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Hustle Fund

2 resources from Hustle Fund we point founders to, and the questions each answers.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it Written from the investor's side of the table by Elizabeth Yin, who backs pre-seed founders for a living, so it answers the angel-round founder's real question: what does going dark actually cost me? Her data point (60% of portfolio companies update fewer than half their investors) plus the mechanic she explains (a VC only makes the warm intro or reaches for the bridge when they know your current situation) is exactly why the founder who keeps three angels in the loop gets help the silent founder cannot.

Why You Should Always Send Your Investor Updates

From Hustle Fund by Elizabeth Yin 6 min read

  • Investors can only introduce or help when your update has kept them current on what you need
  • Founders who send both the good and the bad get more help than founders who send nothing
  • Consistent updates keep you top of mind, which is how seed-to-Series-A conversations actually start
Open hustlefund.vc →
Answers Do I really need to send investor updates if I have only raised a small angel round and have no formal reporting obligation?
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it This is the single clearest articulation of the exact call you are making: equity is a counterbalance to risk, and someone taking little salary at the true zero stage (Employee #1 at effectively 10%, four-year vest) is functionally a co-founder, while a market-rate hire after you have raised belongs in the 0.1% to 5% band. It hands you concrete numbers to argue yourself out of giving away a third of the company for a role that is really a senior hire.

Equity for Early Employees (with Elizabeth Yin)

From Hustle Fund by Elizabeth Yin 12 min read

  • Price equity against the cash and risk the person is actually giving up, not against a title or a gut feeling
  • A pre-funding first hire on near-zero salary is basically a co-founder (up to ~10%); a post-raise hire on market pay is a 0.1% to 5% employee
  • Vest everything over four years with a one-year cliff so the grant tracks contribution, not the handshake
Open hustlecommons.com →
Answers What's the difference between a co-founder and an early key hire, and how do I decide which I need?