&gt; Over the weekend, he sent some messages that were inappropriate ... on Whatsapp<p>So, not during working hours, not using work-related tools, he send some inappropriate messages. It&#x27;s not a big deal.<p>&gt;  these things aren&#x27;t acceptable in the company we&#x27;re building.<p>Sure. But this conversation did not happen in the company, not during work hours, and not using work tools. You were made privy of a very personal conversation happening between adults outside of work.<p>&gt; The employee came to me in confidence<p>And you posted about it in great detail on Hacker News, making it a topic of water cooler conversation of about 80% of startups world-wide.<p>&gt; she&#x27;ll know and it will be a violation of the trust she placed in me<p>Exactly.<p>&gt; So what do I do HN?<p>Preferably nothing at all. Don&#x27;t make a big deal about what your employees do in their spare time.<p>&gt; she shouldn&#x27;t have to deal with it<p>She shouldn&#x27;t have confided in you, because you can&#x27;t seem to handle it. This dude is poison now. He may as well be fired. And your employee made it a business issue, which is a big thorny issue. You shouldn&#x27;t have to deal with it, but now you do.<p>Good luck!