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.
The “Magic Genie Fallacy” phenomenon, in which people start to believe that they need someone else’s magic advice to propel themselves forward, can be counterproductive to both the lamp seeker and the lamp possessor.
Read more ➞I would like to publicly thank my mom for sending a cool and collected text message after her recent accident. That simple message gave me hope that offering kindly candid feedback can, in fact, improve relationships, including the one I have with my mom.
Read more ➞Some of my biggest accomplishments and happiest moments have stemmed from a feeling of discomfort. I am going to publicly commit to staying out of my comfort zone for at least six weeks.
Read more ➞I allowed myself to include all of my “ridiculous” wants and aspirations on my list of 2023 goals, one of which was “finding a coach and co-collaborator who would agree to hold meetings from the chairlift.” Believe it or not, I was actually able to manifest that.
Read more ➞