I don’t believe this text will survive for more than a few hours. I’m pretty sure it will be deleted, but I’m going to publish it anyway. Nicole is not my real name and I can’t use my real name because … you will understand it now.

I am 24 y.o. now. In 2016 I was a student in Stanford and had a dream — to create my own startup. I didn’t have funds for that and my parents weren’t able to help me either — they were not that rich. I decided to talk to investors. Mike Maples from Floodgate (investment firm from Palo Alto) was giving us a lecture in Stanford and I decided to pitch him, since he was already there, personally.

Mike Maples from Floodgate

I met him before the lecture and briefly explained my idea. You can imagine how surprised I was when he interrupted me, smiled, and said “Such a pretty girl should invite me for a lunch first,” and then he just walked away. Do I need to explain how frustrated I was? To be honest, I was humiliated and offended.

Of course, I didn’t manage to create my startup. I totally lost confidence in myself. And I was afraid to speak up. He was a famous investor and very rich, as you can imagine. I didn’t want my life to be ruined. I swallowed and moved on.

However, just about a month ago I met someone who told me a very similar story about Mike Maples, which happened to her when she met him at another startup event. I decided to email him and explain how wrong this behavior was. He didn’t answer. I emailed again and told him that I would make this story public. He didn’t answer. Then I emailed a few journalists, who I read sometimes and who wrote about similar harassment problems. You know what happened next? You will surprised! Or maybe not.

In a few days I received an email from someone who I don’t know at all, by the name Trayvon Logan (nobody knew the email I was using, except Mr. Maples and a few journalists). First, he said that “the police will be at my door soon.” When I asked him what police has to do with me, he said that “they already found where I work and I will loose my job soon” (I quote his emails). I don’t know whether they really know where I work or they are just bluffing, but this response is definitely not what I was expecting from a reputable Silicon Valley investor. Now I’m very surprised and scared.

Tell me, what should I do…