Hustle Fund is an early-stage 📝venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Elizabeth Yin and Eric Bahn that invests primarily in 📝pre-seed and seed-stage software startups. It writes small first checks into companies before they have significant traction, and it pairs its funds with founder education and an angel-investing community that lets individuals invest alongside the firm.
Yin and Bahn launched the firm after serving as partners at 📝500 Startups, and closed an $11.5 million inaugural fund in 2018, followed by a second fund of about $30 million in 2020. In 2020 the firm also started 📝Angel Squad, a membership program built by 📝Brian Nichols to teach angel investing and give members access to deals alongside the fund, which opened co-investment to people outside traditional venture networks. Hustle Fund is known for publishing its thinking openly: its partners write and speak widely on fundraising mechanics, including how startup valuations step up as specific risks are retired rather than in proportion to revenue.
Hustle Fund keeps showing up in my network through Angel Squad — 📝Cephas Sund and 📝Cansu Ulcay are both members. Its staircase view of 📝valuation pushed me to focus my next raise on de-risking the biggest investor concern instead of chasing a revenue multiple.