Techpreneur Yeoh: McClure tried to force himself on me

PETALING JAYA: Tech entrepreneur Cheryl Yeoh (pic) alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a prominent venture capitalist while in the process of sealing a business deal with his company.

The founding chief executive officer of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) recounted in a blog post on Monday that Dave McClure, co-founder of investment funding company 500 Startups, attempted to force himself on her at her apartment in Malaysia three years ago after a night of socialising where several of her business partners were also present.

MaGIC supports the growth of creative and innovation-linked businesses in Malaysia through programmes and capacitybuilding initiatives.

After the evening was over, her guests started taking leave one by one, leaving McClure alone with Yeoh, and this, she said, was when the married man started to proposition her, even after meeting her boyfriend earlier that evening.

As he followed Yeoh to her bedroom, she repeatedly rejected him and tried to shoo him away.

“I led him to the door and told him he needs to leave. On the way out, he pushed himself onto me to the point where I was backed into a corner, made contact to kiss me and said something along the lines of ‘Just one night, please just this one time’.

“Disgusted and outraged, I said no firmly again, pushed him away and made sure he was out my door,” she said.

Yeoh explained that she was un- able to speak up about it back then as she did not want to put her startup deal at peril, as they were about to sign a letter of intent.

Last Friday, entrepreneur Sarah Kunst shared about an unwanted advance from the man, who has since been accused publicly by two more women of unwanted sexual advances, other than Yeoh.

McClure has since admitted to making advances towards multiple women in a blog post entitled “I’m a Creep. I’m Sorry”, and eventually stepped down on Monday.

Yeoh said although McClure has apologised, she felt he did not acknowledge the severity of his harassment.

“It definitely didn’t address the severity of his sexual advances towards me and potentially others,” she said, while lamenting the supportive messages McClure received on social media, which compelled her to tell her story.

Yeoh said the advances made towards her were not just inappropriate, but qualified as assault.

“The degree of harassment matters. Non-consensual sexual advances are not the same as flirtatious comments from a creepy dude,” she said.