Former Hack VC partner accuses workplace pressure: attempted suicide, refuses to settle in silence

A heavyweight workplace dispute has erupted in the crypto venture capital circle.

Former Hack VC partner and managing director Hsin-Ju published a lengthy public statement on August 23, detailing the high-intensity work, health crises, resignation pressures, and subsequent legal disputes she faced during her tenure, and accused the management of threatening her with "industry blacklisting." She revealed that the ongoing pressure ultimately led to a suicide attempt and that she rejected a settlement offer that included a "non-disclosure" clause, preferring to forgo compensation rather than accept a gag order.

Hsin-Ju is a seasoned professional in the crypto industry, with about 9 years of experience. Her public resume shows that she served as Head of Growth at Stellar in 2017, working alongside Mt. Gox founder Jed McCaleb; joined the early Solana team as Head of Growth in 2018, later founding Dystopia Labs, organizing over 17 Ethereum developer conferences, and was responsible for Fhenix's growth business. She began participating in Hack VC part-time in 2021 and officially joined full-time in March 2025 as a partner and managing director, leaving in September of the same year.

High-Intensity Work and "Industry Blacklisting" Accusations

According to Hsin-Ju, during her tenure in 2025, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease, hyperthyroidism, and severe insomnia, yet was still required to maintain an extremely high work intensity, working 13 to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, with daily sleep sometimes only 0 to 4 hours. At that time, it was the Korean Blockchain Week, and she was responsible for Hack Summit and related events.

She claimed to have submitted her resignation multiple times but was not approved. Hsin-Ju accused Hack VC co-founder and managing partner Alex Pack, as well as partner Daniel Bulaevsky, of stating that if she left before the summit and related events concluded, they would use their industry connections to impact her future career development.

According to her, Alex Pack emphasized that he had long-standing personal relationships with many managing partners of venture firms, thus possessing the ability to "blacklist" her from the industry.

Hsin-Ju stated that nearly a month of sustained pressure ultimately led to her suicide attempt. She indicated that she only hoped to leave normally at that time and did not plan to sue the company, provided the company did not retaliate or publicly smear her.

She revealed that her annual salary before leaving reached $300,000.

Health Insurance Dispute Escalates After Resignation

However, after her resignation, the conflict between both parties did not end.

Hsin-Ju stated that her COBRA continuation health insurance subsequently encountered issues, with related disputes lasting nearly 4 months, and multiple communications remained unresolved until she hired Sanford Heisler law firm to intervene, which finally led to a resolution.

She believes that, given her serious health crisis, the company still failed to properly handle the health insurance issue, further exacerbating the conflict between both parties.

In the subsequent nearly year-long legal negotiations, Hsin-Ju accused the company's lawyers and some partners of making false statements about employees, naming individuals such as @0xRodney, @IsTheBaron, @roshunpatel, and @Alex__Botte. She also mentioned that common interest arrangements in the VC industry, such as carry and clawback, might lead some individuals to avoid the facts.

Refusal to Accept Gag Order Settlement, Preview of Evidence to be Released on August 26

The two parties had previously entered private mediation and were close to reaching a settlement, but Hsin-Ju stated that the related proposal included a "non-disclosure" condition. She ultimately rejected the settlement, fired her attorney, and decided to make the entire incident public.

She stated that she was not seeking compensation but hoped to disclose the events, while also indicating that personally confronting a VC firm managing approximately $600 million to $700 million in assets could pose significant legal and career risks.

Hack VC subsequently responded that they had noted the relevant content and expressed concern for Hsin-Ju's health, but emphasized that there were "significant differences" between the two parties regarding the incident. They also refused to disclose further details on the grounds of respecting privacy and did not directly respond to specific accusations regarding workplace pressure, health insurance disputes, and industry threats.

Additionally, according to RootData, in the past year, besides Hsin-Ju, at least three other partner-level executives have left Hack VC, including Alex Botte, Roshun Patel, and Sean Brown. In terms of investments, Hack VC's investment rounds have also dropped to the lowest point since its establishment, with only 4 projects publicly invested in this year.

Currently, the incident remains at a stage where both sides hold differing accounts, and Hsin-Ju's statements lack any strong evidence or public support from other well-known industry figures. Hsin-Ju has announced that she will publicly release relevant evidence on August 26 or earlier, which will be a key point in determining whether her core accusations can be validated.