First Cheque, an early-stage venture capital firm, plans to invest in 15 to 20 startups over the next 18 months. The average size of these initial investments will be up to $500,000 per startup. Kanika Agarrwal, a partner at India Quotient, said First Cheque is adjusting its approach to better support founders in the pre-seed market.
“Over the past few years, we have realized that the pre-seed market offers many more options beyond what we were providing. There are angel investors, family offices, and micro VCs that are doing a good job,” Agarrwal said. First Cheque plans to work alongside other investors, such as angel investors and micro-VCs, allowing it to participate in larger funding rounds.
This collaboration aims to provide more substantial support to early-stage startups by pooling resources from multiple investors. While First Cheque follows a sector-agnostic investment approach, the firm has shown a strong interest in backing direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands for the upcoming cohort. Agarrwal highlighted their interest in discovering unique and differentiated D2C brands.
First Cheque’s new investment strategy
“There are a lot of D2C brands, but that also means there are many ‘me too’ brands. So, what we’re trying to find are truly differentiated ones in categories that are completely empty,” she noted.
The firm is particularly interested in brands for kids, sports, white goods, and those targeting Gen Z consumers. Since its inception, First Cheque has invested in more than 130 startups across various industries. Notable companies in its portfolio include jewellery brand Giva, SaaS platform Rocketlane, career development platform Seekho, fleet management company Fleetx, water supplier DrinkPrime, and generative AI startup Simplismart.
Gagan Goyal, another partner at India Quotient, said, “We are looking to back passionate founders, new category creators, those turning chaos into order, or those replacing everyday items or even building something the world hasn’t seen yet.”
First Cheque’s limited partners largely consist of family offices and institutions from India and around the globe. The firm’s investment strategy aims to support emerging entrepreneurs and innovative ideas in their early stages, providing the necessary financial backing to nurture growth and development. With this new round of investments, First Cheque aims to further expand its portfolio and continue its track record of identifying and supporting promising startups.
This initiative comes at a time when early-stage funding plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in various industries.
