Why I started ‘VCs for Kamala’

Last month, I accidentally started a movement. I was feeling frustrated that a few loud voices in tech were creating the impression that our whole industry had gone MAGA. In my frustration, I bought a URL, wrote a three-paragraph pledge, put it in Google Forms, designed a logo, built a website, and, with the help of friends, volunteers, and one very prominent LP, collected signatures from more than 100 venture capitalists—all in less than a week. Upon its reveal, the “VCs for Kamala pledge” went viral and changed the conversation in our industry. As of today, more than 850 VCs representing more than $300 billion in assets under management, including a who’s who of Silicon Valley, have signed.

Let me be the first to admit that I am an unlikely political voice of venture capital. For one thing, I have not been a VC for long—I spent most of my career as a founder and operator before raising my first fund in late 2020. I am also an immigrant from Costa Rica who up until recently couldn’t vote in America—this will be the second presidential election in which I can participate. What might shock you most of all is that I’m not even a Democrat. I am an independent voter whose beliefs were shaped in a very different culture and don’t map cleanly to the American political spectrum.

Where VCs draw the line

So why would a moderate independent who’s never been involved in politics and runs a small fund on a shoestring budget take on the loud, powerful, deep-pocketed MAGA crowd? Honestly, I’ve been asking myself that more and more these days. Because for all of the amazing things that have happened since I gained this notoriety, I’ve also paid a steep price for it, losing investors in my fund and becoming a target to those who disagree with me—and even to some who are on the same side. It’s only been six weeks.

Then again, I don’t usually make decisions because something is easy. And given the choice, I’d do it again. Because this election is not just about policy—it’s about character. And for VCs, it’s an acid test for where we draw the line on what kind of person we’re willing to invest in.

I don’t think I fully appreciated what an incredible privilege it is to be a VC before I started investing. I know this sounds obnoxious, but it’s true. Being a VC means you’re a picker of future power players, a minter of future millionaires, a seeder of technologies that the entire world will be using next.

Of course, to quote the great Stan Lee, with great power comes great responsibility. VCs fund the dreamers and doers, but sometimes we fund the grifters, too. Often this happens by mistake—something is missed in diligence, someone lies to you, and sometimes you truly just can’t tell how a founder will react under extreme pressure.

Then again, sometimes you look at the outcome of companies in the news, and you have to ask yourself how those deals got done. Are there VCs who are willing to turn a blind eye to major character concerns, questionable ethics, and serious potential for negative externalities in pursuit of money, power, and a hot deal? If so, it’s important to me that this type of behavior doesn’t represent our industry. And I think we all want VCs to take this part of the job seriously, like our shared future depended on it. Because it does.

Evaluating presidential candidates

Which brings me to the election.

Before I make a new investment, I ask myself what the world will look like if and when that founder is massively successful. It forces me to ask hard questions, uncover moral hazard, and think in a long enough term horizon. Recently, I started applying that same lens to the presidential candidates. What would the nation look like if Donald Trump were massively successful? The answer, to me, is an autocracy, where opportunity is granted to those who “kiss the ring,” with irreversible consequences on climate change, women’s rights, and potentially our republic itself.

That’s why the overwhelming support for “VCs for Kamala,” and the fact about one third of our signatories self-declared as independents or Republicans, doesn’t just give me great hope for our country—it gives me great hope for our industry, too. In Kamala Harris, I see a candidate who is offering dialogue, moving to the center, and fighting to be a president for all. I see a steady-handed leader in her prime. I see someone I would trust to watch my daughters.

I am heartened to learn that most VCs are actively doing our diligence, that we draw the line at egregiousness. That we listen when 16 Nobel economics laureates and Goldman Sachs itself predict that the economy will fare better under a Harris administration. That we care about a woman’s right to choose. That we support policies that give more people a fair shot at entrepreneurship and the American dream.

This is the version of venture capital I signed up for, that I’m proud to speak for, and that I now believe represents the majority of our industry.

Don’t let the MAGA crowd tell you otherwise.

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