When Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire went scorched-earth on New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, it marked a new, if familiar, act in tech Twitter theater: a billionaire-adjacent venture capitalist using his megaphone to slam a politician he views as dangerous — and in the process, lighting up both sides of the political spectrum.
In a July 4 post, the California-based Maguire wrote that the NYC candidate “comes from a culture that lies about everything” and now seeks to advance “his Islamist agenda.” It racked up more than 5 million views, became national news, and prompted two full-throated open letters: one demanding that Sequoia make a public apology, signed by self-identified employees of Microsoft, Google, and Apple, the other offering support, signed by the likes of tech iconoclasts Josh Wolfe and David Marcus. In the investing world, Maguire may have just claimed the crown as its reigning edgelord.
And yet: no apology. No deleted tweet. To the contrary, Maguire has only doubled and tripled down on his “Islamist” comments with several follow-up posts and a 29-minute video defending his remarks, while dismissing the open letter as an example of “cancel culture.” He also clarified that he thinks only a small portion of Muslims are Islamists.
“You only embolden me,” he wrote on X. Another post thanks the “haters and losers” among his 10,000 new followers. In another, he wrote, “Just so my enemies understand. I’ve reverse engineered your entire command structure. I’m going to play nice for now, but am ready to embarrass any of you should you escalate.” Maguire and Sequoia did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Here’s the thing: As both tech and politics have become more polarized, incendiary behavior may no longer carry consequences for elite venture capitalists. If anything, it may be good for business.
From an outsider’s perspective, Maguire’s broadside may seem beyond the pale of content marketing. But it may just be the next turn of the dial in a post-pandemic tech ecosystem where elites have grown ever more brash and unapologetic. Top investors especially have learned they can be loud, bold, and polarizing, and it won’t impact their ability to secure deals. In a market where the demand for capital outweighs the supply, VCs can afford to ruffle feathers.
Venture capital is largely “a fame game,” says a venture capitalist at a multistage firm with several notable exits. “We all sell the same money. So brand awareness matters a lot, both in seeing and in winning deals.”
When Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire went scorched-earth on New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, it marked a new, if familiar, act in tech Twitter theater: a billionaire-adjacent venture capitalist using his megaphone to slam a politician he views as dangerous — and in the process, lighting up both sides of the political spectrum.
In a July 4 post, the California-based Maguire wrote that the NYC candidate “comes from a culture that lies about everything” and now seeks to advance “his Islamist agenda.” It racked up more than 5 million views, became national news, and prompted two full-throated open letters: one demanding that Sequoia make a public apology, signed by self-identified employees of Microsoft, Google, and Apple, the other offering support, signed by the likes of tech iconoclasts Josh Wolfe and David Marcus. In the investing world, Maguire may have just claimed the crown as its reigning edgelord.
And yet: no apology. No deleted tweet. To the contrary, Maguire has only doubled and tripled down on his “Islamist” comments with several follow-up posts and a 29-minute video defending his remarks, while dismissing the open letter as an example of “cancel culture.” He also clarified that he thinks only a small portion of Muslims are Islamists.
“You only embolden me,” he wrote on X. Another post thanks the “haters and losers” among his 10,000 new followers. In another, he wrote, “Just so my enemies understand. I’ve reverse engineered your entire command structure. I’m going to play nice for now, but am ready to embarrass any of you should you escalate.” Maguire and Sequoia did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Here’s the thing: As both tech and politics have become more polarized, incendiary behavior may no longer carry consequences for elite venture capitalists. If anything, it may be good for business.
From an outsider’s perspective, Maguire’s broadside may seem beyond the pale of content marketing. But it may just be the next turn of the dial in a post-pandemic tech ecosystem where elites have grown ever more brash and unapologetic. Top investors especially have learned they can be loud, bold, and polarizing, and it won’t impact their ability to secure deals. In a market where the demand for capital outweighs the supply, VCs can afford to ruffle feathers.
Venture capital is largely “a fame game,” says a venture capitalist at a multistage firm with several notable exits. “We all sell the same money. So brand awareness matters a lot, both in seeing and in winning deals.”
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