Elizabeth Yin

Elizabeth is a Co-Founder & General Partner at Hustle Fund, a pre-seed fund for software entrepreneurs. Previously, she was a partner at 500 Startups where she invested in seed stage companies and ran the Mountain View accelerator.

On the first hour of her day.

Most days I’m up around 7.

To be honest, the first hour of my morning revolves entirely around my two kids. It’s spent trying to persuade them to eat their breakfast, get changed, into the car, and off to school (at least before quarantine).

If I do find time within the morning chaos, I’ll make myself a cup of coffee and slowly drink it while running through email and the news.

But most days I’m so busy with the kids that I’m rewarming my unsipped coffee every 10 minutes.

On variable training.

It’s definitely a challenge to get a workout in, but at the same time, fitness is incredibly important.

No matter what happens, I make sure to exercise.

In the pre-quarantine days, I would take one of my kids in a stroller, pack all my work stuff in there, and jog 3 miles to my office. I also used to swim a few times a week, but COVID has obviously put a bit of a damper on that routine.

That swim workout also helped reduce my stress levels, so it’s been particularly hard to go without it. Hopefully pools will be opening back up soon!

On optimizing her WFH setup.

I’ve had a number of pinched nerve issues from typing over the years and having poor posture, so I’m very cognizant of my working environment. 

I don’t use my phone to type and prefer to answer my emails all at once on my desktop. I have a standing and sitting desk arrangement, both ergonomically sound, so I use them interchangeably depending on how I’m feeling. 

The endless email treadmill is very real.

As a result, I’ve made sure to set up a couple of guardrails over the years to help me strategize. A particular helpful technique is Tony Hsheih’s Yesterbox strategy, a concept where you only deal with emails from the day before.

Occasionally, I’ll cheat and check the inbox to make sure there’s nothing urgent coming in that needs an immediate response.

I also have a homegrown system of voice mail, allowing me to respond to emails by voice. So, I just say what I want to say, and then the program sends over a written transcript as well as the actual recorded message to the recipient.

Most days, I’m only processing email just once.

On managing stress.

Back in 2008 I left my cushy Google job to try my hand at a startup.

My first round of fundraising was very stressful, causing the pain from my pinched nerve issue to reach an all-time high.

I turned to a range of specialists who attempted to figure out what was wrong with me, but none of them knew what was going on. 

Then, the moment I stopped fundraising, the pain went away. 

This is my body’s message to me to take some time off. Unless I have a clear signal from my body, I’m bad at taking time off.

It’s wild what stress can do to the body. 

There’s a constant fear around raising money, where both founders and fund managers alike stress themselves out about the outcome. It’s critical that folks ground themselves into the fact that yes, it would be incredibly disappointing and difficult emotionally, but it certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Obviously, you hope it works out. But that mindset makes it easier.

On triaging her workflow.

First, I severely limit the number of meetings I do. I say no a lot. 

In our workflow at Hustle Fund, we triage potential companies by asking them several questions over email before even getting to the call stage. 

I also set up my Calendly in such a way that I take no more than 4 meetings a day, with each meeting ranging from 30 minutes to an hour. 

It’s important to build a system that helps you manage stress.

It’s equally important to be self-aware of what amplifies your stress and take active precautions against it.  

On what drives her.

There are a lot of VC’s in this space that strive to be #1. That’s their goal. 

But that’s not what drives me. I’d say that I’m driven by genuine curiosity, and I only work with companies that pique my curiosity.

I can’t work on things that are boring.

And that’s not a knock on other investors, it’s just the way I work.

On refusing to multitask.

Whatever it is I’m doing, I need to focus with 100% of my energy.

Whether it’s eating dinner, reading a book, or replying to emails, I have to be focused on one task. I can’t be at the dinner table checking my inbox.

That doesn’t work. I don’t believe in multitasking.

I believe in focus. 

On her evening routine.

I usually put my kids to bed around 8 and then the rest of the time is for me! 

This is a great time for me to decompress. Honestly, just the thought of being able to do whatever I want is incredibly relaxing.

In reality, I’m usually doing more work, diving into a book, or watching YouTube documentaries. It’s mundane, but I love it. Some nights I’ll watch a documentary.