In my year and a half working in the tech startup scene in New York City, I'm always surprised to learn that I'm almost always the sole native New Yorker on any team; specifically, from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States, the Bronx. Having learned to code from a fellow Bronxite who became a developer, a budding career in tech was literally the only chance I had to become upwardly mobile. In my talk I will explore the implications of a the dearth of talented individuals across communities of color & low-income areas in the tech industry, and how little exposure to startups and the tech industry is shutting out generations of young people of color from upward mobility and an industry that creates products that many of them use in their day-to-day lives.