TechCrunch writer Catherine Shu repeatedly declined the advances of 500 Startups venture partner and entrepreneur-in-residence Tristan Pollock but that didn't stop him from allegedly grabbing her and groping her. Disgusted with what she felt was a continued lack of follow-through on her reporting of the incident to 500 Startups, Shu decided to detail the entire ordeal and its aftermath on TechCrunch. Shu's piece a harrowing story in a brave report and you should read it.

500 Startups, an apparently prestigious firm in Mountain View, was founded by Dave McClure who recently resigned after a harassment scandal of his own. In a blog post titled, "I'm a creep. I'm sorry." McClure admitted that he made "advances towards multiple women in work-related situations, where it was clearly inappropriate."

This was the guy in charge of Chu's complaint about Pollack. Here's what happened to Catherine Shu on October 7, 2015, per her account:

"Pollock was visiting Taipei to represent 500 Startups at a local startup hub and meet with entrepreneurs in the program. My friend, who worked at the startup hub, and I had just finished attending a networking event at a restaurant. We were outside when three men arrived and greeted my friend. I hadn't met any of them before, but I later found out that they were Pollock, another staffer at the startup hub and a Taipei-based 500 Startups employee."

Pollock, who according to his website "cameoed in NBC Universal's 'Bazillion Dollar Club'," announced he wanted to go to a bar and Shu's friend talked her into tagging along. Pollock complained he was having trouble meeting women in Tinder in Taipei and became interested in Shu once he learned she was married to a white man. He asked to to pretend she was single and then repeatedly grabbed her hand, refusing to let her get away.

Shu's friend actually took a photo of this moment — a photo that clearly corroborates Shu's recollections of the event. When she finally broke away, Shu managed to hail a cab and as she was trying to leave, Pollock slid his hand down her back and forcefully grabbed her butt.

Shaken, Shu provided her detailed account of the incident to both 500 Startups and her editor at TechCrunch. She states, "I was confused that he wasn’t fired after groping me and I wish I had asked why, but I felt overwhelmed. I had covered several 500 Startup investments before in my time as a contributor at TechCrunch and heard founders speak well of McClure, so I decided to take it on faith that he and his colleagues would handle Pollock appropriately."

As many victims do, Shu went on to experience approximately one year of PTSD symptoms, including a fear of being touched which coincided with her pregnancy. BUT THEN:

"I had no contact with him after the incident, but in March 2016, five months after he groped me, Pollock submitted a post through Crunch Network called “How sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll are creating the next big tech companies.” I saw after it was posted on TechCrunch. It was extremely upsetting to see his byline on the site he knew I work with, especially on an article in which he wrote."

Embolden by numerous other victims who have spoken out before her (read our previous coverage on the subject here), Shu went public with her story.

"I want everyone in a position of influence in the tech industry to understand the psychological toll this kind of violation takes on victims. It is not just a workplace issue or a legal issue. It is a human rights issue. It robs women of time. It takes away energy they wanted to give to their careers or families. It fills them with shame about the most intimate parts of their lives. I'm also painfully aware that many of the women who have come forward about harassment are women of color and, in particular, Asian women."

TechCrunch asked 500 Startups for their response to Shu's post and they issued the following statement:

"500 Startups investigated Ms. Shu's complaint as soon as we learned about it nearly two years ago. We spoke to her, Mr. Pollock, and several other witnesses. Although the various accounts were inconsistent and the investigation was inconclusive, we took internal action that we felt was responsive and reparative, and we communicated that action to TechCrunch's Editor-in-Chief, Matthew Panzarino. Mr. Panzarino stated in a subsequent text message that Ms. Shu was 'satisfied' by our internal actions adding that 'At this point I believe we can close the books on this one - Thanks for taking the time and treating it seriously.'"

Well, yeah. She was "satisfied" after 500 Startups promised her they'd do something about it. She became unsatisfied when they didn't.

Here's Pollock's website. His Instagram account with 17,000 followers is private. Also, TWIST: From the looks of his Facebook page, Pollock is mere weeks away from getting married himself. Yikes. How's that for timing.


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