Michael Lee

Founder, Hypotenuse Capital Management

Michael Lee is the founder of Hypotenuse Capital Management. Hypotenuse invests in publicly traded companies that have exceptional cultures run by outstanding leaders. Prior to establishing Hypotenuse, he was a partner at Royal Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund in New York, a private equity investor at Parthenon Capital in Boston, and an investment banker at Bear Stearns. Michael is a member of the board of directors of the P.F. Bresee Foundation, a non-profit organization that battles poverty by empowering youth and families in Los Angeles with the skills, resources, and relationships necessary to thrive. Michael is also an active investor in several early-stage ventures. He attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and resides with his wife and two children in Los Angeles.

Articles by Michael Lee

How Shaun Merritt Vibe-Coded Karrot.ai As A Solo Builder

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Shaun Merritt, cofounder and CTO of Karrot.ai, a LinkedIn ABM tool. Shaun was kind enough to share a comprehensive breakdown of how...

7 Steps to Build a Product That Sells Itself

Learn the 7 steps to product-led growth (PLG) to build a product that sells itself. Drive activation, boost conversions, and scale efficiently with Wes Bush from ProductLed....

The Founder’s Mental Health Playbook: What I Learned After Nearly Burning Out

A hard-won guide to staying mentally healthy while building a startup I founded Stitcher, the podcast platform, in 2007 and ran it for seven years until we sold in 2014....

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) for Early Stage Companies

In our latest session from the Mucker Growth Series featuring Ethan Smith from Graphite, we explored AEO, a significant new approach for optimizing visibility in AI-driven search, particularly relevant as...

Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...