Hustle Fund

10 Minute Blitz with the great, Ann Miura-Ko. 100+ RSVPs for this. See you all at 11 AM PT!

Most new angels ask the wrong question. They wanna know how to angel invest… but never stop to ask: 💭 How much do I actually want angel investing to take over my life? To be or not to be? Yin or Yang? Passive or Active? These are the real startup-investor-life questions that keep us up at night 😅 So we asked 3 Angel Squad investors how they do it... and wow, they’re all playing very different games 👇 ⸻ Arti Villa (Passive) – Invests in dev tools + web3 through syndicates. ✅ Adds value by advising founders on product (since she’s often the target user). Andy Louis-Charles (Hybrid) – Reviews 5,000+ deals/year (yes, you read that right). ✅ Uses filters + AI to sort through thousands of pitches, investing in 50–100 companies annually. Mike MacCombie (Active) – Sources his own deals, manages 60+ startup WhatsApp groups, ✅ Even runs a stealth fund on the side. Basically, this is his social life now. ⸻ If You’re Passive like Arti: You’ll rely on syndicates for deal flow. Think 1–2 hrs of diligence per week reviewing decks, trying products, and maybe hopping into a live founder pitch. If You’re Hybrid like Andy: Systems are your best friend. Automate everything you can. Email filters, AI scanning, quick tagging—this is high-efficiency angel mode. If You’re Active like Mike: This becomes your community. Deal calls, DMs, founder intros—it’s nonstop hustle. You’re the magnet for opportunities. ⸻ ✨ The #1 takeaway? Helpful > rich. All three investors said the same thing: “Helpful $1k investors get remembered more than silent $100k ones.” Whether it’s product feedback (like Arti) or sending founder intros before even investing (like Mike), being genuinely useful builds trust and deal flow. ⸻ So, how do you know which path’s right for you? Ask yourself: 🕐 How much time do I wanna commit—1 hour/week or all-in hobby? 🎯 Do I want curated dealflow or do I wanna hunt my own? 🚀 Am I building a portfolio… or a career in VC? There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook. Start where you are, test what works, and iterate. Because just like startups, your investing journey’s gonna evolve. 🌱 Learn from angels like Arti, Andy, and Mike without the 5,000 deal/year grind in Small Bets: https://lnkd.in/de4biCt2 Which approach fits you best? Let us know in the comments!

So you’ve been “dating” potential co-founders — grabbing coffee, swapping startup dreams, wondering if this person could be the one. Here’s a better move: trial projects. They’re like a test drive for your partnership — no long-term commitment, no messy breakups. Because let’s be real: you wouldn’t give someone half your company after two iced matchas, right? Trial projects show how someone actually works under pressure. Look for: ⚡️Speed 💬Clarity 💪Ownership 🕵️Curiosity ❤️Openness Pick something meaningful but doable in 1–4 weeks, set clear milestones, and see how it feels to actually build together. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, you just saved yourself two years and a lot of headaches. 👉 Want more tactical advice like this? Sign up for the Founder Playbook: https://lnkd.in/gQBqWT9G Have you ever run a “trial project” with a potential co-founder? How did it go? P.S. This is part 1 of our two-part series on co-founder trial projects. This week, we cover how to bring someone into your existing startup and actually test the fit. Next week, we talk about what to do when you’re both starting from scratch.

So you’ve been “dating” potential co-founders — grabbing coffee, swapping startup dreams, wondering if this person could be the one. Here’s a better move: trial projects. They’re like a test drive for your partnership — no long-term commitment, no messy breakups. Because let’s be real: you wouldn’t give someone half your company after two iced matchas, right? Trial projects show how someone actually works under pressure. Look for: ⚡️Speed 💬Clarity 💪Ownership 🕵️Curiosity ❤️Openness Pick something meaningful but doable in 1–4 weeks, set clear milestones, and see how it feels to actually build together. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, you just saved yourself two years and a lot of headaches. 👉 Want more tactical advice like this? Sign up for the Founder Playbook: https://lnkd.in/gQBqWT9G Have you ever run a “trial project” with a potential co-founder? How did it go? P.S. This is part 1 of our two-part series on co-founder trial projects. This week, we cover how to bring someone into your existing startup and actually test the fit. Next week, we talk about what to do when you’re both starting from scratch.

What a night at Founder Friends DC Tech Week! 🎉 Still buzzing from last night's event. Huge thanks to Paul Hastings for hosting us and making it all happen. A special shoutout to our phenomenal speakers: • Marty Ringlein from Agree.com • Haley Bryant from Hustle Fund Huge thanks to our volunteer crew who kept everything running smoothly. We couldn't have done this without you all: • Glenn K. Burney Jr. • Miguel Sibayan • Alexander McMillen • Victoria Y. And to everyone who showed up and brought the energy, you made it special. The conversations, the connections, the vibes... chef's kiss 👌 Can't wait for next time!

Most new angels ask the wrong question. They wanna know how to angel invest… but never stop to ask: 💭 How much do I actually want angel investing to take over my life? To be or not to be? Yin or Yang? Passive or Active? These are the real startup-investor-life questions that keep us up at night 😅 So we asked 3 Angel Squad investors how they do it... and wow, they’re all playing very different games 👇 ⸻ Arti Villa (Passive) – Invests in dev tools + web3 through syndicates. ✅ Adds value by advising founders on product (since she’s often the target user). Andy Louis-Charles (Hybrid) – Reviews 5,000+ deals/year (yes, you read that right). ✅ Uses filters + AI to sort through thousands of pitches, investing in 50–100 companies annually. Mike MacCombie (Active) – Sources his own deals, manages 60+ startup WhatsApp groups, ✅ Even runs a stealth fund on the side. Basically, this is his social life now. ⸻ If You’re Passive like Arti: You’ll rely on syndicates for deal flow. Think 1–2 hrs of diligence per week reviewing decks, trying products, and maybe hopping into a live founder pitch. If You’re Hybrid like Andy: Systems are your best friend. Automate everything you can. Email filters, AI scanning, quick tagging—this is high-efficiency angel mode. If You’re Active like Mike: This becomes your community. Deal calls, DMs, founder intros—it’s nonstop hustle. You’re the magnet for opportunities. ⸻ ✨ The #1 takeaway? Helpful > rich. All three investors said the same thing: “Helpful $1k investors get remembered more than silent $100k ones.” Whether it’s product feedback (like Arti) or sending founder intros before even investing (like Mike), being genuinely useful builds trust and deal flow. ⸻ So, how do you know which path’s right for you? Ask yourself: 🕐 How much time do I wanna commit—1 hour/week or all-in hobby? 🎯 Do I want curated dealflow or do I wanna hunt my own? 🚀 Am I building a portfolio… or a career in VC? There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook. Start where you are, test what works, and iterate. Because just like startups, your investing journey’s gonna evolve. 🌱 Learn from angels like Arti, Andy, and Mike without the 5,000 deal/year grind in Small Bets: https://lnkd.in/de4biCt2 Which approach fits you best? Let us know in the comments!

Ann Miura-Ko turned a seed check into a 10,000x return with Lyft. She was the first investor back in 2010 when it was still called Zimride. Sat on the board for over a decade through the IPO. I've been reviewing pre-seed decks with Ann since 2019. Hundreds of them. Maybe over a thousand at this point. Ann has a PhD in mathematical modeling from Stanford, but the way she evaluates companies isn't about spreadsheets. It's about seeing patterns others miss and understanding the second-order effects of market shifts before they're obvious. When AWS launched in 2006, she didn't just see that startups could be built cheaper. She saw that an entirely new type of investor would emerge to fund them. That insight led to founding Floodgate during the 2008 financial crisis. The reason I'm bringing this up: we're doing a 10-minute blitz with Ann this Friday. I want to unpack how she thinks about pre-seed deals: 1. What she looks for in founders at the earliest stages 2. How she spots controversial insights before they become consensus 3. The questions she asks that reveal whether a company has real potential If you're trying to learn how top investors evaluate early-stage companies, this will be worth your time. RSVP to come or to get the recording: https://luma.com/4giedi1j

Agree.com grew from 0 -> 50k users in < 1 year with a lot of heart and hustle and by nailing their "oh sh*t" moment. Coffee carts and flyers at Dreamforce. Launch events with friends made building, exiting to, and investing in generational companies like Beehiive, Deel and Stripe. A minimum loveable product that drives 1/3 of new users, and an ambitious product roadmap across time horizons: now, next, and later. And knowing that if you can get investors to an "oh sh*t" moment by slide 2, you can raise your round in record time. We were lucky to host Marty Ringlein, Co-Founder of Agree.com at our Founder Friends event for DC Startup and Tech Week to learn how he, Will Hubbard and team have rapidly scaled Agree, raised $10m in pre-seed and seed funding in a total of five weeks, and taken on an incumbent that's been around for >20 years. Thank you Marty for headlining Hustle Fund's inaugural DC event and for sharing so much real talk with our community! And thank you to Angel Squad members Alexander McMillen, Glenn K. Burney Jr., Miguel Sibayan and Victoria Yang for welcoming founders (and funders) and the amazing Erin Cass at Paul Hastings for hosting us!

If you're in product, this one's for you. Melissa Perri on why Product Leaders often make great angel investors 👇

LA founders, it was such a blast meeting so many of you and hearing all about what you’re building at our Founder Friends #LATechWeek event during TECH WEEK by a16z . Thanks for bringing the energy, the ideas, and the vibes. Nights like these remind us why we love this community so much 💛 A huge shoutout to Jerome Soucy Rousseau, Co-Founder of FightCamp, for sharing such honest, inspiring insights during the fireside chat 🔥 And huge thanks to our incredible partners who made this night happen: • Rivian for hosting us in your stunning space • QuantFi • Fidelity Private Shares • Singapore Global Network (SGN) Massive shoutout to our rockstar volunteers Winnie Yu and Anishek Kamal for keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes 🙌 Can’t wait to do it all again soon, LA