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Cloudflare's Matthew Prince extends Doug Leone feud with a funeral joke

Prince's funeral joke responded to Leone recounting a root canal without Novocain, clarifying who Prince says rejected Cloudflare because co-founder Michelle Zatlyn was a woman.

By Ryan Merket · Published Aug 31st, 2026, 10:16am CT · Updated Aug 31st, 2026, 3:27pm CT

Primary source: X

Why it matters

Prince's joke offers a public glimpse of how Cloudflare preserved its founder's access to Doug Kramer while transferring formal legal authority to Alissa Starzak.

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, an executive in a suit, stands at a lectern delivering a speech.

Matthew Prince (@eastdakota) pointed to former Sequoia leader Doug Leone as the partner who passed on Cloudflare after doubting that a woman could lead a security infrastructure company.…

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