Lydia Jones is an 18-year-old from Liverpool, England. She is the creator of Trooops, an app that matches content to users.
On Monday, Jones reached out to Vishal Morjaria after seeing him post in an Facebook group for London-based entrepreneurs. She asked him whether she and her cofounder, a man called Daniel, could get help getting contacts in the city.
However, during the conversation, Morjaria began asking Jones some personal questions.
He asked if she had a boyfriend, and when she replied she was gay, he said that was "cute" and then asked if men "turned her on".
Jones told BuzzFeed that she blocked Morjaria following the exchange.
Jones shared screenshots of the exchange on Twitter, where it has been retweeted over 5,000 times.
So I professionally asked for help and it ended this way. This tech scene needs to wake up. #startup… https://t.co/QqvFQATFJl
The tweet prompted many entrepreneurs to apologize to Jones and offer her advice themselves.
@lydiajones_18 @lydiajones_18 sorry to see this. I think most women in tech will feel your pain. Happy to chat abou… https://t.co/YgAqMmgLWj
And others praised Jones for sharing her experience.
Genuinely feel so bad for women in business, imagine having to put up with shite like this on the regs https://t.co/lUPCuN8hLd
Jones told said she had no idea what kind of response she'd get when she shared the messages, but has been overwhelmed by the response.
@lydiajones_18 If you ever need someone to talk to, hit me up!
"It has how shown the London tech community come together and people from overseas have been so supportive offering advice and introductions," she said. "A negative situation/experience has had a positive impact."
@lydiajones_18 Good for you for shining a light on the sort of thing that happens...