Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and general partner at the Hustle Fund, shared her thoughts on how to assess a startup’s ability to “hustle”. Her thoughts are applicable to venture capitalists, startups and anyone who wants to work with hustlers.
Elizabeth started her career as an entrepreneur when she founded the adtech platform Launchbit which was acquired by BuySellAds in 2014. Elizabeth then jumped into venture capital as a partner in 500 Startups before launching her own fund, the Hustle Fund in 2017. The Hustle Fund invests in “hilariously early” hustlers at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages.
In full disclosure, MergeLane is an investor in the Hustle Fund. As an LP, I’ve had the chance to get to know Elizabeth, her team and some of their portfolio companies. From this and my experience reviewing 271 other venture funds, I think the Hustle Fund offers a truly unique approach that is resonating with entrepreneurs. This episode is worth a listen.
For more context, I recommend these podcast interviews that outline Elizabeth’s origin story, how to hustle and the Hustle Fund strategy.
Elizabeth also draws on her experience reviewing 20,000+ pitches to offer practical early-stage startup advice on her blog.
Enjoy.
This discussion is an expression of personal opinion and does not represent the opinion of MergeLane or any company we discuss. Our conversations are for informational purposes only, including any mention of securities or funds. This is not legal, business, investment or tax advice and is not intended for use by any investor. Certain MergeLane funds own, or may own in the future, some of the securities and companies discussed in this podcast.
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