Hustle Fund

What Hustle Fund does

Hustle Fund is a privately held, founder-led pre-seed venture capital firm headquartered in San Carlos, California (with a secondary operational footprint in Singapore via co-founder Shiyan Koh). Founded by Elizabeth Yin, Shiyan Koh, and Eric Bahn — all serving as General Partners — the firm invests $150K first checks into software startups at the earliest stages, typically requiring a minimum viable product and full-time founders. Geographic mandate spans the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia, and selective deals in Africa and Latin America, with portfolio bias toward B2B, fintech, digital health, and Web3 software companies. The firm has raised three successive institutional funds (Fund I $11.5M, Fund II $33.6M, Fund III $46M, the current active fund) and was appointed in December 2025 alongside Lytical Ventures to manage Washington DC's $26M DC Venture Capital Program beginning Q1 2026, adding at least $52M in total deployable capital with the required 1:1 match. Hustle Fund runs a proprietary "champion model" decision process that allows a single GP to commit after 1-2 meetings with decisions returned in 24-48 hours, processing roughly 40,000+ investment opportunities cumulatively.

The firm's product surface extends well beyond fund management. Angel Squad is a wholly owned community and syndicate platform with 2,500+ angel members in 40+ countries, providing education, deal-flow curation, and $1,000-minimum co-investment access executed via AngelList integration. Two weekly newsletters (The Founder Playbook for founders, Small Bets for investors) reach 50,000+ subscribers at a 45%+ open rate, and a bi-weekly YouTube series (Uncapped Notes) extends the media footprint. The firm operates a content-and-events marketing engine that includes 50+ events per year — Camp Hustle (annual investor retreat, Northern California and now Bali), Founder Friends (fireside chats in SF, LA, NYC, Singapore, Miami, and others), and Batter Up! (live pitch competitions in Austin, Atlanta, Seattle, Bentonville, Singapore, LA). Ancillary products include the Pitch Analyzer web tool, Redwood School sales-training program for portfolio founders, published books (Democratizing Knowledge, Raise Millions, Deck Doctors), a small e-commerce merch line (Hustle Drip), and custom sponsorship packages that monetize the audience for partners such as Intercom.

Revenue is generated across four streams: traditional VC management fees and carry on the three institutional funds plus the new DC mandate; subscription revenue from Angel Squad memberships (14-day free trial then paid annual); sponsorship and newsletter advertising revenue; and smaller one-time sales of books and merch. The team's operating structure is unusually lean — three GP co-founders plus a Partner, a CFO/COO, Chief of Staff, Head of BD, GM of Angel Squad, and Creative Director (~8 core people listed publicly) — supporting a self-reported NPS of 93 with portfolio founders and up to 100 investments per year from Fund III. Distribution is direct-to-founder via Typeform pitch submissions and direct-to-LP via the public-sector mandate, with AngelList serving as the syndicate execution layer.

Name

Hustle Fund

Legal name

Hustle Fund

Website

https://hustlefund.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hustle Fund is a founder-led pre-seed venture capital firm that invests $150K first checks in software startups, while operating Angel Squad (2,500+ angel members in 40+ countries), a content engine of two weekly newsletters and YouTube series, and a 50+ event annual program across the US and Southeast Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pre-Seed Venture Capital Investing

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Micro-PE / Lower Middle Market ETA Funds (FSANALAG)

Keywords

• Pre-seed venture capital
• Angel investing community
• Startup fund management
• Syndicate investing platform
• Startup education content

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Management (Fund I, II, III): Three successive pre-seed venture funds: Fund I $11.5M, Fund II $33.6M, Fund III $46M (current). Earns traditional VC revenue mix of management fees on committed capital and carried interest on exits. Paces up to 100 investments per year with a $150K first check.
2. Angel Squad Membership: Subscription community for angel investors with 2,500+ members across 40+ countries. 14-day complimentary trial, then paid membership. Members access deal flow, education, networking, and 1:1 matching. Minimum investment checks via syndicate start at $1,000 per deal.
3. Sponsorships & Newsletter Advertising: Sponsored placements in newsletters (over 50k subscribers, 45%+ open rate), Camp Hustle coffee stations and other event sponsorships, and Welcoming Committee ad units. Custom partnership packages for newsletter, event, and webinar sponsors.
4. Books & Digital Content Products: Democratizing Knowledge e-book and paperback/Kindle versions on Amazon. Deck Doctors pitch deck book and Raise Millions book referenced. Drives funnel for newsletter signups and Angel Squad.
5. Hustle Drip Merchandise: Direct-to-consumer apparel and merch sold via store.hustlefund.vc.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Hustle Fund is a pre-seed venture capital firm that writes $150K first checks into software startups with at least an MVP, deploying capital across three successive funds (Fund I $11.5M, Fund II $33.6M, Fund III $46M) at a pace of up to 100 investments per year. It also operates Angel Squad, a membership community of 2,500+ angel investors across 40+ countries who co-invest alongside Hustle Fund via syndicates on AngelList, plus an educational content engine (The Founder Playbook, Small Bets, Uncapped Notes) supporting founder and investor acquisition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Angel Squad: Angel-investing community and co-invest platform operated by Hustle Fund, offering education, deal flow, and syndicate access alongside Hustle Fund's portfolio companies.
• The Founder Playbook
• Small Bets
• Democratizing Knowledge
• Uncapped Notes
• Redwood School
• Hustle Drip

Products and services

• Hustle Fund Pre-Seed Venture Funds Pre-seed venture capital investing product offering a $150K standard first check into software startups with at least an MVP across the US, Canada, and Southeast Asia; decision turnaround within 24-48 hours after a call under a single-GP champion model.
• Angel Squad Membership Subscription-based angel investing community with 2,500+ members across 40+ countries, offering education, deal flow, weekly LIVE PITCHES, 1:1 matching, and syndicate co-investment alongside Hustle Fund at $1,000 minimums per deal executed via AngelList.
• Second Opinion Newsletter Bi-weekly pitch deck feedback newsletter providing founder-facing critique and learning content.
• The Founder Playbook (newsletter) Weekly newsletter delivering tactical advice on starting, running, and scaling a startup, including fundraising tips, customer acquisition tactics, growth strategies, and portfolio case studies.
• Small Bets (newsletter) Weekly newsletter that demystifies angel investing by sharing Hustle Fund's investing approach and lessons from reviewing 40k+ investment opportunities, targeting individual investors learning to angel invest.
• Pitch Analyzer Free web tool from Hustle Fund that lets founders practice their pitch as preparation for real investor meetings.
• Redwood School Hustle Fund's in-house school on sales and customer acquisition offered to portfolio companies, providing knowledge resources and mentors to help startups grow.
• Founder Friends events Curated series of free intimate fireside-chat events connecting founders with Hustle Fund investors and successful entrepreneurs, hosted across multiple cities (Miami, New York, Singapore, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and more).
• Batter Up! pitch events Live pitch-practice events where up to 8 founders pitch a panel of 3 Hustle Fund Angel Squad investors for 2.5 minutes each and receive real-time feedback, held in Austin, Atlanta, Singapore, Los Angeles, Seattle, Bentonville, and others.
• Camp Hustle Multi-day investor event from Hustle Fund, deepening LP and Angel Squad relationships via Camp Hustle 2025 (May 11-13, Northern California) and Camp Hustle Asia (Sep 18-19, Bali).
• Uncapped Notes (YouTube series) Bi-weekly YouTube series from Hustle Fund demystifying the world of venture capital and angel investing.
• Democratizing Knowledge e-book Free e-book by Hustle Fund co-founder Elizabeth Yin compiling her tweetstorms on building a startup, raising money, running a VC firm, customer acquisition, and startup metrics; available as free PDF and for purchase in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.
• Raise Millions book Free ultimate fundraising guide written by Hustle Fund to help first-time founders raise millions of dollars, hosted on The Founder Playbook course platform.
• Deck Doctors Pitch Deck Book Free pitch deck guide published by Hustle Fund to help founders craft compelling investor decks.
• Hustle Drip Merch Direct-to-consumer apparel and merch sold via the Hustle Drip storefront at store.hustlefund.vc, serving as a brand-marketing distribution channel.
• DC Venture Capital Program Fund Management Public-sector fund management product: Hustle Fund co-manages Washington DC's $26M DC Venture Capital Program with Lytical Ventures under the US Treasury's SSBCI, deploying capital into DC-headquartered early-stage startups in cybersecurity, AI, healthtech, and fintech.

Quantifiable outcome

• NPS of 93 with portfolio founders
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and minor.

• Lytical VenturesstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025Co-manager alongside Hustle Fund of Washington DC's $26M DC Venture Capital Program. Both firms required to match capital 1:1. Lytical is a NYC-based venture firm. Co-management partnership is a peer-to-peer operating alliance, not a financial investment relationship.
• AngelListcoreTechnology or IntegrationAngel Squad syndicate deals are executed through the AngelList platform. Members commit to investments via AngelList with $1,000 minimums per deal; legal paperwork, wires, and tax documents are handled by the platform. Platform integration is essential to Hustle Fund's angel community product.
• IntercomminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIntercom sponsored the coffee station at Camp Hustle 2025, a flagship Hustle Fund investor event. Featured on the sponsorship page as an example event partnership.
• AltalogyminorOthersDesign agency credited as Hustle Fund's website designer (Design by Altalogy) in the site footer across multiple pages.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Antler: Global pre-seed venture firm running cohort-based founder programs across multiple geographies (US, Southeast Asia, Europe). Directly comparable to Hustle Fund in pre-seed specialization, program-driven sourcing, and international footprint including Singapore.
• Precursor Ventures: Long-running pre-seed fund led by Charles Hudson focused on software and consumer companies. Closely comparable to Hustle Fund in stage focus, check size philosophy, and community-led content marketing approach.
• Pioneer Fund: Pre-seed community-driven venture fund led by several operators, focused on software startups. Comparable in stage, community ethos, and operator-GP profile.
• Republic: Retail-access angel investing platform offering syndicates and SPVs with low minimums. Directly competes with Angel Squad for retail angel capital and deal-flow access to pre-seed startups.
• Pear VC: Pre-seed and seed venture firm with a community-led model and operator-GP team. Comparable in stage focus, community orientation, and founder-friendly positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Largest pre-seed/seed accelerator; TechCrunch has explicitly compared Hustle Fund's Angel Squad ambition to 'building the YC of angel investing.' YC is a broader incumbent but a direct reference point for Hustle Fund's platform strategy.
• Techstars: Established global accelerator with cohort programs and a founder community. Comparable in accelerator-style programming and global footprint but operates at a different scale and stage mix.
• 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups): Global early-stage accelerator/VC where Hustle Fund co-founder Elizabeth Yin was previously a Partner. Comparable in stage and accelerator-led model; broader and more established than Hustle Fund.

Others

• AngelList: Syndicate and fund administration platform that Hustle Fund integrates with for Angel Squad deal execution. Functions as infrastructure/partner rather than a competitor, but competes indirectly with its own Rolling Funds product.

Emerging players

• WeFunder: Retail crowdfunding and angel platform enabling low-minimum startup investing. Comparable mission of democratizing angel investing but focused more on priced equity rounds and crowdfunding than pre-seed syndicates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hustlefundvc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/hustlefund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hustle-fund
• Facebookfacebook.com/hustlefundvc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments546 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hustle Fund