Tech and business leaders will be looking for 3 things during the Harris-Trump debate

Industry leaders told Business Insider that investors, venture capitalists, and the Silicon Valley crowd will be listening for clear crypto guidelines, clarity on federal appointments, and a balance of innovation and regulation. With Harris at the podium instead of President Joe Biden, the business and tech sectors see a new opportunity for progress.

Chris Larsen, the billionaire co-founder of blockchain payments company Ripple, hopes that Harris strikes a similar tone to her “pitch perfect” speech at the Democratic National Convention, which distinguished her from what he called the Biden administration’s “anti-business rhetoric.” He recently signed a letter endorsing Harris and is confident that she, a California native with strong ties to Silicon Valley, understands the tech industry far better than the president. Larsen hopes to see her display that intimate knowledge at the debate.

For Bradley Tusk, a co-founder of venture capitalist firm Tusk Venture Partners and Democratic political strategist, policy proposals put forth during the campaign are mostly irrelevant, because they are merely designed to attract voters.

“Where the rubber meets the road is who they appoint. And that really, for tech, is going to determine what matters,” he told Business Insider. For starters, he is eager to see candidates replace Gary Gensler of the Securities and Exchange Commission, whom he described as “the worst regulator ever for the [crypto] sector.”

Larsen agrees that crypto policy was chaotic under Biden, and said it’s crucial that Harris commits to making the rules clear. He would also want the next president to replace Gensler, and so would Jordan Nof, another co-founder of Tusk Venture Partners

“It would be helpful for both candidates to articulate how they plan to manage key agencies that impact tech and VC,” he said in a statement to Business Insider. “We need to appoint leaders who understand the balance between regulation and innovation. At the SEC, we need someone who provides clear guidelines for crypto, unlike Gary Gensler’s approach, which has stifled the industry.”

“Let’s just be honest here — the far left tries to argue that crypto and technology, we want no regulation. It’s absolute bullshit. We want clear regulation,” Larsen said.

Few are better acquainted with the priorities of Silicon Valley executives than Kieran Snyder, a venture capitalist who organized a survey of VCsForKamala signatories, a group of VCs who have pledged to support the vice president. Despite their stated support for Harris, the 225 survey respondents were bipartisan — among those who chose to share their political affiliations, 30% self-identified as Republicans.

Though Snyder didn’t have a question explicitly targeted toward crypto regulation in the survey, several of the respondents addressed the topic in their written answers and sought “a clearer regulatory environment.”

Lina Khan of the Federal Trade Commission, who is known for her ambitious antitrust agenda, is another sticking point for industry leaders. Larsen wants to see her replaced, and though Tusk supports her efforts to break up big tech, he takes issue with other aspects of her leadership.

“Her general end-to-compete to any sort of brokers and acquisitions and activity is incredibly damaging for innovation and early-stage tech, because she’s created such a chilling effect,” he said, noting that venture funding and new company formation have fallen.

“At the FTC, leadership should support mergers and acquisitions crucial for venture capital liquidity, rather than hindering growth as Lina Khan has done,” Nof said in his statement to Business Insider.

On the question of AI, the venture capitalists that Business Insider spoke to stressed that the candidates need to demonstrate they can implement safety regulations without being heavy handed. Trump has promised to roll back Biden’s executive order on AI, which ensures that developers test the safety of future models. Harris said she would assess the risks and benefits of AI while speaking at a panel at the DNC.

But neither candidate has put forward a comprehensive plan. All the while, the U.S. lags behind Europe in terms of AI regulation.

“You need to be both the champions of innovation and thoughtful about AI safety. It cannot be an either-or situation,” Larsen said. Overall, he wants the candidates to demonstrate that they understand the complexity of the issue.

Harris recently distinguished herself from Biden on some aspects of economic policy: She rolled back his top capital gains tax proposal, saying that there should be a rate of 28% compared to Biden’s desired 39.6%. Her advisors believe a lower tax could spur entrepreneurship and help small businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“That was a clear effort to court business and tech,” Tusk said. And the pitch seems to have landed, at least with some — industry titans Mark Cuban and Aaron Levie celebrated the move on X.

Trump has said that he wants to cut taxes for corporations and top earners. He also wants to institute strict tariffs: 10% on all goods coming to the U.S. and 60% for those coming from China.

Snyder’s survey focused on issues with the biggest impact on business and tech innovation — things like taxing carried interest, government appointments, regulating mergers — but respondents showed a surprising amount of investment in what are typically seen as social issues. Immigration and reproductive rights emerged as areas of focus.

A vast majority of respondents said that the US should offer startup visas to qualified entrepreneurs and issue more high-skilled visas. And like the general electorate, the tech leaders who responded were motivated by the question of abortion — a full 97% said that it was a mistake to repeal Roe.

“That was really eye-opening, because that is not usually thought of as a business issue, it’s thought of as a social issue,” Snyder told Business Insider. “But when you think about who is in the workforce and people’s ability to build predictable careers that they can autonomously drive, reproductive rights are really important.”

Respondents also agreed that policies combating climate change are beneficial for American business, and Larsen said he hopes to hear the candidates talk about the issue at the debate.

But business and tech leaders will be looking at more than just policy on Tuesday night. In industries that are already subject to the whims of the market, having a stable leader is uniquely important.

“If you are a venture capitalist and the only thing you care about is your pocketbook, it is not irrational to say that you prefer Trump,” Tusk said. “But I don’t like living in a world of total chaos. It is stressful when Donald Trump is president. It is stressful every day to have the stability of the country, the stability of the government, the stability of the economy at risk.”

Snyder echoed that sentiment. “In general, people are looking for calmness in the face of chaos, not chaos in the face of chaos,” he said.

The debate stage offers an opportunity to project that strength — or flounder amid tough questions.

Tusk said that debates matter “tremendously” and that his colleagues will certainly be watching, especially after Biden’s campaign-ending performance in June.

Larsen believes that Harris may be able to provide the country with the reset that he and other business leaders are looking for. He hopes that she leans into her Bay Area roots on Tuesday and demonstrates that she understands the business world more intimately than Biden.

“Maybe go ask Joe Biden if debates still matter. They matter a ton, maybe never more than now,” he said.