Leaders come together to support, discuss and strategize at “A Fempreneur State of Mind”
Today my friends and I attended “A Fempire State of Mind” that was later changed to “A Fempreneur State of Mind”. The latter, more specific to the event’s mission of supporting female entrepreneurs, could not be more timely.
Recently, several prominent venture capitalists and investors in tech and startup have stepped down from their positions due to claims of sexual harassment. As a result, women have begun to come forth with their tales of sexual harassment within the Silicon Valley, where the technology is innovative but the “bro culture” remains antiquated. In response, this event was created to provide a space to discuss, strategize and support female entrepreneurs.
Tina Hui (CEO and founder of Follow the Coin Labs) and Kalin Kelly (an angel investor) hosted the event in SF’s SOMA district at Covo, a beautiful workspace replete with locally sourced food, coffee, wine and beer. The event was thoughtful and informative from start to finish. Upon check-in, we were provided with tags upon which we could write our responses to a prompt asking us to share our experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination. These tags were then traded in for our complimentary beverage of choice (sauvignon blanc for me, kombucha for my friend) and were later read aloud and displayed. Brilliant. Even before the event officially began, we were primed to reflect upon and discuss what led us there.
Women started to introduce themselves, excitedly exchanging ideas about their work, visions and potential for future collaboration. As a psychologist and dance instructor with mental health, leadership and empowerment endeavors, I was excited to meet a life coach who formerly worked in tech and now supports and empowers those women. We each openly admired the important role the other plays, particularly in concert with our own goals to heal society. The event officially began with the stories women shared of sexual harassment, followed by an ice breaker that encouraged individuals to discuss and write down a piece of advice from their field of expertise. This was a wise way to encourage participant buy-in and build in collaboration. It reminds me of the very important ways that females can contribute to the industry. I was heartened to see males in attendance, including friend, entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Chen (Modernist, 5A5, Hackcancer, The Bradley Group, alist). We know that issues must be addressed at various levels to produce systemic change. Our allies are very important.
Tina and Kalin then presented Josh Constine, editor-at-large for TechCrunch, who reviewed a template for investor/founder sexual harassment policy that was created by several contributing authors from the industry, including the female founders who disclosed sexual harassment. He emphasized that it was driven by values moreso than legal obligation with a broader goal of addressing discrimination in the tech and startup industry. I felt this was an important conceptual shift that broadens the discussion to address a cultural phenomenon instead of circumscribing the policies to a system that is also impacted by discrimination. He also pushed for the end of Non-Disparagement or Protection of Reputation agreements, that restrict an individual from taking any action that might reflect negatively upon an organization. It was an informative presentation that generated questions and discussions from the group. I found the suggestions of how to address sexual discrimination in the workplace, both organizationally as well as what women have said in the moment to be most helpful.
I was also heartened by Josh’s dedication through a no-tolerance approach to addressing discrimination and promoting equality “He’s a good guy is no longer an acceptable excuse. If he inappropriately solicits women, he’s not a good guy. When your partner has been engaged in sexual harassment for years and you have sat by and done nothing, you are complicit in this behavior.” He’s hinting at the recent upheaval at Binary Capital, which revealed sexual harassment, defamation and coersion, leading several porfolio companies to remove co-founder Justin Caldbeck from their boards. According to the Mercury News, Assist stated they would not rescind their $3.6 million investment if Binary agrees to hire a women-led venture capitalist to manage the current investments. Co-founder Jonathan Teo, who has offered to follow his partner and resign, expressed his dissatisfaction with this resolution in e-mails to porfolio CEOs and limited partners.
“As for those who are moronic enough to ask for a general partner replacement as long as it is a woman, please question their motives. We must choose the best person, male or female.”
It’s not an easy situation and while I applaud Assist for taking a stance, it is challenging to correct decades of implicit sexual discrimination. This response reveals an oversight of the systematic and cultural paradigm that have contributed to and perpetuated Caldbeck’s behaviors. Hence, the reason why we need events such as this.
As the event wrapped up, we made plans to continue this conversation by staying connected to other women working hard to found companies and lead movements within their industries. There were no catty eyes filled with judgment. No sizing each other up that accompanies the mind trap that we need to tear each other down for limited resources. On our way out, we got a chance to catch a dose of Tina’s infectious energy and personal words of advice to put yourself out there, fully, loudly, with no regrets. This was particularly salient to me, as Asian female who grew up in a culture that encouraged us to avoid negative consequences by staying modest, blending in and staying under the radar. I resonated with Tina’s words. Whenever I try to mute the vibrancy of my personality, I discover that I not only fail myself but I fail to produce great work. By embracing our true selves, we might fully experience life in a meaningful way. Our best work can be done by bringing the best version of ourselves.
