Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
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Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#2The framing here is priceless.
> Jurvetson is the highest-profile venture capitalist to be forced from his job amid an industrywide evaluation of how Silicon Valley treats women.
And then later.
> The departure comes as Jurvetson was being investigated by his own firm for harassment. An entrepreneur had alleged predatory behavior was “rampant” at DFJ. The woman, Keri Kukral, did not name Jurvetson in her Facebook post.
So the "industrywide evaluation" is individual victims coming forward and reporting past abuse. That's a very charitable take that implies the industry is taking some sort of proactive action.
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#3It is nice to see comeuppance for those who used their position to hurt others. I'm hopeful that the past few weeks lead to a new culture where victims do not fear retribution for speaking out or going to authorities, but I fear that without a concerted effort to make that happen things will go back to normal and this will just be a blip.
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#4The framing here is priceless. > Jurvetson is the highest-profile venture capitalist to be forced from his job amid an industrywide evaluation of how Silicon Valley treats women. And then later. > The departure comes as Jurvetson was being investigated by his own firm for harassment. An entrepreneur had alleged predatory behavior was “rampant” at DFJ. The woman, Keri Kukral, did not name Jurvetson in her Facebook pos…
The firm itself is leading the investigation, rather than an outside individual bringing a lawsuit.
This is a much more proactive scenario than the KPCB-Pao situation several years ago.
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#5The framing here is priceless. > Jurvetson is the highest-profile venture capitalist to be forced from his job amid an industrywide evaluation of how Silicon Valley treats women. And then later. > The departure comes as Jurvetson was being investigated by his own firm for harassment. An entrepreneur had alleged predatory behavior was “rampant” at DFJ. The woman, Keri Kukral, did not name Jurvetson in her Facebook pos…
The firm itself is leading the investigation, rather than an outside individual bringing a lawsuit. This is a much more proactive scenario than the KPCB-Pao situation several years ago.
Even so, that's not an "industrywide evaluation" but a single firm acting responsibly. If there is a concerted push in tech to deal with sexual harassment and/or sexism I'd love to know about it.
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
The firm itself is leading the investigation, rather than an outside individual bringing a lawsuit. This is a much more proactive scenario than the KPCB-Pao situation several years ago.
Even so, that's not an "industrywide evaluation" but a single firm acting responsibly. If there is a concerted push in tech to deal with sexual harassment and/or sexism I'd love to know about it.
Maybe there are different difinitions of “deal with” beig used here? Either way, sexual harrassment is an incredibly difficult problem to “deal with.” Acknowledging it is very easy, but if the ends don’t justify the means, it’s unlikely to happen. The public pressure creates an environment where the ends are more likely to justify the means, but the original issues of how to actually deal with it in an effective manner remain, and they are significant.
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
The firm itself is leading the investigation, rather than an outside individual bringing a lawsuit. This is a much more proactive scenario than the KPCB-Pao situation several years ago.
Even so, that's not an "industrywide evaluation" but a single firm acting responsibly. If there is a concerted push in tech to deal with sexual harassment and/or sexism I'd love to know about it.
How would you determine whether or not there is a "concerted push to deal with sexual harassment and/or sexism in tech"? Perhaps if many tech companies announced such a push? Or maybe if all major tech publications were consistently reporting on the subject? If top tech companies were hiring expensive executives to specifically handle sexism/sexual harassment, would that be enough?
Because all of that has clearly been happening this year. What else can be done?
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#8Reply from Steve Jurvetson:
"I am leaving DFJ to focus on personal matters, including taking legal action against those whose false statements have defamed me."
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#9It is nice to see comeuppance for those who used their position to hurt others. I'm hopeful that the past few weeks lead to a new culture where victims do not fear retribution for speaking out or going to authorities, but I fear that without a concerted effort to make that happen things will go back to normal and this will just be a blip.
Its unlikely that people who are inclined to abuse their power this way will not notice. Its been a media blitz, and its astonishing how prevalent this kind of behavior has been so far. Hopefully it will at least make the abusers think twice, but more importantly, I hope it will empower the victims to speak out and not feel like its been their fault.
Re: Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment
#10Based on what I've read, and I'm fully willing to admit it's all hearsay, Steve, while having achieved great things, has a history of abusing his power and treating founders poorly. This does not feel like bad news.