# Elizabeth Yin

> Elizabeth Yin is a co-founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, the pre-seed venture firm she launched in 2017 with two Stanford dorm-mates. A former founder (LaunchBit, acquired by BuySellAds) and 500 Startups Partner, she invests in software startups within 48 hours of a first call, has built a portfolio of 375+ companies including unicorns Gamma, Webflow, and Boom Supersonic, and has made angel investing accessible to over 10,000 applicants across 50+ countries through Angel Squad — all while sporting a Twitter handle (@dunkhippo33) that honors her lifelong collection of stuffed hippos.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & General Partner at Hustle Fund
- **Organizations:** Hustle Fund, 500 Startups, LaunchBit, Castilleja School (Board of Trustees)
- **From:** San Francisco Bay Area, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Castilleja School, B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, MBA (Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, High Tech), MIT Sloan School of Management
- **Known for:** Co-founded Hustle Fund, one of the most prolific pre-seed VC firms with 375+ portfolio companies, Backed 3 unicorns: Gamma, Webflow, Boom Supersonic, Backed NerdWallet through to NASDAQ IPO ($595M market cap)

## Career timeline

- **2000-2004** — B.S. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University; co-founded web design company in high school
- **2004-2007** — Early career; rejected from MIT on first application; worked in Tokyo; reapplied and was admitted to MIT Sloan
- **2007-2008** — Marketing Manager, Developer Products (social API marketing) at Google
- **2008-2011** — CEO & Co-Founder, Side Projects
- **2011-2014** — CEO & Co-Founder, LaunchBit — email ad network; raised ~$1M seed; went through 500 Startups Batch 2
- **2014** — LaunchBit acquired by BuySellAds
- **2014-2017** — Partner at 500 Startups, ran Mountain View accelerator through four batches; reviewed 20,000+ startup pitches
- **2017** — Co-founded Hustle Fund with Eric Bahn and Shiyan Koh; younger child born weeks before launch
- **2018** — Hustle Fund closes Fund I at $11.5M
- **2021** — Portfolio company NerdWallet IPOs on NASDAQ at $595M market cap
- **2022** — Hustle Fund Fund II closes at $30M+; Angel Squad launched
- **2024** — Angel Squad crosses 2,000 members in 40 countries; published radical transparency data on investment decisions
- **2025** — Angel Squad hits 10,000 applications across 50+ countries; Gamma becomes unicorn; Haley Bryant promoted to first non-co-founder Partner
- **2026** — Portfolio exits: Meowtel acquired by Rover (Jan); ORDA exit (Mar); headlined Venture Underground (Feb)

## Achievements

- Co-founded Hustle Fund, one of the most prolific pre-seed VC firms with 375+ portfolio companies
- Backed 3 unicorns: Gamma, Webflow, Boom Supersonic
- Backed NerdWallet through to NASDAQ IPO ($595M market cap)
- 29+ portfolio acquisitions
- Built Angel Squad to 10,000+ applicants across 50+ countries
- Reviewed 20,000+ startup pitch decks across career
- Raised first VC fund of $11.5M as a first-time fund manager
- Co-authored 'Democratizing Knowledge' tweetbook on startup and VC advice
- Sourced 50%+ of Hustle Fund pitch applications through Twitter content strategy
- Board of Trustees, Castilleja School since 2016
- Pioneered 48-hour investment decision process at pre-seed stage
- Published radical transparency data on partner investment scoring — described as 'unheard of in VC'

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Portfolio company ORDA has an exit
- **2026-02** — Headlined Venture Underground in San Francisco, described as 'always a crowd favorite'
- **2026-01** — Portfolio company Meowtel acquired by Rover
- **2025-12** — Announced Haley Bryant as Hustle Fund's first non-co-founder Partner after 8 years
- **2025-04** — Angel Squad hits 10,000+ applications across 50+ countries; new goal set at 100,000 global angels
- **2025-01** — Gamma becomes a unicorn — 4 years after Hustle Fund's first investment
- **2024-08** — Published detailed data on how each partner makes investment decisions — radical transparency in VC; Angel Squad crosses 2,000 members in 40 countries

## Links

- Website: https://elizabethyin.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethyin
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/elizabeth-yin
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-02