First Cheque Closes its Second Fund at Rs 38 Cr ($5 Mn); Plans to Invest in 50 Companies Over the Next 18 Mths

Invest in firms at the pre-seed stage together with paper-plan concepts

Focus on first-time founders

An preliminary funding of USD 100K in all portfolio firms

First Cheque, an early-stage VC, launches its second fund to make investments in 50 startups in the subsequent 8 months. The fund, which used to function as an AngelList syndicate and had invested in 100+ startups in the previous three years, has raised ₹38 Crore from international buyers for its second fund. The agency will give attention to first-time founders and can make investments $100K in every of its portfolio firms, which is crucial for founders to get their enterprise began from scratch.

First Cheque goals to be the earliest institutional capital out there for founders and seeks to obtain this by investing at the pre-seed stage. The agency has a sector agnostic method and is open to backing founding groups at the paper-plan stage. The closure of its Second fund takes the agency’s complete AUM to Rs 90 Crore.

First Cheque has streamlined its deployment course of to lower than 30 days – from preliminary dialogue to capital deployment. It can also be launching an in-house program, that includes main founders, sector consultants and Venture Capitalists who will share their experiences round constructing an organization, GTM technique, hiring & retention, monetisation and fundraising.

Additionally, the VC agency might be organising bi-annual demo days with main VCs, simplifying the fundraising course of for his or her portfolio firms. The staff may also actively work with its portfolio firms to enhance their pitch and assist them establish the proper product metrics.

First Cheque works intently with 50+ Venture Partners (VPs) who assist in curating a portfolio that’s inclusive and numerous in nature. This checklist consists of founders, product managers, group managers, sector consultants and progress managers. It additionally plans to onboard undergraduate enterprise fellows, who will join the fund with high-potential pupil startups from their respective schools. First Cheque labored with 20+ enterprise companions throughout its first fund, and added ~100 startups to its portfolio, by way of the similar. Some of its famend portfolio ventures embrace Fashinza, Giva, Rocketlane, Fleetx, Wint Wealth, Plaza/Rigi, Global Fair, Drink Prime and (*18*) Aerospace.

Speaking of the imaginative and prescient, Prateek Agarwal, Investment Lead, First Cheque mentioned, “We are trying to again aspirational founders with lesser emphasis on typical stipulations corresponding to the academic pedigree, earlier founding expertise and conviction from different VCs. In our funding resolution, ‘Founder (*38*) Fit’ will take priority over these components. We consider that (*50*) wants extra seed stage institutional capital and mentorship, which we purpose to present through our founder group, devoted program, and a community of seasoned buyers and enterprise companions. Our dedication is to foster a assist system that may assist our founders all through their journey. It is a small step aligned with PM Narendra Modi’s “Startup (*50*)” initiative.”