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**Josh Muccio** (0:00)
From Gimlet, I'm Josh Muccio, and this is The Pitch.
Right now is a strange time for startup founders. The first rush of pandemic crisis is over, but businesses are now trying to figure out how to handle the long haul of a business climate changed by the coronavirus. So on our show today, founders call in for advice from investors Elizabeth Yin and Hunter Walk. Hey.

**Hunter Walk** (0:27)
Hello, hello. Hello, we're about to start giving advice.

**Elizabeth Yin** (0:33)
Are you gonna, you should sing your advice.

**Josh Muccio** (0:36)
Elizabeth Yin is a familiar name on our show. She famously invests in hilariously early startups and lots of them. Her fund, Hustle Fund, is invested in over 200 companies.
Elizabeth, it was your idea to bring Hunter on. To bring Hunter on the show.

**Elizabeth Yin** (0:52)
And now you have to get rid of him.

**Josh Muccio** (0:55)
Why did you think Hunter would be good?

**Elizabeth Yin** (0:57)
You know, I feel like a lot of VCs kind of tap dance around things, but you know, Hunter's very good about getting to the crux of the issue or whatever it is, but in a nice, genuine way.

**Hunter Walk** (1:10)
I'm hard on the problem, not the person.
I'm honored to be here. I like giving advice.

**Josh Muccio** (1:15)
Hunter Walk is with Homebrew VC. And when Hunter's not investing in startups like Angel List, Wealthfront and Cheddar, you can find him on Twitter, dispensing nuggets of VC wisdom and making jokes.

**Hunter Walk** (1:28)
I'm an outlaw.
Roaming the plains of business problems. If you're lucky enough that I walk into your town, I might just solve yours.

**Josh Muccio** (1:41)
Coming up, Hunter and Elizabeth offer advice to a founder with millions in revenue and another whose idea is so new they don't even have a website. The investors will even bust a few myths while they're at it.
Stay tuned. The calls will commence right after this.

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**Shwetha Maddur** (2:32)
Hello, The Pitch.

**Rebecca Colett** (2:34)
You have a caller. To accept the call, press 1 For more options, press star.

**Josh Muccio** (2:40)
Hello, this is Josh.

**Rebecca Colett** (2:42)
Hi, this is Rebecca calling from Detroit, Michigan.

**Josh Muccio** (2:45)
Hi Rebecca.

**Elizabeth Yin** (2:46)
Hi Rebecca. It's Elizabeth.

**Hunter Walk** (2:48)
You've got Hunter here too.

**Josh Muccio** (2:50)
All right, Rebecca, how can we help?

**Rebecca Colett** (2:53)
So, I'm a cannabis entrepreneur in the legal cannabis industry in Michigan. And I've been a legal cultivator in Michigan for the last 10 years and just recently acquired some additional licenses to expand to compete with the big boys. So we're building a huge commercial cultivation and processing facility. My partner and I have been funding the health project we're half a million dollars in already.
And the legal cannabis space is heavily regulated. So you definitely have to have construction completed within a certain time of acquiring a license. So we can't just be sitting on our hands, you know, I have to get this money.
But it's been kind of difficult to fundraise, especially it's a pandemic. So don't have an opportunity to go to a conference and network with potential investors. So I just wanted to kind of get your advice on how do you fundraise remotely from a laptop via Zoom call? Like, how do you really get people excited about what you're doing, but you have to do it from a computer screen?

**Josh Muccio** (4:05)
Is the question like how to cultivate relationships with investors these days?

**Elizabeth Yin** (4:12)
Well, I think the good news actually is that during this time, because everyone is largely taking Zoom meetings or phone calls, it actually in some sense allows you to open up a wider net because you don't have to go someplace and drive all around town to meet with different investors.
I know founders who are taking back to back to back meetings with investors from literally everywhere. So that's the good news. But I think then to answer your question, well, how do you find these people to hop on calls with? And so here are a couple of thoughts.
There are funds that specifically do cannabis investments. And I think the other approach is maybe even cold emailing other CEOs of cannabis companies that are doing well, like they may be angel investing or they certainly know people who invested in their companies. And I think touting some of your credentials, because I mean, you're not new to this space and you have these licenses. So you're a very credible person in this space. And I would just like tout that with a couple of bullet points and say, you know, hey, we'd love to get 15 minutes of advice. Here's a bit about me. My company is growing and I'm just trying to fundraise a little bit of money to spur on that growth.