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nitpicker

(7,153 posts) Sat Jun 24, 2017, 05:23 AM Jun 2017

Silicon Valley rocked by sexual harassment claims - again

http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/23/technology/business/justin-caldbeck-sexual-harassment/index.html

Silicon Valley rocked by sexual harassment claims - again

by Sara Ashley O'Brien @saraashleyo
June 23, 2017: 6:00 PM ET

On Friday, venture capital investor Justin Caldbeck said he was taking an indefinite leave of absence from his firm after he was accused of sexually harassing women who work in tech. "The gap of influence between male venture capitalists and female entrepreneurs is frightening and I hate that my behavior played a role in perpetrating a gender-hostile environment," Caldbeck wrote in a statement released by Binary Capital, the firm he cofounded in 2014.

Reed Albergotti of tech news site The Information reported on Thursday that six female founders had come forward with stories about unwanted advances by Caldbeck. Their claims included groping and late-night texts. Caldbeck, 40, was quoted in the story strongly denying the claims, calling them "attacks on my character." Binary Capital was also quoted saying the allegations were false. "There is no evidence that Justin did anything illegal," the firm said.

But in his statement Friday, Caldbeck said he was deeply ashamed of his lack of self-awareness. He thanked the women who spoke out for making him take a "sobering look into my own character and behavior that I can no longer ignore." Caldbeck wrote that the past "24 hours have been the darkest of my life," and said he'll seek professional counseling. He was previously a managing director at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and a partner at Bain Capital Ventures. Caldbeck led investments for Binary Capital in Grubhub (GRUB), Stitchfix, TaskRabbit and other startups.
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