🤝 This week’s edition is sponsored by Fidelity

Your portco is fundraising? Congrats!

Now cue the spreadsheets, legal docs, and investors with “quick asks”…

If you’re looking to help guide founders through this, Fidelity Private Shares is the perfect match. With their equity management platform, there’s no drama - just clean numbers, reliable products, and good resources.

Whether it's cap table management, organized documentation, or infrastructure that scales with your portfolio companies, Fidelity’s got your back. Schedule a demo to learn more.

Hustle Fund and Fidelity are not affiliated.

📰 Today's topic: Why we need more Angel Investors (not fewer)

There's a narrative going around that we have too many VCs.

Too many people chasing deals. Too much competition. Too many folks in vests at demo days.

But here's my take: we actually need more investors, not fewer.

Especially angel investors.

The best returns come from overlooked founders

At Hustle Fund, some of the best companies we’ve backed share something in common.

Many of them were started by founders who got passed over by traditional VCs.

Why did VCs pass?

• "Too early" (the market wasn't proven yet)

• "Wrong resume" (didn't go to Stanford, didn't work at Google)

• "Wrong location" (not in San Francisco or New York)

• "Wrong problem" (women's health, elder care, boring business)

These weren't bad deals. They were unconventional deals.

But when you're the only person writing a check into a founder that’s solving a real problem the “establishment” doesn't care about, you typically get better terms and stronger relationships.

Why more investors actually helps

The ecosystem is bigger than it's ever been.

Infrastructure is cheap - AWS, Stripe, development tools. You don't even need to know how to code to get an MVP out the door anymore.

This means more great early-stage companies globally than ever before.

And we need more investors to fund them. Specifically, investors with different perspectives who can recognize what traditional VCs miss.

Leveraging the gap to your advantage

Think about it: If every investor is looking for the same pattern (top school, right background, proven market), they all chase the same deals. That drives up valuations and reduces your multiple potential.

But if you're willing to write $5k checks into founders solving large problems for many people - not just the problems that fit the standard VC thesis - you access better economics.

I know a founder building solutions for women's health that got passed on repeatedly in 2018. "Too niche."

She raised from angels who actually understood that half the population = massive market. Three years later, her company skyrocketed to a $200M valuation.

What this means for your portfolio

As a new angel investor, you don't need to compete with Sequoia for the hottest AI deal at a $20M cap.

You can write $5k checks into:

• The technical founder in Austin solving problems in fintech

• The immigrant entrepreneur building for their home country

• The late career expert who spent 15 years in the industry they're disrupting

And, this is NOT charity.

These are strategic investments into underserved markets with less competition and better unit economics.

The future of the startup ecosystem depends on funding solutions for all people. Not just the narrow slice that fits the traditional VC pattern.

Which starts by bringing in different backgrounds, different networks, and different perspectives.

This, is why we need more investors, not fewer.

– Brian from Angel Squad

🌎 Come hang with us IRL

Our Hustle Fund team is always hosting events around the world. If you’re into pizza, pitches and bad punchlines, we’d love to have you. Check out our full events calendar, and two upcoming events below!

🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea on January 20, 2026 - Founder Friends Seoul: Join the local founder community to connect and hear war stories from a founder who went through the wringer and came out the other side.

🇺🇸 Saratoga, California on May 11, 2026 - Camp Hustle 2026: ​​​Camp Hustle is where investors meet. Join 250+ angels, VCs, emerging fund managers, and family offices for three days of meaningful connections and pure fun.

Overheard in SF…probably

“We're not just building a company, we're building a movement. A movement that happens to require $50M in Series B funding.”