
Steve Jurvetson is out at his own VC firm after allegations of sexual harassment - heshamg
https://www.recode.net/2017/11/13/16645274/steve-jurvetson-out-draper-fisher-jurvetson-sexual-harassment
======
hkmurakami
Following these very visible and high profile falls from grace, in politics,
media and entertainment, and high tech, there must be some legitimate concerns
that in the near future the Billy Graham rule [1] (or lately called the
Graham-Pence rule) will find more followers than before.

Many men in power will instinctually and subconsciously cut out women from
their professional lives more than before, to the detriment of women's career
advancement. Polls [2] suggest that this isn't a rare position even today.
Mitigating this next challenge should be part of the current successful
campaign that women and allies of women have been waging today, since even
though to some it will be clear that basic attitudes of respect and
professional distance will suffice, many others will make a fear-driven
overreaction.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham_rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham_rule)

[2] [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/upshot/members-of-the-
opp...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/upshot/members-of-the-opposite-sex-
at-work-gender-study.html)

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
I know this might not be a popular opinion. But I've basically instituted a
modified version of this rule for myself.

Billy Graham and Mike Pence are definitely not a fountain a good ideas, but
that doesn't mean this rule is that bad, despite the nonsense place it comes
from.

Whenever I need to have after work dinner/social communication with a female
associate after 5:00pm, I just go out of my way to invite another woman so she
won't be alone. If that is not an option I will try to make it a bigger group
with men and women. I never shut the door to my office when I am with a woman.
If we need to have a private conversation, we do walking meetings around the
block in public areas.

This may be shutting some women out of the intense bonding that some male
colleges have, but I'm not interested in friendships with men from work
either, so I don't think I'm being unfair to anyone.

I also don't stand too close to women. I don't ever comment on their physical
appearance even if they got a great hair cut. And I don't need to hug anyone I
work with ever.

Maybe this makes me a jerk. But I feel like it keeps the relationships I care
about most (those with my family) safe.

~~~
astura
I don't understand why you think it makes you a jerk, most of what you said
I'd simply include simply under "being professional."

~~~
kelukelugames
I don't understand why people hug their co workers. That sounds weird. But
some of the things on the list are ridiculous.

I'm socially awkward and I still don't have problems having a closed door
conversation with a member of the opposite sex. Are you just going to pass on
interviewing women because that puts the two of you in a room?

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
In my position if I have to interview a woman (or any candidate), I can talk
to her with my team present.

Maybe it would be different if I was the CEO hiring for an executive position,
and then I would make an exception. But for white boarding? Even if it were 1
on 1, I don't understand the need to have the door shut.

Privacy makes me uncomfortable anytime in a work environment. I like my home
life private, but I'm fine having my work place conversations overheard by
others.

------
jkw
Reply from Steve Jurvetson:

"I am leaving DFJ to focus on personal matters, including taking legal action
against those whose false statements have defamed me."

[https://twitter.com/dfjsteve/status/930170825625370624](https://twitter.com/dfjsteve/status/930170825625370624)

~~~
s73ver_
Has anyone kept track of how often someone says something along those lines,
and how often the suit is actually filed?

~~~
sitkack
Lol, the "defaming" has caused them to quite their own business. Let me write
a quick Prolog program to figure this one out.

------
MsMowz
It 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.

~~~
pm90
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.

~~~
vkou
> Its been a media blitz, and its astonishing how prevalent this kind of
> behavior has been so far.

Given how many people have spoken up at #meetoo, it's really not astonishing.
What's astonishing is that this has been ignored for so long.

------
chaostheory
This is what I love about America: we have periodic, bloodless revolutions
that can be initiated and carried out by anyone. The social order keeps
changing without the chaos, destruction, and waste of violent upheavals or
coups. Isn't this what both Marx and Mao have always wanted? What they both
didn't realize was that you need a functioning democracy with freedom of
speech (and the Internet) to achieve it.

~~~
api
Agreed until you got to the Marx and Mao part, which is a bit "WUT?"

~~~
chaostheory
Why? Am I wrong?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution)

To be clear, you do realize that I'm criticizing both Marx and Mao right?

~~~
allenz
You're taking them out of context. Marx didn't want revolution for
revolution's sake. He had a specific change to the social order in mind,
namely the cause of socialism. He wouldn't approve of the US.

~~~
chaostheory
So you're saying that the Women's Suffrage movement changed nothing? The Civil
Rights movement didn't have any effect? The Sexual Revolution did little? What
about the unions? I can go on. Are you saying that none of our bloodless
revolutions made any changes to the social order?

------
FiatLuxDave
23 years ago, Steve Jurvetson was the only VC to respond to the 150 letters I
sent out while seeking capital for my first startup. At the time he had not
yet made partner at DFJ (it was just Draper Fisher back then). I was really
impressed by his intelligence. At the time I was delivering pizza while
working my way through a physics degree, designing a fusion reactor in my
spare time. He cared about real advances in technology, and he and Tim Draper
gave me a chance. Without him making the decision to speak to me, my whole
life and career would have been different.

I don't know anything about whether Steve was inappropriate towards women or
not. I've never worked closely enough with him to know, and I haven't spoken
to him in many years. But I can't help but hope that he's doing ok. I hope he
either gets vindication if he's innocent, or comes to peace with his actions
if he is not. The rest of you may see him now as a powerful middle-aged man,
but I still remember him as the young hotshot with something to prove.

------
nhangen
Based 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.

~~~
mathattack
Unless the founder is of Theranos.

------
downandout
This may get downvotes, but the speed with which careers are being destroyed
based on mere allegations of sexual misconduct these days is frightening.
While the allegations in this case may or may not be true, it is actually
possible for a woman to make a false allegation of sexual misconduct. There
are myriad reasons that someone would make make such a false allegation
against a powerful VC. Yet in today’s environment, even if he ultimately
proves himself to be innocent through the lawsuit he claims he is going to
file against his accuser, a career death sentence has already been carried out
by a virtual lynch mob. That is wrong.

~~~
arintoker
I was thinking this too. I do believe there are a lot of victims of sexual
abuse and sexual harassment. However, what concerns me is that their truths
are being overshadowed by those who seek to use these accusations as a way to
screw over somebody they didn't like or for attention or even for money. It is
quite frightening and it could happen to anyone.

~~~
joebolte
> their truths are being overshadowed by those who seek to use these
> accusations as a way to screw over somebody they didn't like or for
> attention or even for money.

Wow. Given the well-supported allegations of sexual misconduct, published in
reputable newspapers recently, yours is quite the claim. Who is doing this for
attention? Do you have any evidence?

~~~
shifter
Jackie from the UVA story?

------
pecanpie
Long time reader, tentative poster, upvote or downvote as necessary…

Back in the days of orkut.com, I do remember Jurvetson making what seemed to
me like a huge effort to interact with pretty young women, especially from
Estonia. I remember him having a few hundred friends on that service — more
than most people there had — a list which included a very large population of
pretty, young, single Estonian women.

Keep in mind that I never saw any behavior of his on orkut.com that I would
deem harassment, but his social activity there did seem curious to me,
considering his married, busy professional status. It was kind of similar to
what I saw Marc Canter (of Macromedia fame I guess?) doing there, but again,
for neither guy did I witness, or hear, of any harassment going on. it just
seemed that what they were doing was merely using their professional status to
flirt.

At the time, I figured that their flirting, and their collecting of young
female friends, was harmless, and didn't indicate anything untoward going on.
Especially since none of my female friends and acquaintances in these guys’
sights intimated to me that anything weird or unwelcome was happening. But
now, I'm not so sure, considering how allegations, like the one in the
featured article, are bubbling up.

~~~
nothrabannosir
I'm torn on how useful this kind of comment (or gossip?) is. On the one hand:
it's context. On the other: the witch hunt Has Begun™.

God forbid I ever end up in a situation, and find people telling similar,
about me. Even if completely true, this could still be irrelevant. How would I
feel about my past self indulging in their consumption, as I am tempted to,
right now?

How do others feel about this?

Edit: And: does it matter whether it turns out to be a false accusation, like
he claims, or a real one? Because if it does (which I think it does),
shouldn't we withhold these stories until the verdict is definite? But if it
doesn't, then... surely, that can only mean that this comment is irrelevant?

~~~
jstarfish
Eh... if you're this indiscrete about your vices, you're indulging in them
wrong.

------
AlexandrB
The 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.

~~~
hkmurakami
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.

~~~
AlexandrB
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.

~~~
Danihan
Is every company having a HR department not enough?

~~~
ben_jones
I had this conversation the other day. HR exists to protect the firm, if that
involves sweeping things under the rug, disparaging victims, or enabling
illegal behavior by high performers, they will, and historically have, done
it.

~~~
Danihan
HR departments are intended to protect the company from liability. Generally
speaking, they do that by taking standardized actions regarding harassment
claims because otherwise they open the company up to lawsuits and negative PR.

Basically, it's irrational to try to cover up or ignore harassment in the vast
majority of cases. Which is why HR is a perfectly decent solution for most of
these issues, and we only hear about a few outliers in the media / law suits.

~~~
vkou
HR does what their bosses tell them to. If the company culture is more
conductive to sweeping the transgressions of a director under the rug, then to
firing them, then HR will do just that. After all, the
director/c-level/partner is making them millions of dollars, and well, most
people won't file a lawsuit over a few dozen inappropriate comments or
invitations to a hotel room. (Good luck getting a reference after you do.)

Engineers are also supposed to build bug-free software, but when your boss
tells you to ship the product, you're going to ship it. If the company gets
sued because your product has bugs, you're not going to be personally liable.

