Elizabeth Yin_E17: An Ecosystem for Entrepreneurs [10/26/2020]
Elizabeth Yin, GP at Hustle Fund in The Bay Area [10/26/2020]
Note: References with links are listed at the end of the show notes.
INTRO:
1:00 We chat about The Pitch, and what goes on behind the scenes. Has written a handful of checks from the show.
2:50 Talks about live session with Hunter Walk, helping Founders in real time.
SECTION1: Emerging Managers
3:39 Talks about what a fund is, and her origin story in discovering Venture Capital as an early Entrepreneur. Talks about the deployment of assets, and the pools of money being raised by Emerging Fund managers.
4:50 Breaks out the structure and language surrounding the learnings of raising capital as a Fund Manager. Shows how the fiduciary responsibility if fulfilled by mandates of a fund. Talks about the importance of thesis in founding a fund.
6:30 Draws the distinction between an Angel and a Fund Manager.
7:20 Shares love of new manager culture in Silicon Valley. Talks about access to capital, and diversity of coverage for more Founders getting access who are unrepresented.
8:30 Humbly discusses learnings as the ‘Matriarch of Venture’. Shares how rudeness and ghosting managers may not be able to compete with more capital in the space.
11:00 Shares the importance of streamlining processes to make sure Founders get a fair shake. Autofiltering can be a good filter for deals which are outside of thesis or focus. We later discuss the aspect of interacting on social media in an environment where everything moves fast. Shares how social media can lead to escalations, and importance of hopping on a call if needed.
15:00 Discusses game theory of waiting in VC, where waiting can create a hedge. First time Founders may have difficulty with the game of VCs. And highlights how FOMO is used to get investors on board — to jumpstart them. Shares idea of packing calendar with lots of investors, and communicating the five second meetings, to light a fire. Talks about coaching Founders not to discuss names of VCs; because of both collusion of VCs.
19:00 Talks about two sides of coin to advice giving, by caveat with the ‘just my two cents’ situational discussion. Shares feedback about some bad advice given, but points back to Founder needing to process all the signals and make best decisions.
22:00 We discuss the need for perspectives, and the decision with conviction. She shares the need for deciding on a direction, even if the Founder is getting negative feedback. CEOs are the jockey on the horse.
SECTION2: Fund Changes
25:55 Discussing funding models in the new landscape — e.g., AngelList’s Rolling Funds, indie.vc, and Earnest Capital. She thinks these models are great for the ecosystem, as they provide more access to the ecosystem. Shares ideas around 506c raises.
27:00 Run through a rapid fire round of pros/cons funding types — Accelerators, Debt, Revenue Share, Venture Studios, Incubators, Crowdfunding Reg CF, Family Office Directs, and Syndicates.
SECTION3: The Mission
34:00 Talks about becoming a VC, and some of the doubts that she had initially, because of how she wanted to change the structural and cultural components. Entrepreneurs who hustle should be able to get access to good info and capital.
36:00 Shares feedback about Redwood School program that Hustlefund uses — a tactical program that brings in mentors. Talks about genuineness of care from the individuals they engage with, and how the tough times are reinforced by the motivations. Talks about the 100x target multiples, and what can prevent those returns. Discusses importance of relationships and backing Entrepreneurs over multiple at bats. Doing right by people is the truest personal importance for her.
40:55 Discusses retention of mission through the scaling process, and how mission deviation happens.
SOURCES:
-Elizabeth Yin: https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33
-Hustle Fund: https://twitter.com/HustleFundVC
-The Pitch [Podcast]: https://twitter.com/thepitchshow
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Song Credit: The Croft — By Joakim Karud
[ No Copyright on Music and Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 ]
