By Founders.
For Founders.
We are a group of entrepreneurs that love building and scaling tech products and companies. With First Cheque, we are now investing in the next generation of Indian technology entrepreneurs
WHO WE ARE
Built and Exited Founders, Product Leaders, Growth Leaders, and also Angel Investors. A lot of change we bring is in how to think based on first principles, based on data. We help you build a data-driven organization, set up teams for performance et al. Most importantly, we help you unlock growth.
WHAT WE KNOW
Product + Growth
Design growth into your product from day one, and then let the product take responsibility of growth instead of pushing it to marketing.
Performance Engineering
Work with us to choose the right battle-ready technologies and algorithms which can lay the foundation of rapid scaling. A thriving community that will enjoy troubleshooting for you.
Next Round
Fundraising has its own nuances, especially in the early stages. We will help you track the right metrics and connect you with relevant funds for your next round.
Organization Design
Interview hacks, best offer strategies, designing the right job descriptions, ESOP schemes that people actually aspire for, we work with you on all of these.
Curve Balls
A Startup’s journey almost never goes as planned. We are experienced troubleshooters and help founders deal with the uncertainties of this lonely journey.
HOW WE WORK
First Cheque invests wherever our venture partners invest. Reach out to any of them directly or get your Lead Investor to talk to them.
Show us your product, not your deck. If there is no deck, just write to any of us and ask for a call. Large markets preferred over niche ones. And deep tech preferred over cupcake stores.
Usually, the Venture Partner + First Cheque, together will invest Rs 25 Lakh. Sometimes the cheque size is higher if we are able to pull in other friends. And no special terms - we join your current round without any fuss.
Show us your product, not your deck. If there is no deck, just write to any of us and ask for a call. Large markets preferred over niche ones. And deep tech preferred over cupcake stores.
Usually, the Venture Partner + First Cheque, together will invest Rs 25 Lakh. Sometimes the cheque size is higher if we are able to pull in other friends. And no special terms - we join your current round without any fuss.
INVESTMENTS
Propulsion Systems for satellites
Millenial Silver Jewellery Brand
Car Servicing Subscription Platform.
Fleet Management SAAS for optimizing Fleet and logistics operations
IOT Enabled RO Purifier on Subscription .
Consumer Lending for Healthcare Needs
FAQs
1What unique value does First Cheque offer to founders ?
We get involved with the founders and help them reach their next critical milestone. Working with us unlocks access to a kick-ass network of successful founder angels, who have - been there done that. You can expect support from us on Technology, Product and hiring along with access to larger investors who could lead your next round.
Besides support from us and our venture partners (Founder Angels), we are building a close-knit community of founders that we have invested in via our monthly meetups in all major Indian cities. These meetups are focussed sessions on helping our founders reach product market fit and solve for their next round.
2When and how much does First Cheque usually invest in a company and at what valuation ?
Along with our lead Venture Partner - we invest Rs 25 Lakhs, as a part of a larger pre-seed/seed round. The cheques size is sometimes more(upto Rs 50 Lakh) if we are able to pull in other friends. Usually founders ping us when they are raising a 25L to 2Cr INR round from friends, family, and angels from their college/company networks. Generally we see these rounds happen at an INR 4Cr - 15Cr valuation, depending on the stage of the company, however the valuation is not the primary criteria for us.
3What are your investment terms ?
We don’t ask for any special terms. We are happy to invest at the same terms and valuation as your lead - in fact we will call it out if your lead sneaks in any predatory terms.
4Which type of startups do you like ?
We are sector agnostic. We back strong teams building tech products for large markets - it’s a little vague but then that’s what early stage is like :)
5How many companies do you plan to invest in ?
We will be investing in a 100 companies over the next three years.
6What is your evaluation process ?
Founders can pitch any one of our venture partners (Founder/Operator Angels Listed Above) and if they decide to invest we co-invest with them. Usually they (and us) decide within two - three interactions.
7What geographies do you look at while investing ?
Our Venture Partners are spread out throughout the country and we are happy to look at companies from all over India!
8How to reach First Cheque?
We highly recommend that you hustle to get an intro to one of our venture partners! Else, you can reach our CEO at kb@firstcheque.vc or on Twitter at @firstcheque.