Dave McClure, the founding partner of tech incubator 500 Startups, has resigned just days after the New York Times reported he had sent inappropriate messages to a female entrepreneur seeking a job at the fund, Recode has confirmed.
In the hours after the report went live, 500 Startups co-founder Christine Tsai announced McClure would be stepping back from his role as executive partner because of his “inappropriate interactions with women in the tech community.”
As of a few days ago, McClure was simply moving away from managing the day-to-day operations of the incubator. But now, McClure is leaving 500 Startups completely. According to the email sent to the fund’s LPs, McClure had to agree to resign, which he did. Axios first reported his resignation.
“As Dave legally cannot be removed without his consent, we needed him to agree to this resignation,” the email reads. “Thankfully Dave has agreed to resign, and we will be moving forward on formalizing the resignation.”
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McClure apologized following the Times’s report, writing a blog post Saturday titled “I’m a creep. I’m sorry.” McClure admitted to having inappropriate interactions with women in his role as the fund’s co-founder, and said: “For these and other incidents where I have been at fault, I would like to apologize for being a clueless, selfish, unapologetic and defensive ass.”
CNBC’s parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode’s parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement.
Source: Tech CNBC
500 Startups’ Dave McClure has resigned as general partner