Early stage venture capital firm First Cheque raises $5 million

Bengaluru based early stage venture capital fund First Cheque has raised $5 million from global investors in a bid to provide institutional capital to 50 startups including those having first time founders over the next 18 months, the company said. 

First Cheque, which has invested in over a 100 startups in the past three years, will invest $100,000 in each of the startups across sectors.

The firm, which aims to ease the process of raising institutional capital for first time founders and idea stage startups, has streamlined its capital deployment timeline to less than 30 days.

“We are looking to back aspirational founders with lesser emphasis on conventional prerequisites such as educational pedigree, previous founding experience, and conviction from other venture capital firms. In our investment decision, ‘Founder Market Fit’ will take precedence over these factors,” said Prateek Agarwal, investment lead at First Cheque.

First Cheque works with a team of venture partners including founders, product managers, sector experts, growth managers, and community managers to curate and diversify their portfolio. The firm, along with its venture partners, works with their portfolio companies in product pitching, go-to-market strategies and other processes involved in building a company from the idea stage.

In addition to providing mentorship, First Cheque, with a community of over 200 founders, has helped portfolio companies secure deals from large firms.

“After the US and China, India has the largest startup ecosystem and First Cheque is uniquely positioned to capture the pre-seed opportunity here,” said Anand Lunia, founding partner at India Quotient.

First Cheque’s portfolio includes Fashinza, Giva, Rocketlane, Fleetx, Wint Wealth, Plaza/Rigi, Global Fair, Drink Prime, and Bellatrix Aerospace.