Venture firm co-founder McClure resigns, partner quits over harassment scandal
By Salvador Rodriguez
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Prominent Silicon Valley investor Dave McClure said on Monday he had resigned as a partner at the venture capital firm 500 Startups, and another partner at the firm said later that she had quit due to the way sexual harassment allegations were handled.
McClure’s resignation came after entrepreneur Sarah Kunst accused the investor of sexual harassment in a New York Times story published on Friday. Kunst said McClure sent her inappropriate Facebook messages after she’d sought a job at the firm.
“In best interest of @500Startups & at request co-founder @christine_tsai, I am resigning effective immediately,” McClure wrote on Twitter. The firm confirmed the resignation.
Following the Friday report, 500 Startups initially responded by demoting McClure from his role, saying he would no longer be involved in the firm's day-to-day operations.
In a blog published Friday by 500 Startups Chief Executive Christine Tsai, saying that a decision to change the firm’s leadership had occurred “months ago” and that McClure’s role had “been limited.”
But pressure for his resignation mounted throughout the weekend.
Also on Monday, Elizabeth Yin, who has been a partner with 500 Startups since October 2014, said in a note to colleagues that she had resigned from the firm on Saturday after members of the management team continued to deny misconduct on McClure’s behalf.
“It’s become clear to me over the last month that I can no longer be part of this organization,” Yin said in the note, which was obtained by Reuters. “The actions that 500 has undertaken have deviated from its mission, and I can no longer continue to represent this organization.”
McClure’s initial demotion was only made public after he was publicly accused of sexual misconduct by entrepreneur Sarah Kunst in a New York Times story on Friday.
Yin said in her note that following the publication of the piece, members of 500 Startups' management team continued to deny allegations against McClure, according to screenshots of the company’s Slack channel that were included in Yin’s note.
Tsai did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Yin's note.
“I’m gravely disappointed that these now seemingly positive outcomes are only coming about because of pressure from the press and public rather than out of doing the right thing,” Yin wrote.
Yin did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez; Editing by Gabriella Borter)
