The Undefeated Underdogs

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Guest:

Eric Bahn who proudly identifies as a 'Minivan enthusiast' is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, a VC fund that invests in "hilariously early" founders at the pre-seed stage. With $130M AUM, they invested in over 500 startups including the biggest names like Webflow, Copy AI, and Voiceflow!

Before Hustle Fund, Eric spent his career as a product leader at renowned companies like Instagram and Intuit. He also founded Beat The GMAT(acquired by the Daily Mail in 2012) and co-founded Read Your Story(Acquired by JibJab, 2022) with his sister.

Eric has been featured in numerous press outlets like TechCrunch, Time Magazine, and The New York Times. He holds a BA and MA from Stanford University.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community + Brand at Threado, building a side project called GuestLab, and runs a newsletter called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this podcast.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Description:

Tune in as Sharath and Eric discuss the next generation of venture capital, the importance of empathy in founder relationships, and of course, Eric's obsession with minivans.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Timestamps:
  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 01:40: Shoutout to Acquire.com
  • 04:06: Introduction to Eric Bahn, 3x Founder and Creator of Hustle Fund VC
  • 06:00: Eric's Obsession with Minivans
  • 09:45: The Impact of Family
  • 15:02: Hacks to Raising Responsible Kids
  • 19:17: Developing a Long-Term Vision
  • 22:29: Triggers to Motivate Your Work
  • 27:02: What Makes a Founder Trustworthy
  • 34:45: How the VC Industry Needs to Improve
  • 39:57: Comparison of Being a Start-Up Founder vs. VC Founder
  • 43:01: Lessons Learned as a Founder that Help in VC
  • 50:37: Choosing Between Being a Founder or VC
  • 51:34: Advice for Aspiring VCs
  • 54:49: What is a "Hilariously Early" Founder?
  • 56:21: Outro and Closing Thoughts
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Resources:
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Eric:
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericbahn
  • Hustle Fund: https://www.hustlefund.vc/team
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbahn
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Sharath:

What is The Undefeated Underdogs?

The Undefeated Underdogs is a podcast unpacking the underdog stories you never heard of!

It highlights the underdog mentality and brings authentic conversations with people who play the long game, take action with a chip on their shoulders, and convert obstacles into opportunities!

Buckle up, as I will be bringing some authentic founders, VCs, community builders, and content creators who got underestimated their whole life, and yet they beat the odds and became insanely successful!