Cheryl Yeoh: 'It was sexual harassment at the highest level'

Tech entrepreneur Cheryl Yeoh's account of sexual harassment by a leading Silicon Valley investor is the latest discrimination scandal to rock the tech industry. Dave McClure resigned from 500 Startups, the firm he co-founded, following claims made by another woman - which encouraged Ms Yeoh to publish her own story online. In her first interview, Cheryl Yeoh explains why she decided to talk publicly about the incident, which took place in 2014, and what she thinks needs to change. It has been edited for length. How do you feel about what happened now? "I was obviously angry and hurt but also surprised that I felt like it wasn't a rare thing, it was considered normal in the start-up world, the tech world. "Now I realise that's not OK and that's part of the problem. That's why we need to speak up about it and have a conversation around how do we change this dynamic, how do we change the narrative?" You thought that it was "normal" for someone in your flat to brainstorm ideas to try to sleep with you? "My issue is, it wasn't even me inviting him. It was him and a few other business partners who wanted to come over to brainstorm, and in the start-up world it's not uncommon to have after business hours brainstorm sessions.

"A lot deals are made after office hours, it's definitely not uncommon at all. "What I was shocked about was how bold he was to message me after that and, prior to that, he had asked me to come to his hotel room through text. It's shocking how bold they are that they wouldn't be afraid of consequences." Would you say that's still the case today, or are things any better in the start-up world? "Oh yeah… it takes one person coming out about sexual harassment or discrimination. "That was a few years ago with Ellen Pao's case, and with the recent Susan Fowler story about sexual discrimination at Uber, and then a few other stories around Binary Capital, more and more women have the courage to speak up about it, because it was for the longest time a very controversial topic. "So more people are aware of it and because of it more transparent policies are being created to address it so offenders are hopefully going to think twice before they do it again." Can you tell me, if it's not too difficult, what happened that night? "I had just moved to Malaysia from San Francisco to take on this very public position as CEO of a government agency that was given $30m [£23m] to start accelerators and programmes to encourage entrepreneurs in South East Asia. "So Dave McClure had visited Malaysia to work with me to start an accelerator in Malaysia for South East Asia. "After our board meeting he and some business partners came to my apartment to brainstorm ideas for the programme. "They bought alcohol over, they brought whiskey, and he kept pouring whiskey into my glass before it was empty, and that felt a little weird.