Brian Nichols is the co-founder of Angel Squad, a community where you’ll learn how to angel invest and get a chance to invest as little as $1k into Hustle Fund's top performing early-stage startups

General Partners at venture capital funds see more deals, make more investment decisions, and have more pattern recognition than any course instructor. The good news is that many GPs share their knowledge freely through various channels.

This is your guide to accessing free angel investing education from active GPs.

Why GP Education Is Superior

Volume of exposure: Active GPs review hundreds or thousands of opportunities annually. Their pattern recognition develops through massive exposure that occasional investors can't match.

Current market knowledge: GPs know current valuations, market conditions, and deal dynamics. They see what's happening now, not what happened years ago.

Real stakes: GPs make decisions with real money at stake. Their frameworks are battle-tested against actual outcomes.

Continuous refinement: Active investing creates feedback loop. GPs refine approaches based on ongoing experience, keeping education current.

Diverse perspective: GPs see deals across sectors, stages, and founder profiles. Broader perspective than focused specialists.

As Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and GP of Hustle Fund, explains: "Most of your investments will return $0. You will lose money. So it's important to have great portfolio construction."

This practical wisdom comes from actively managing portfolios where these realities play out constantly.

Free GP Education Source 1: Practitioner Blogs

What's available: Many active GPs write detailed blog posts sharing frameworks, lessons learned, and market observations.

Examples:

• Hustle Fund blog (portfolio construction, evaluation, practical guidance)
• First Round Review (startup building and investing perspectives)
• Individual GP blogs and Substacks

How to use: Subscribe to 5-10 quality GP blogs. Read 3-4 articles weekly. Take active notes on frameworks and insights.

Time investment: 2-3 hours weekly for substantial learning over time.

Cost: Free

Free GP Education Source 2: Podcasts and Interviews

What's available: GPs appear on podcasts discussing investment approach, market analysis, and lessons from experience.

How to find: Search podcast apps for angel investing and venture capital shows. Follow GPs on social media for appearance announcements.

How to use: Subscribe to 5-7 quality shows. Listen to 3-4 episodes weekly. Note specific frameworks and insights.

Time investment: 3-4 hours weekly (often during commute or exercise).

Cost: Free

Free GP Education Source 3: Social Media Content

What's available: Many GPs share insights, observations, and quick lessons on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

How to use: Follow 20-30 active GPs. Check feeds regularly. Engage with content that resonates.

Benefits: Real-time market observations. Quick insights between longer content. Access to GP thinking patterns.

Limitations: Short-form content. Less structured than blogs or courses. Requires curation effort.

Cost: Free

As Eric Bahn, co-founder and GP of Hustle Fund, emphasizes: "For beginners, a bigger startup portfolio is better. It helps with diversification and helps you learn and get reps in. Investing requires practice like everything else."

GPs share this practical wisdom freely because they understand learning through practice matters more than hoarding information.

Free GP Education Source 4: Community Programming

What's available: Angel investing communities often include educational programming from affiliated GPs as part of membership.

Example: Angel Squad includes weekly sessions with Hustle Fund GPs (Elizabeth Yin, Eric Bahn, Shiyan Koh) covering evaluation, portfolio construction, and market dynamics.

How it works: Membership provides access to ongoing programming. Sessions cover current topics with Q&A. Content stays relevant because instructors are actively investing.

Cost consideration: Community membership has fee ($3,500 for Angel Squad), but education component is included alongside deal flow and community access. Educational value alone likely exceeds membership cost.

Free GP Education Source 5: Public Talks and Webinars

What's available: GPs speak at conferences, events, and webinars. Many are recorded and available publicly.

How to find: Search YouTube for GP names plus "talk" or "keynote." Check conference archives. Follow GPs for event announcements.

How to use: Watch 1-2 talks monthly. Note frameworks and key insights. Compare perspectives across different GPs.

Cost: Free

Structuring Your Free GP Education

Month 1-2: Foundation building Focus on portfolio construction and investment structures. Read blog posts covering basics. Listen to foundational podcast episodes.

Month 3-4: Evaluation frameworks Study how GPs assess opportunities. Compare approaches across different GPs. Develop personal criteria based on what resonates.

Month 5-6: Market and practice Follow current market commentary from GPs. Apply frameworks to opportunities (through community if joined).

Ongoing: Continuous development Maintain reading and listening habits. Attend community programming. Stay current with evolving GP perspectives.

As Shiyan Koh, co-founder and GP of Hustle Fund, notes: "Great founders can look like anyone and come from anywhere."

GPs like Shiyan share this perspective freely because they've learned it through experience they're willing to discuss.

What Free GP Education Provides

Current perspective: Active GPs discuss what's happening now, not historical patterns.

Practical frameworks: Approaches tested against real decisions with real money.

Market intelligence: Insights into valuations, deal dynamics, and sector trends.

Pattern recognition transfer: Benefit from GP exposure volume through their shared observations.

Diverse viewpoints: Multiple GPs provide different perspectives for synthesis.

What Free GP Education Lacks

Structure: Self-directed learning requires organizing content yourself.

Deal flow: Free content teaches frameworks without providing application opportunities.

Feedback: No one reviews your thinking or corrects misunderstandings.

Accountability: No external structure maintaining engagement.

Peer learning: Individual consumption without community discussion.

Solution: Combine free GP content for foundation with community membership for structure, deal flow, and peer support.

The Complete Free Education Stack

Daily (15 minutes): GP social media scanning. Quick insights and current observations.

Weekly (3-4 hours): 2-3 blog posts from GP sources. 2-3 podcast episodes or interviews.

Monthly (2-3 hours): 1-2 longer talks or webinars. Synthesis of month's learning.

Quarterly (1-2 hours): Review and organize notes. Update personal frameworks based on learning.

Total free education investment: 15-20 hours monthly for substantial GP-quality learning.

Transitioning to Applied Learning

Free content builds foundation. After 4-6 weeks, you understand basics from GP perspective.

Application requires deal flow. Community membership provides opportunities to apply frameworks to real decisions.

Recommended transition: Build free foundation, then join community (Angel Squad) for deal flow and ongoing GP education through structured programming.

The combination: Free content for initial learning plus community for application and continued development creates complete education pathway.

Angel Squad enhances free GP education: weekly programming from Hustle Fund GPs builds on foundation you've developed through free content, curated deal flow enables immediate framework application, community provides peer discussion enriching individual learning, and structure maintains engagement that self-directed learning sometimes lacks.

Free GP education is genuinely valuable. Active GPs share substantial knowledge through public channels. Combine this free foundation with community membership for complete education that produces capable investors.