The Curious Engineer

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Tactical fundraising by Elizabeth Yin

elizabethyin.com

Tech news / industrySociety / politics / economy

’15’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
Posts
148 from 25 Nov 2015 to 24 Apr 2026
Posting
now and then (2 in the last year)
Kind
personal blog
Feed
https://elizabethyin.com/feed/

2026 1

  1. The wide path: Why most current valuation dynamics are not here to stay (and what will)

2025 5

  1. Expanding our investment team at Hustle Fund
  2. We’ve hit 10,000 Angel Squad applications (+win a guest pass)
  3. How I created a 50+ page comic book with no artistic talent in a couple of weeks
  4. The Artificial Intelligence Driven Future: Who Wins and Who Loses?
  5. DeepSeek Disruption: AI, NVIDIA, and the Future of Venture Capital

2024 5

  1. 2000+ angel investors and growing!
  2. Data on how we invest at Hustle Fund
  3. Do you set up your exit before you start your company?
  4. Introducing Raise Millions
  5. I’m becoming a cartoonist…with AI

2023 6

  1. I’m (still) not crushing it
  2. The challenges of growth: where startups struggle and how to fix them
  3. What Does the Near Future of Artificial Intelligence Look Like and What Should I Build?
  4. Leadership during a crisis
  5. The Return of Camp Hustle
  6. My first trip to Vietnam

2022 3

  1. Happy 5th birthday Hustle Fund!
  2. Some reflections on turning 40
  3. What if everything goes right with crypto?

2021 5

  1. The New Era of Media Companies
  2. The Rise of the Decentralized Startup
  3. A reflection on our mission
  4. Introducing Angel Squad: enabling the next 10k angel investors
  5. How we tripled our first VC fund to raise a $33.6M Fund 2

2020 15

  1. Thank you, Tony
  2. The myths of follow-on investing debunked
  3. Happy 3rd birthday Hustle Fund!
  4. Writing copy: How to pick an enemy?
  5. Should you include financials in a pre-seed startup pitch deck?
  6. 3 Marketing Funnel Examples
  7. Why I can no longer lift laundry detergent
  8. Why marketing is eating the world
  9. Marketing funnels in simple terms
  10. Three marketing terms you should know explained in simple terms
  11. On Power Constructs
  12. Why VCs are obsessed with Unicorn companies? (HINT: let’s do the math together)
  13. Here’s why understanding switching costs is crucial to good product strategy
  14. Operating in tough times
  15. Finding purpose and mission in bleak times

2019 18

  1. Can you build a unicorn business outside the Silicon Valley?
  2. The rise of the global first startup
  3. What questions will early stage VCs ask you?
  4. Some thoughts on balancing family and a startup
  5. When is the right time to approach a VC?
  6. How to think about different types of funding for your early stage startup
  7. How to close angel investors
  8. Thoughts on our 10 year wedding anniversary
  9. How do VCs make money?
  10. To SAFE or Not to SAFE?
  11. The #1 thing most people do wrong when they fundraise
  12. 15 Annoying Things that VCs say or ask (and how to think about them)
  13. Some thoughts on building wealth
  14. Why I don’t (usually) meet startups in person
  15. How to build a big marketplace
  16. An analysis of going from $0 to $1m revenue in 1 month
  17. Learnings from a 6x angel investment portfolio
  18. 5 startup opportunities that will be big in 2019

2018 20

  1. How I raised my $11.5m VC fund
  2. Should you raise money or bootstrap?
  3. A dumb American’s perspective on investing in Southeast Asia
  4. It’s actually hard to hustle
  5. Pre-seed is the new seed
  6. Why an investor rejection isn’t a knock on you
  7. The #1 thing successful founders think about for their next startups
  8. 11 Things I’ve learned from running a micro VC in the last year
  9. How to raise money from friends and family
  10. Why I invest outside Silicon Valley
  11. How an event led to multimillions of dollars in product revenue
  12. What problems do I want to fund and solve?
  13. Are you an investment or an option?
  14. Seed rounds are dead
  15. The state of Q2 2018 pre-seed/seed-stage fundraising: Part 1 – Crypto version
  16. Surprising findings from our 2017 investments
  17. How I invest as a pre-seed investor
  18. The downfall of middlemen businesses
  19. What early stage fundraising in 2018 looks like
  20. On building a meritocracy in our startup ecosystem

2017 18

  1. How ICOs will level the playing field for entrepreneurs
  2. Welcome to the Era of Decentralization
  3. If your VC meeting feels like it went well, it really didn’t…
  4. Speaking up about sexual harassment is hard. But we must start a new chapter.
  5. The ideal email deck
  6. When is the best time to pitch an investor?
  7. Trust starts at 100% and goes down
  8. On differentiation
  9. How to close investors
  10. Always be pitching
  11. 11 Fundraising Secrets from 1600 Startups: My SaaStr talk
  12. Tops-down, bottoms-up investors
  13. How should investors combat their unconscious biases?
  14. The one secret that Micro VCs keep when they reject a startup
  15. Moving your company from the pre-seed to seed stage
  16. Why you shouldn’t (always) hire that Stanford Engineer
  17. A primer on convertible notes, convertible securities, and equity
  18. Happy 2017! Some shoutouts and new goals

2016 49

  1. Dear elizy: How much should I pay myself at my startup?
  2. Introducing: Ask a New Investor
  3. How do VCs measure their success (and why should you care)?
  4. Dear elizy: I’m a solo founder…do VCs fund solo founders?
  5. Today we go back to work
  6. How does pedigree affect fundraising?
  7. Why investors are like sheep (and how to herd them)
  8. The best days and worst days of investing
  9. How do seed investors benchmark startups?
  10. Build a product that fits your runway
  11. Why asking for advice when you want money is bullshit
  12. What I’ve learned from seeing 20k company pitches
  13. My 5-100-500 rule to close your seed round
  14. 7 tips for cold-emailing investors
  15. How should you follow up with an investor?
  16. Should you go after value-add investors for your seed round?
  17. Should you raise on convertible notes or do an equity round?
  18. Do you need a lead investor in your seed round?
  19. How valuations are really determined at the seed stage?
  20. The hardest thing about fundraising that no one talks about
  21. What should go into an in-person pitch deck?
  22. How to follow up with investors who have rejected you
  23. Tracking productivity
  24. The importance of likability
  25. Dear elizy: an investor wants to invest when we have a lead. What does that mean?
  26. The secret behind VC partnerships
  27. What’s the difference between angels and seed VCs?
  28. You have 10 seconds to get an investor meeting…
  29. What you wear does matter when fundraising
  30. Why I cringe when you say you’re raising a $1.5m seed round…
  31. How to write a cold-email
  32. What traction do I need to raise money?
  33. Dear elizy: How should I split equity with my co-founders? And how will that affect raising a seed round?
  34. The real reason why investors say your market size is small
  35. Fundraising pitches are not actually pitches
  36. You should have 4 fundraising plans
  37. How to find email addresses to cold-email (for free)?
  38. Who is the best person to ask for an investor intro?
  39. How to ask for an investor intro?
  40. Monthly investor reports: How bad news can make you look awesome
  41. Why fundraising takes so long (for most entrepreneurs)
  42. How do seed VCs pick their investments?
  43. How many entrepreneurs are doing their pitch decks all wrong
  44. What questions should you ask seed investors?
  45. Attention investors: can you just be upfront with your thoughts? K thx bye.
  46. Calling it how it is: That time I raised $1m for my startup
  47. 3 Things I learned about seed investing in 2015
  48. Why you should cold-email Steve Ballmer
  49. You’re thinking about startup work-life balance all wrong

2015 3

  1. Surviving 2016 as a seed stage startup: Don’t batten down the hatches but take an umbrella
  2. 5 things a non-technical founder can do
  3. 6 Things I’ve learned about careers in the last decade