I’m an LGBT entrepreneur running a social startup with strong interest abroad. I’m concerned that being open about my orientation and being active in that community might jeopordize my company’s ability to move into certain parts of the world. If it were just a matter of monetary returns, I wouldn’t think think twice about it, but my company creates a product that improves safety and quality of life for users, and I don’t want to make that less accessible or less attractive to any at-risk groups because of something totally unrelated to our company’s activities and mission. It’s less a matter of being out at all – if you really tried, you could already find this out about me – but of whether to be active in the community and out publicly.
Thoughts?