Blog

Here's what happened when a first-time founder who loved anime built a content library for his friends and ended up starting a billion-dollar company. This is the story of Crunchyroll. And the founder is speaking at Camp Hustle in 2023.

Using Discord to validate an idea? This founder is nuts… or maybe just brilliant.

Acquiring customers is great for any early-stage company. But how do you know what their retention is? Or if it's even a focus?

Some founders believe that growth is so important to a business (and to investors) that it’s worthwhile to focus on unprofitable growth. This might be true for some, but it doesn't apply to everyone. Here's why.

Elizabeth Yin has reviewed over 40,000 pitches over her career. Here are the questions she asks to early-stage startup founders who are fundraising.

Our best practices to securing meetings with investors.

What angel investors need to know about valuing early-stage startups.

Don’t celebrate just yet… there’s still more work left to do.

If you talk to an early-stage VC, almost all of them will tell you that the thing they care about most is the team. But how exactly do you define a good team? Here's our take.

"It’s about trying to make an impact that extends beyond yourself—potentially beyond your lifetime.”

We interviewed a founder who went from big-tech employee to starting his own company. Here’s what we learned.

What is Ryan Hoover's main strategy when he evaluates companies for Weekend Fund? It's all about the product.

A conversation with Haley Bryant, Principal at Hustle Fund and early stage angel investor.

We do a month-by-month breakdown of when you should (and should not) try to pitch investors.

Even if you personally know and trust the syndicate lead, it’s still worthwhile to do your due diligence.

What angel investors need to know about the accredited investor requirements.

Here’s how much equity you can expect to give to early team members.

A short (and important) story about how Eric Bahn, one of the GPs at Hustle Fund VC, made a $400k ROI on angel investment... without actually writing a check.

What to do when you can’t find new investors to pitch.

I interviewed EJ Lawless, Vertical Lead for Angel Squad, and found four key insights about investing in robotics and AI as a newbie.

A roadmap for aspiring angel investors.

Any investor who tells you they’ll only invest once you find a lead is not actually committed.

How to think about quickly deploying money as a new angel investor.

As a rule, Hustle Fund never accepts any board seats from their portfolio founders. Here’s why.

How should we think about hyped-up industries? Should investors lean in or be extra cautious?

A successful fundraising process is 80% organization, 20% pitch.

You can make a smart bet on a pre-revenue company by learning more about who their customer is, and where they are going to find their first customers. Here are the two key questions that investors will ask.

Investor newsletters can be your biggest asset when fundraising. Here's how we recommend you structure it.

Times are tough for founders and investors right now. Here's what you need to know.

The best way to hire? Start recruiting before you need to fill the role. Read on to learn about “passive recruiting”.

VCs won’t invest in your startup if your product isn’t differentiated. Here's why.

So you want to build a startup in Latin America. Maybe you grew up in our corner of the continent, or maybe you feel a calling to the region.‍If you've had any experience with established tech ecosystems like Silicon Valley, you'll soon learn that things can be a little different on this side of the globe. ‍I'll be straight with you: you may be carrying one too many assumptions in your baggage. If there's one thing you should know, it's that the incorporation advice widely spread in the U.S. does NOT directly translate to Latin American companies. Let's unpack that, shall we?

A venture capital term sheet outlines the terms and conditions upon which a VC firm intends to invest.

Startups that raise money will end up working with their investors for years. So it's important to choose the right ones, and avoid toxic investors. This is a guide on how to do due diligence on your investors, when you should do it, and what questions to ask.

We sat down with Trond Wuellner to hear why his Angel Squad experience was crucial to becoming a prolific investor.

We sat down with Azella Perryman to dive into her personal approaches to investment diligence.