First Cheque closes second fund at Rs 38 cr, plans to invest in 50 startups

Pre-stage Venture Capital firm First Cheque, launched its second fund to invest in 50 startups in the next 18 months. The fund, which used to operate as an AngelList syndicate and had invested in more than 100 startups in the past three years, has raised Rs 38 crore from global investors for its second fund. The firm will focus on first-time founders and will invest $100,000 in each of its portfolio companies, which is essential for founders to get their business started from scratch.

First Cheque aims to be the earliest institutional capital available for founders and seeks to achieve this by investing at the pre-seed stage. The firm has a sector-agnostic approach and is open to backing founding teams at the paper-plan stage. The closure of its second fund takes the firm’s total AUM to Rs 90 crore.

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

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He further added, "We believe that India needs more seed stage institutional capital and mentorship, which we aim to provide via our founder community, dedicated program, and a network of seasoned investors and venture partners."

First Cheque has streamlined its deployment process to less than 30 days — from initial discussion to capital deployment. It is also launching an in-house program, featuring leading founders, sector experts and Venture Capitalists who will share their experiences around building a company, GTM strategy, hiring & retention, monetisation and fundraising.

First Cheque worked with more than 20 venture partners during its first fund, and added approximately 100 startups to its portfolio. Some of its portfolio ventures include Fashinza, Giva, Rocketlane, Fleetx, Wint Wealth, Plaza/Rigi, Global Fair, Drink Prime and Bellatrix Aerospace.   

Anand Lunia, founding partner, India Quotient, further adds, “We all have seen the massive success that YC has had globally. After the US and China, India has the largest startup ecosystem and First Cheque is uniquely positioned to capture the pre-seed opportunity here. The comprehensive program, the engaged founder community and the demo day will act as catalysts for first-time founders. The firm’s underlying founder-first ethos also separates it from the rest.”