.
In the other 41 states (equitable distribution states), it’s not automatic 50/50, but the spouse still has a claim.
The court will decide what's "fair" based on:
Length of the marriage
Each spouse's financial contribution
Who sacrificed career opportunities
Who supported the household while the founder worked 80-hour weeks
Translation: if your co-founder's spouse supported them financially during the early startup days, they're getting equity.
Let’s say your co-founder’s equity vests over 4 years.
But the divorce happens in year 2.
Now what?
The spouse can argue they're entitled to:
Option A: Half of whatever has vested so far
Option B: Half of the entire grant (including unvested shares), since the grant was made during the marriage
Option C: Half of all future vesting, since the work that earned the equity happened during the marriage
Most courts go with Option B or C.
Which means your co-founder's ex-spouse now owns a chunk of unvested equity.
And when it vests, they want it.
But startup equity is illiquid.
You can't sell it. There's no market for it. It's worth $0 until exit.
And divorce courts don't care.
The judge will say: "This equity has value. The spouse is entitled to half."
So now your co-founder has three options:
Buy out the spouse at current valuation. If the company just raised at a $50M valuation and the spouse is owed 10%, that's $5M. Your co-founder doesn't have $5M. They can try to borrow it, but who's lending $5M against illiquid startup equity?
Give the spouse shares directly. Now your co-founder's ex is a shareholder. They could block future fundraising or acquisition offers.
Promise to pay the spouse at exit. This is the most common outcome.
When Mark Zuckerberg married Priscilla Chan in 2012, he did it one day after Facebook’s IPO.
By waiting until after the IPO, he ensured that his Facebook equity was separate property (acquired before marriage), not marital property.
But most founders don't have that luxury.
They're married when they start the company.
The obvious solution: prenuptial agreement.
A good prenup should specify:
Startup equity is separate property
Future vesting does not convert to marital property
Spouse waives any claim to equity or proceeds
Any appreciation in value remains separate
But even this can be challenged.
Some courts have ruled that if the non-founder spouse "contributed" to the company's success (by supporting the household, allowing the founder to work long hours, etc.), they’re entitled to compensation.
The right of first refusal clause (that saves you)
Most well-drafted founder agreements include a right of first refusal (ROFR) or buy-sell provision.
This says: if a founder's shares are subject to a legal claim (divorce, bankruptcy, death), the company or remaining founders have the right to buy those shares at fair market value before they transfer to a third party.
This doesn't prevent the spouse from getting value.
But it does prevent them from becoming a shareholder.
The company can buy back the shares (or find an investor to buy them), and the spouse gets cash instead of equity.
What you should actually do
If you're founding a company:
Include spousal consent provisions in your operating agreement = require that any married founder's spouse sign a consent form acknowledging they have no claim to the equity.
Add a ROFR clause = give the company the right to repurchase shares if they're subject to divorce proceedings.
Use restricted stock with vesting, not options
Get a prenup if you're about to start a company
Buy key person insurance: if your co-founder dies, the insurance payout can fund a buyback of their shares.
Talk to a lawyer who specializes in founder equity AND family law.
Preferred v.s. Common Stock
Both preferred stocks and common stocks represent ownership.
But they do not represent equal claims on value.
The difference matters most when the company is sold, shut down, or goes public.
Common Stock
Common stock is typically held by founders, employees (through options), and, occasionally, early non-institutional investors.
Core characteristics:
Governance rights - common shareholders usually have voting rights, allowing them to participate in electing directors and approving major corporate actions
No economic priority - common has no liquidation preference. In an exit, common shareholders are paid only after debt holders and all preferred shareholders have been satisfied
Residual value only - common shareholders receive whatever value remains after senior claims are paid. This can be substantial in a large exit, or zero in a modest one
For employees, common stock is the main form of equity compensation… but it only produces value if the exit price exceeds the total preference stack.
Preferred Stock
Preferred stock is the class issued to venture investors.
It is designed to reduce downside risk while preserving upside participation.
Core characteristics:
Liquidation preference - preferred shareholders receive their invested capital back first, often at 1x and sometimes at a multiple, before any proceeds go to common
Dividends - preferred may carry dividends, which can be cumulative or non-cumulative, further prioritizing investor returns
Participation rights - in some structures, preferred shareholders receive both their liquidation preference and a share of remaining proceeds
Anti-dilution protection - if the company raises a down round, preferred shares may adjust to limit dilution to investors
Conversion rights - preferred typically converts to common in high upside outcomes (such as an IPO)
Control provisions - preferred shareholders often negotiate board representation and protective provisions over major company decisions
Basically: two shareholders can own equity in the same company and experience materially different outcomes depending on the size of the liquidation preference stack, whether preferences are participating, and how many rounds of preferred capital exist.
Understanding preferred determines how value is distributed and whether equity translates into proceeds at exit.
If you’re working on a pitch deck and would like thoughtful feedback, I’d love to help.
With your permission, I’ll feature an anonymized version of your slides in the newsletter (confidential details removed) alongside a breakdown of my feedback. You can reach me at [email protected].