Surveying VCs for Kamala Harris
Two weeks ago, Leslie Feinzaig, Founder and General Partner at Graham & Walker, approached me about running a survey for signatories of the VCs for Kamala Harris pledge. As Leslie led the effort to get investors engaged with the pledge, she saw that signatories included numerous Republicans and Independents as well as the Democrats you might expect. In order to accurately represent their perspective, she wanted an independent view into what this politically diverse group cared about most.
Between August 11-18, Leslie and I worked together with Bloomberg Beta Head Roy Bahat to survey VCs for Kamala Harris signatories. As you'll see from the data below, despite their political differences, signatories are highly aligned on the policies they believe are the most critical drivers of American innovation.
VCs for Kamala Harris: Surveying a politically diverse group
The VCs for Kamala Harris pledge initially launched on July 31. Immediately the pledge went massively viral. In the first few weeks after launch, the pledge was signed by 800+ people with $300B under management, and signatories include industry heavy-hitters like Steve Wozniack, Reid Hoffman, Vinod Khosla, Albert Wenger, Deven Parekh, Aileen Lee, Kirsten Green, and many more.
We surveyed VCs for Kamala Harris signatories to see what platform and policies they're expecting. The group includes Democrats and Republicans; progressives, centrists, and conservatives; people from blue states and red states. The results paint a very different picture of Silicon Valley than the one that is currently being propagated by a handful of billionaires that have endorsed Donald Trump.
Takeaway #1: Investors signed the pledge because they support Kamala Harris’s vision for an opportunity economy
96% of signatories feel aligned with Harris’s views on social and economic issues:
- 64% of signatories said that Harris’s policies largely align with their views
- An additional 33% said that they align on the most important issues
This shows up clearly in how people responded to the open question, “Why did you sign the VCs for Kamala pledge?” Almost half of respondents commented explicitly on policy alignment considerations with remarks like these:
- “The current Biden/Harris administration has been the most effective government in history at pushing pro-innovation policies for the clean energy transition.”
- “Harris/Walz will protect and encourage an equitable and inclusive and world leading business and economic climate through responsible healthcare, immigration and tax policy that looks after the everyday American.”
- “Stability is key for business to thrive. VP Harris is the only choice in this election to support a thriving innovation ecosystem. Her policies support innovation, entrepreneurship, and working families.”
In other words, signatories aren’t signing the pledge just because they will vote for anyone but Trump. They support Harris because, on the whole, they feel that her policies best represent the interests of American business and innovation.
Takeaway #2: Business leaders support Harris’s economic agenda
Conventional wisdom suggests that investors and business leaders support a conservative economic agenda. However, the majority of investor signatories are aligned with the Harris-Walz economic platform. For instance:
- 83% of signatories agree that the Inflation Reduction Act will be good for American business
- 81% of signatories agree that estate taxes should be higher for large estates
- 77% of signatories believe that the Affordable Care act boosts entrepreneurship
- Only 6% of signatories believe that tariffs are good for American business
The group is divided on the topic of how carried interest, a major form of investor income, should be taxed. This is one issue where the loudest voices paint one picture, but the data shows more nuance. While many signatories feel that carried interest should be taxed as capital gains, 43.5% agree or strongly agree that it should be taxed as ordinary income.
The majority of signatories also support the FTC ruling banning non-compete agreements. 83.5% said that non-compete agreements should be unenforceable nationally the way they are in California. In other words, the vast majority of investors support a pro-labor policy rather than the policy preferred by most major corporations.
Takeaway #3: Business leaders see immigration, climate, and women’s rights as central economic issues
Signatories did not agree on every issue, but there are a few policy areas where the group had particularly strong alignment.
As a collective, signatories believe in immigration as a critical driver of American innovation. They strongly support policies designed to expedite immigration for people with the skills and desire to work in technology and business. 95% of respondents said the US should offer startup visas to qualified entrepreneurs. 94% said that making more H-1B visas available would benefit American business.
Several signatories named immigration reform as a key driver of American business interests. As one person summarized, “Bring in more legal, talented immigrants while reducing illegal immigration. America should be a magnet for the best & brightest talent around the world.”
The belief that progressive climate change policy accelerates US innovation is also widely shared. 95% of respondents agreed that policies that combat climate change are good for American business.
Finally, 97% of survey participants said that it was a mistake to repeal Roe v. Wade. This position was held by men as well as women and non-binary people.
Several signatories went even further, explicitly connecting support for women’s rights to the health of American business. A full quarter of respondents said that access to reproductive rights, and women’s rights more broadly, is the most important issue for the new administration to focus on all factors considered.
Takeaway #4: Public officials can’t regulate effectively without being informed
Across the board, signatories feel that the federal government needs more technology expertise in order to be effective. 91.5% of respondents said that the government should hire more technology talent. 97% said that public officials cannot effectively regulate frontier technologies like AI and cryptocurrency without being more knowledgeable about these technologies.
Takeaway #5: The most aligned POV: The views of the tech industry cannot be represented by a handful of billionaires
Among all positions shared by VCs for Kamala Harris signatories, this was the most universal. 98% of respondents said that the tech industry cannot be accurately represented by a handful of billionaires.
In fact, many signatories were explicitly moved to take a public stand in support of Kamala Harris in order to counter the prevailing narrative that Silicon Valley has taken a hard turn right. A full third of the respondents who answered the question “Why did you sign the VCs for Kamala pledge?” directly addressed what they see as a misleading public narrative about the politics of the tech industry:
- “A select number of billionaires do not speak for the entire VC / tech industry”
- “It's important to counter the narrative that the VC industry is dominated by a few, loud… voices. In fact the industry is incredibly diverse, and healthier because of it.”
- “Musk/Thiel/Andreesen et al do not speak for our industry”
- “Sacks and Musk don't represent the viewpoints of the Valley”
- “I, personally, felt it was important to change the narrative set by A16Z, and a handful of other VCs supporting Trump”
- “Because the emerging narrative of "VCs supporting Trump" was neither representative nor accurate, and a competing narrative needed to be put in place”
- “Didn't want certain firms with the loudest voices representing all of us”
- “A few vocal VCs, who are focused on more power and enriching themselves, don't speak for the industry”
- “MAGA billionaires don't speak for me”
The signatories represent various political views and interests and are not a monolith. Not every participant supports reproductive rights or open immigration or the Inflation Reduction Act. But taken as a whole, the group feels that the Harris-Walz platform supports and advances American innovation, entrepreneurship, and prosperity.
Thank you to all VCs for Kamala Harris signatories for sharing your perspective!
Kieran
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