Recent Posts
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Founders Should Prioritize Real Risks Over Competition
Why I avoid competitive markets (usually) We see 1,000+ pitches/month at @HustleFundVC. Many founders obsess over competition for the wrong reasons. Here's what they should actually worry about: 👇 https://t.co/b0BOgdWtRe
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Feb 9, 2026
Upcoming Events for Founders & Investors
Three upcoming events worth checking out for anyone building or investing: 🤖 Lead Your Team With AI - February 24, virtual A practical session on how founders can effectively use AI to lead their teams. Featuring Doug Peete, CPO at https://t.co/Wcl0Ro2nMv 🤝...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Feb 6, 2026
Excited to Join Venture Underground in San Francisco
Thank you Adeo for having me, and I'm excited to do this with the Venture Underground team this coming week in SF!
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Free Ultimate Guide for First-Time Angel Investors
We wrote the ultimate angel investing guide to help first-time angels. And it’s 100% free. More>> https://t.co/IiGiQKSHBR
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 20, 2026
Pre‑ vs Post‑Money SAFEs Can Crush Returns
That SAFE you signed might tank your returns 😅 If you’re new to angel investing, you’re about to hear “SAFE” a LOT. Here’s the tiny detail that can quietly crush your math: pre-money vs post-money. 🧵 https://t.co/J3udlaBTtA
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 20, 2026
Beyond Sand Hill: Diverse Investors Fund Hardware Startups
Sand Hill has done a great job selling their capital. But if you don’t fit a certain “archetype” (either in demographics, category, or geography) and strike out on Sand Hill, then there’s plenty of other investors elsewhere. For example: look...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 19, 2026
Overfunded Rivals Overpaying CAC Eventually Burn Out
It’s scary when a startup competitor becomes well-funded. But what I’ve noticed is that while they may be able to overpay on customer acquisition in the near term, it catches up to them. If you can weather the storm for...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 18, 2026
Founders Must Overcome Sunk‑Cost Bias to See Real Customer Love
Even without a lot of data points, often founders truly know whether customers love their product or not. But it’s easy to delude oneself. Mostly because of sunk costs. But if you’re really honest with yourself, you know your answer.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 17, 2026
Never Sell: Growth Compounds, Starting over Is Hard
If the company was going well, a lot of founders I know who sold their companies later regretted it. Because success compounds, they lost out on the revenue compounding over the next several years. AND, when you start a new...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 16, 2026
Push Through Early Burnout to Reach Product-Market Fit
The first 3 years of starting a company really wears you down. Finding product-market fit is hard. But once you get some success and push through that wall, that’s when it gets good. Unfortunately, too many people run out of...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 16, 2026
2026: Free Yourself, Scale Without Being the Bottleneck
I caught up with a portfolio founder who is doing super well. Profitable. Throwing off $1m+ in annual cash. Growing quickly. Doesn’t need to raise. But he didn’t take a holiday break - because he’s the bottleneck. If your company...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 15, 2026
Great Companies Thrive without Investor Money or Advice
I think the truth that few investors like to swallow is that the best companies really never needed them. Either for their money or their advice and connections. Those companies would’ve been great anyway.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 15, 2026
Fundraising and Running a Startup Demand Full-Time Focus
As a founder, I found that one of the hardest things about fundraising is managing the fundraise and the business at the same time. Both are full time jobs. And doing both haphazardly is the worst of all worlds.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 15, 2026
Learn Timeless Startup Tactics From Pre‑VC Business History
If you’re struggling to raise, I think it’s sometimes helpful to ask yourself how someone would’ve built this business when the venture capital industry didn’t exist. Some of the techniques founders used back then were GOAT. Reading business / startup...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 14, 2026
Lean Startup Eliminates Early Mistakes in Product Building
The first startup ideas tried to build were awful. We built too much. We built without close rapport with customers and built the wrong things. This was pre Lean Startup. Fast forward. Now that everyone knows about the Lean Startup...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 14, 2026
Fundraising Standards Shift: $100k Now Considered Failure
In 2008 / 2009, when founders said they couldn’t raise money, they meant they literally couldn’t raise anything. Now when people say they can’t raise money, they mean they can’t raise more than like $100k.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 13, 2026
Trustful, Long‑Known Co‑Founders Thrive Without Family Ties
There are a lot of types of co-founder relationships that can work. But the ones I’ve seen w/ the highest success rate are when the co-founders have immense trust from having known each other for a long time AND are...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 13, 2026
Build Your Audience Before Building the Product
If I were starting a product-company today, I would first start by building an audience that’s relevant to said product before even thinking about the product. Way easier to build and sell if you have close rapport with future potential...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 13, 2026
CEOs in Fintech, SaaS Thrive via Thought Leadership
People often think social posting is most beneficial for consumer products, but being a thought leader as the CEO of a fintech, developer, or SaaS company also pays off big time.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 13, 2026
Founder Friends Seoul: Eric Bahn & Ethan Cho Live Jan 20
There are 7 days until Founder Friends Seoul. @ericbahn will be chatting with Ethan Cho and you know is gonna be a great chat when two super unhinged, honest, and hilarious humans hang. If you're in Seoul and free Jan 20, save...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 12, 2026
Two Must‑Attend Events for Founders and Investors
Two upcoming events worth checking out for anyone building or investing: 🤝🇰🇷 Founder Friends Seoul - January 20, 2026 A space to connect and learn from each other. No pitches, no pressure. ⛺️ Camp Hustle 2026 - May 11-13, 2026 An oasis...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 1, 2026
Join Batter Up X H‑On Dream: Korean Startups Pitch Jan 8
SF investors, join us at Batter Up x H-On Dream SF on January 8th! We're bringing Korean founders onstage to pitch their startups, get feedback from a panel of investors, and eat some za🍕. RSVP here: https://t.co/FH4yBleMSg https://t.co/SVGvNz6HXh
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 18, 2025
Mercury CEO Immad Akhund Live for Startup Q&A
Immad Akhund @immad - CEO / co-founder of Mercury is live answering startup questions now. Ask yours in the comments here: https://t.co/EkZAmrfjOS
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 17, 2025
Live in 10: 24‑Hour Startup Advice Hotline Launch
I am going live in 10 minutes to kick off our 24 hour startup advice hotline. We have some amazing mentors joining us to help founders navigate sticky situations. Join here: https://lnkd.in/g2parB8i
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 17, 2025
Ask Tara Viswanathan: Startup Success and Building America
On the 24 hour startup advice hotline, our first guest will be @TaraViswanathan who sold her company Rupa Health for a ton of $$$ & is starting a new co to help America build. What should I ask her? (Join...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 16, 2025
Emerging VC Funds Operate Like Startups, Needing Go‑to‑market and Fundraising
Emerging fund VCs are much more akin to startups than to other VCs. Both have to figure out go-to-market and how to bring money in the door.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 16, 2025
Build Anywhere, Yet Spend Months in SF for Network
I think you can build a large tech startup from literally anywhere in the world. At the same time, I still think it is valuable to spend at least a few months in San Francisco to build network.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 16, 2025
Prioritize Investor Alignment Over Pure Return Pitch
Angel investors can invest for a whole variety of reasons besides maximizing returns. They invest because they like you or your cause. They invest because they think your mission is strong. Finding the right investor fit is more important than...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 16, 2025
Angel Investing Mirrors Poker: Survive Losses, Play Winning Hands
In listening to Nate Silver’s audiobook “On The Edge”, I’m reminded by how similar angel investing is with poker playing. A lot of the time, you are losing hands, and you need to be able to survive long enough to...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 16, 2025
1 Billion Hidden Angels Await Discovery
The world has 1B angel investors. And they may not know they are angels. You just have to find them.
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Dec 15, 2025
Most Unicorns Reach Status After Just Three Funding Rounds
I saw this graph by @IlyaStrebulaev on the number of rounds entrepreneurs raise to become a unicorn. I was surprised that the plurality is only 3 rounds. https://t.co/9mxwrrzBdX
By Elizabeth Yin