Investment Bank Boosts Sale Price 40% with Broader Marketing
What's the value an investment bank can provide? As an example, we had one founder who was on the verge of signing an LOI with a buyer, but then decided to engage us first. In a 3-week turnaround, we marketed the company to a broader group and then ended up selling to the original buyer for 40% more and for cash. Same buyer, 40% higher price tag. #founders #pathtoexit ==================== This outcome may not be representative of the experience of other clients and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Clients are not compensated for their comments.
Elizabeth Yin & Hustle Fund Share Super Fun Insights
Super fun from Elizabeth Yin and Hustle Fund
Profitable Customer Acquisition ≠ True Product‑Market Fit
"Unclear" product market fit is when you do customer acquisition, and your unit economics work such that you can repeatedly get more customers. But you don't have a line at your door without manufacturing that.
AI Isn't in a Bubble, Data Shows Real Demand
So ARE we in an AI bubble?! Here’s why David Clark says… NO. David Clark of Ven Cap has looked at the actual metrics and came up with a hot take on this week’s TWiST VC Roundtable. When you actually...
Only 50 Immediate‑Backable Founders And
We’ll cap the community at 50 people who are “immediately backable”, i.e. repeat founders and early employees & execs at top companies.
When Demand Overflows: Market Pull Overwhelms Supply
Extreme market pull is when you really don't have to do much to get customers. You just need to fulfill their demand. You are so overwhelmed with customers that you can't even fulfill everyone's demand.
Relentless Founder Jamie Overcomes Early Hurdles, Thrives
Yes we are - and you can hear some of his amazing stories and insights including some from an early investor (me) who gets some coverage in his book about that time Jamie said he had other investors coming in...
Student Startup Turns AI Glasses Into Accessibility Revolution
🚀 Proud moment spotlighting two of our incredible students, Henry Fox and Henry Warren , and their USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy born startup Seeing Is Everyone’s Right (S‑I‑E‑R), the creators of Sidekick, a clip‑on AI smart glasses...
Wealthfront’s 17‑Year Pivot to Cash Banking Yields IPO
Wealthfront IPO'd today at $2.6B 🎉 The 17-year journey: 2008: Founded as "kaChing" 2014: Peak at $700M valuation 2018: Down round to $500M 😬 2022: $1.4B UBS deal collapses 2025: IPO @ $14/share, $485M raised The pivot that saved them? Cash accounts now drive 75% of...
Product‑Market Fit Is a Spectrum, Not a Binary
I think the problem with product market fit is that it's actually a spectrum. When people say that you know if you have it, that's only when you have extreme market pull. But there are plenty of products that can...
Founders Must Prioritize Distribution From Day One
Founders realizing they need to work on distribution from day 1: https://t.co/ADYBNNLJja
Kieran Turned Down Seed Funding for ElevenLabs.
My face when @matiii reminds me @Kieranleehill turned down the seed for ElevenLabs…. 🤣 https://t.co/R0b3biSsor
Speed Beats Perfection: Execution Wins in Startups
Friendly reminder that the “get shit done” founder beats the “perfect plan” founder 100% of the time in startups because speed of execution wins.
Silicon Valley Firms Outvalue Entire National Economies
Silicon Valley is repeatedly generating individual companies that are worth more than entire developed world national economies
Founders Would Be Happier by Slowing Final Fundraising
So many founders would be happier if they just slowed down fundraising toward the end ... a little
AI's Power Already Here; Change Unfolds Gradually
You can argue timelines, risks, or regulation. Existing AI capabilities are already sufficient to drive long-term change. What people miss is how disruption actually unfolds. It takes time for systems, incentives, and habits to reorganize around what already exists.
Call Boardy for Year-End Term Sheet Guidance
If you're a founder trying to make a term sheet decision before year's end, give Boardy a call to check in!
Key Triggers That Signal It's Time to Raise or Exit
We frequently get asked how a founder can tell when it's the best time to think about raising capital or making an exit. The truth is, it depends on a handful of factors. In this video, I walk through some...
Bruce Booth: Mastermind Behind LifeSciVC Success
Great profile of great investor Bruce Booth @LifeSciVC https://t.co/VCOHBQIriN
Master Risk by Practicing Small Calculated Moves Early
The best risk takers I know took lots of small, calculated risks when they were younger before concentrating. It’s a skill that requires repetition for the patterns to emerge.
AI Bubble Burst Could Boost Europe's Trusted Platforms
what a silly oped on so many levels “But the resource-intensive AI platform bubble in which the US dominates cannot last. A market correction will shift attention to alternative models. This will in turn create new opportunities for Europe, which has...
VCs Win by Nurturing LP Relationships, Not Pitching
Every week I meet three new LPs. Even when I am not fundraising. And... I never ever sell 20VC to them. The single biggest reason VCs struggle fundraising: they do not build relationships in between funds. This is wrong. You...
Indian Tech Capitalists: Choose India, Internet, or Global Markets
INDIA, INTERNET, INTERNATIONAL If you're Indian, don't move to America. Because the US left hates technocapitalists. And the US right wants no more immigrants. Moreover, as the sovereign debt crisis worsens... It only gets worse. Possibly murderously worse. So: Indian immigrant technocapitalists need alternatives. And there...
Decision Cadence Beats Co-Location: Design Remote Immediacy
The phrase captures something teams feel long before they can describe it. Early stage work depends on a level of shared pressure that only forms when people experience the same uncertainty at the same time. The speed of communication inside...
Make Pitch Meetings Two‑Way: Ask VCs These Questions
I think pitch meetings should be a two way street. Most of the time, I find that few founders I speak with have any questions for me or about Hustle Fund. Here are some questions that may be helpful for...
Best Show Yet: SpaceX, Netflix, Massive Fundraises
It is midnight and I am working on the final edit for the show tomorrow with @jasonlk @rodriscoll. Holy s***. By far the best show we have done. - SpaceX valued at $800BN - The BFD: Netflix Buys Warner Brothers - Harvey...
Sign Year-End Deals Only When Vendor Delivers Value
So I’m starting to get emails from sales reps I’ve interacted with over the past months trying to get a deal done by year end. The problem? They added zero value. There’s really no reason to sign a contract for...
Founders Cash Out Millions While VCs Walk Away Empty
This does happen, but it’s almost unheard of for founders still running a company to make nothing in a material exit The acquirer wants the most consideration to go to the team, the least to the VCs A liquidation preference is hardly...
Founders Must Directly Own Early Recruiting Decisions
Founders cannot outsource recruiting. “Recruiting is the most important thing because you need creativity; you need motivated people. Ideally, the early people are all geniuses. They’re self-managing, low-ego, hardworking, highly competent, builders, technical—maybe one or two sellers—but you can’t watch everything....
MindEval Introduces Multi‑Turn Benchmark for AI Therapy Evaluation
Important work from @SwordHealth and @VSwordH on how we evaluate AI for mental health. MindEval is a new multi turn benchmark that tests how models behave across full therapy like conversations, not just single replies. Much needed, rigorous, and open...
AI Handles Low-Value Leads, Boosts Revenue by 15%
We deployed 20+ AI agents & replaced our entire SDR team. 60K hyper-personalized emails. 70% open rates on ghosted leads. 15% of London ticket revenue from AI alone. The 5 things that actually work: 1⃣AI crushes the work humans refuse to do...
Even AI Agents Need Human Help; No-Code Engineers Essential
We’ve worked with some really great “no-code engineers” at Hustle Fund. Although many people think that agents will eat everyone’s jobs, agents are not good enough to implement themselves. Ironically we find ourselves looking for even more people-help to build...
Seed Funding Dominates San Francisco, Outpacing All Regions
check out this chart -- the majority of seed rounds go to startups in SF and NY (and really, mostly SF) (we'll be dropping a report on "the state of seed" from Carta tomorrow on our official substack) But it's data like...
Outset AI Secures $30M Series B, 8x Revenue Surge
Congrats to @AaronLCannon, Michael, and @OutsetAI on their $30M Series B! Outset is building an AI-powered insights platform across the full customer experience. They're redefining customer research with AI-moderated interviews that deliver speed and depth — no more painful tradeoffs. Since raising...
Investors Must Rethink Pattern Matching Amid Rapid Change
As an investor today, you should question pattern matching assumptions more than ever. Consumer behavior is changing. Business models are changing. The tools to build are changing. Org charts and roles are changing.
SMB SaaS Can Command Enterprise‑Level ARR Multiples
SaaS companies serving the SMB space are often overlooked as potential investment opportunities because, when compared to enterprise SaaS providers, these companies tend to have higher churn and less well-known (or even unknown) customers. Despite these relative weaknesses, if positioned...
Investors Will Dilute to Join YC for Mutual Gain
If you want proof of what a good deal YC is for founders, I just told a UK startup I've invested several million pounds in that I'd be happy if they wanted to do YC. I'd get diluted alongside them,...
Customers Choose Outcomes, Not Just Software or Platforms
People don’t want to buy software or platforms or even products They want to buy outcomes
By 2026, Legacy Systems Risk Exceeds Change Risk
🚨 New 2026 Andreessen Horowitz prediction. A turning point is coming to financial services & insurance 👇 By 2026, the risk of *not* replacing legacy systems will exceed the risk of change. Major institutions will let long-standing contracts expire and...
Crypto’s Future Is Secured, No Doubt
Yes
Backed Nir Zicherman Again—Rapid Funding Round Completed
it was a blast to back Nir Zicherman a second time, and we're not surprised to see another round get done so quickly. Thanks for including Homebrew https://lnkd.in/gEgWQAXE
Open‑Source Pivot Turned PostHog Into Unicorn
In just a few years, James Hawkins (@james406) took PostHog from an idea hacked together right before YC's W20 deadline to a unicorn powering product analytics for thousands of teams. He joins YC's @bradflora to talk about surviving six months of...
Your Business's True Core Isn’t the Product, It's the Network
What people think is core - the biggest asset - to their business is often not what they think it is. For example: for Uber, is the core the app? Not really. The core is their supply and demand sides.
Bootstrapped SaaS Sold for $1.65M in 85 Days
We just helped a founder get acquired for $1,650,000 on @acquiredotcom. Business was a bootstrapped SaaS. Multiple 4.8x profit. Took about 85 days from listing to close. 100% cash at closing. This was a life changing outcome for an amazing entrepreneur. https://t.co/zI8Ght5LNS
VC Success Demands Courage Amid Low‑Probability, High‑Impact Risks
Strong agree + And an Iron stomach when you are wrong which happens a lot. Venture capitalists live in low probability-high impact equations that are filled with uncertainty. Hence you need courage.
Enterprise AI Needs Full‑Service Implementation, Not Just a Sale
Unpopular opinion: You cannot sell AI to large enterprises and expect usage and retention without an FDE model managing implementation and customisation. They will not buy and apply. The art is in implementation.
Pop‑ups Are the New Startups; Real Life Replaces URLs
Popups are the new startups. And IRL is the new URL. https://t.co/shz1ICWBmJ https://t.co/1G1XoMH9lv
Turning Down Nine‑Figure Deals Fuels Bigger Growth
I had CEOs at 2 @saastrfund portfolio companies turn down M&A offers this year that would have made them nine figures. I would have been equally proud of them either way. In fact, I told both to seriously consider the deals....
Listeners Love the Show, yet Few Value Targeted Content
I get 10+ LPs per day email me stating they listen and love our weekly show with @jasonlk and @rodriscoll. Continues to amaze me how few truly see the strategic value of targeted content.
Outcome‑Driven Remote Work: Zapier’s Early Success Blueprint
Here’s how Zapier managed an entirely-remote workforce YEARS before COVID lockdowns made them mandatory. On our latest TWiST Flashback, Lon Harris and Alex Wilhelm check out a 2016 chat between me and Zapier mastermind Wade Foster. Back then, the automation...
