/Tech1d ago

Replit founder Amjad Masad says speaking out on Gaza drew VC backlash but helped filter out bad business partners

Critic Ben Badejo contested Masad's characterization of the conflict.

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#60

Original post

Amjad Masad@amasad#60inTech

When I spoke out against the Gaza genocide, a bunch of midwit VCs ganged up on me both in public and tried to hurt me in private too.

Many of those who stood by me were also VCs. Just the better ones. Both morally, and in return profile.

The best way to avoid sociopaths is to have them self select out of your life by standing for your beliefs.

GREG ISENBERG@gregisenberg

I was once pitching in a board room at a top 3 VC firm for a $15M Series A.

12 people in the meeting. One of the GPs fully fell asleep. Out cold for 30+ minutes. Nobody acknowledged it. Everyone just kept going.

I kept presenting my Series A slides to an unconscious man in a Herman Miller chair and somehow that was considered normal. That's venture capital.

You might fly across the country to perform for people who may or may not be conscious.

It's a dance.

And sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow and sometimes your partner is unconscious.

If you're raising right now, just know: every founder has a story like this. The process is weird. The power dynamic is weird. You're not crazy for thinking it's weird.

No one talks about it because they want to continue raising. But I'm happy to stick my neck out there.

It is weird.

12:37 PM · Jun 6, 2026 · 367.2K Views

/Tech1d ago

Replit founder Amjad Masad says speaking out on Gaza drew VC backlash but helped filter out bad business partners

Critic Ben Badejo contested Masad's characterization of the conflict.

3667.5K783642398.9K

#60

Original post

Amjad Masad@amasad#60inTech

When I spoke out against the Gaza genocide, a bunch of midwit VCs ganged up on me both in public and tried to hurt me in private too.

Many of those who stood by me were also VCs. Just the better ones. Both morally, and in return profile.

The best way to avoid sociopaths is to have them self select out of your life by standing for your beliefs.

GREG ISENBERG@gregisenberg

I was once pitching in a board room at a top 3 VC firm for a $15M Series A.

12 people in the meeting. One of the GPs fully fell asleep. Out cold for 30+ minutes. Nobody acknowledged it. Everyone just kept going.

I kept presenting my Series A slides to an unconscious man in a Herman Miller chair and somehow that was considered normal. That's venture capital.

You might fly across the country to perform for people who may or may not be conscious.

It's a dance.

And sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow and sometimes your partner is unconscious.

If you're raising right now, just know: every founder has a story like this. The process is weird. The power dynamic is weird. You're not crazy for thinking it's weird.

No one talks about it because they want to continue raising. But I'm happy to stick my neck out there.

It is weird.

12:37 PM · Jun 6, 2026 · 367.2K Views

Sentiment

Positive users praise Replit CEO Amjad Masad for his values-driven leadership and moral stand on Gaza genocide claims, while negative users insult him and accuse the statements of being lies or Holocaust inversion.

Pos

49.2%

Neg

50.8%

90 comments with sentiment.

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Ben Badejo@BenjaminBadejo

There is no Gaza genocide. There was never a Gaza genocide. Actually, that’s not quite right. On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists tried to murder me, and all of my friends, and everyone in Israel — man, woman and child. That was attempted genocide. They raped, kidnapped, maimed and murdered thousands of us.

They fired thousands of rockets at us, refused to release the hostages they endlessly tortured for two years, and triggered a seven-front war against Israel by terrorists groups across the region — terrorist groups committed to murdering every Jew, every Israeli, every American, and every “infidel,” while using two million Gazans as human shields.

So Israel fought back. And Israel won.

That is what happened.

It is not Israel’s fault that Hamas terrorists operated from and hid behind and under schools, hospitals, residential areas, and even mosques and the few remaining churches in Gaza.

Your cowardice is not our problem. Your decision to jeopardize the lives of noncombatants by hiding amongst them is not our problem. Your willingness to sacrifice innocent people in Gaza, all because you hate Jews so much and don’t actually care about innocent people in Gaza at all…is not our fucking problem.

It is the job of the Israeli military to protect the people of Israel from the people who are actively trying to kill them. If you try to fire rockets at me from inside or on top of or next to or underneath a school, then the school is getting blown up. We will not apologize.

We will not apologize for living. We will not apologize for defending ourselves. And we will not apologize for other people’s crimes.

I want to know which so-called “midwit” VCs “ganged up on” this pathological liar. Those are my people, because they do not tolerate terrorist-loving liars like Replit founder Amjad Masad.

As for the VCs who “stood by” this liar: nobody should want their money. If you are a founder and you actually care about your company, don’t take money from investors who accommodate lies. Nothing good can come of it.

The truth matters.

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Igor Costa@igorcosta

@amasad Similar story here, when I said that I stand with the Gaza genocide and I replied to one of your tweets. A retard VC cancelled a meeting because of that. But I’m glad he did because I don’t change my values for f** money.

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Amjad Masad@amasad

@SeanAllenFenn Ah yes start the clock at your convenience. Congrats on being pro genocide and rape. Time will not be kind to you.

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Amjad Masad@amasad

@hakarishhagadol Literally? Like totally literally? Retard

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Sami Hindi@DevBySami

@amasad You've earned a lot of people's respect Amjad. One of the reasons I never considered applying to YC was because of Garry Tan's stance on Palestine.

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Amjad Masad@amasad

@igorcosta You dodged a bullet

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Amjad Masad@amasad

@arlogilbert Yes, join the midwits, soyjak

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🅰🆁🅻🅾@arlogilbert

@amasad So you're friends with easily fooled VCs. There is no genocide, the midwits were correct.

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Karish Gadol@hakarishhagadol

@amasad Because it was never a genocide. That’s such a made up lie. Literally zero evidence. Even the anti-Israel courts couldn’t find the evidence.

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Amjad Masad@amasad

@hakarishhagadol Did you personally deboonk it?

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WreckMyShit@wreckmyshit

@amasad Let the trash take itself out

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Nadia I@NIftek

@amasad Thank you, thank you for showing us what values driven leadership looks like 🙌🏽 I was once advised to “be less political” if I want to succeed, and I’m happy I pushed back. The rights of the oppressed are not politics, and no amount of money is worth the cost of your soul.

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Sean Allen Fenn@SeanAllenFenn

@amasad Bro, I like you but this is emotional for you.

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Amjad Masad@amasad

@wreckmyshit Exactly

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R Abrams@R26Abrams

@amasad Don’t start a war and cry victim 2% of a population dead is far less than what happened to Germany and Japan Iran kills 40k civilians for protesting Your silence on Iran ayria Yemen says it all about your morals

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Karish Gadol@hakarishhagadol

@amasad Those have been debunked so many times. You’re a CEO, I’m sure you know. I personally know firsthand how much effort was made to avoid civilian casualties. It is widely reported that the ratio of combatant to civilian casualties was unprecedented in urban warfare history

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Hadjar@xeegeex

@amasad @KhalilJeries wish you would share a list of safe VCs. majority of my professional network turned out to be zionists or otherwise spineless.

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billevans@bill_2023_evans

@SeanAllenFenn @amasad Yes, moral outrage is an emotion. It is one to be proud of. To lose it is to lose one’s humanity.

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Warren Redlich - Chasing Dreams 🇺🇸@WR4NYGov

The only genocide was October 7. You haven’t spoken out much against it.

You claim you aren’t a Hamas supporter but you don’t really oppose the genocidal death cult.

Peace comes when the Arabs accept israel and reject violence, including punishing the terrorists within rather than celebrating and rewarding them.

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Haris Sulaiman@harisbuild

@amasad @paulg was the real g

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