First Cheque
First Cheque is a Mumbai-based, India Quotient-affiliated pre-seed and seed venture capital firm that invests up to $500k at the ideation/Paper-Plan stage across 19+ sectors, supporting 120+ portfolio companies and a 250+ founder community with Demo Days, mentorship, and service-provider credits.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersMumbai, India
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What First Cheque does
First Cheque is a Mumbai-based, India Quotient-affiliated pre-seed and seed venture capital firm that invests at the earliest stages of company formation (Paper-Plan, Pre-Product, and MVP). Founded in 2021 and operating from Powai, Mumbai as First Cheque LLP, the firm writes cheques of INR 75 Lakhs (up to $500,000) into 15-20 new companies per year and has built a portfolio of 120+ companies and a community of 250+ founders spanning 19+ sectors including SaaS, FinTech, D2C, EdTech, B2B Marketplaces, Generative AI, SpaceTech, and Web3. Its investment process is notable for a 10-day turnaround from first call to term sheet and 30-day fund disbursement.
The firm's core product is the integrated support platform layered on top of its capital: a Demo Day connecting portfolio founders to 120+ follow-on investors, a 'Dream Team' of 25+ expert operators across Product, Growth, Sales, Tech, Finance, and People, a Dealbook of service-provider credits (AWS $25k, Google Cloud up to $100k, Razorpay INR 5L, HubSpot 90% off, plus MongoDB, Freshworks, MoEngage, Webflow, Notion), and a WhatsApp-based founder community with continuous learning programs covering GTM, hiring, retention, and fundraising. The underlying technology is intentionally lightweight — website, Google Forms for applications, and Google Drive for standard Term Sheet and SSHA documents — with no proprietary software product.
First Cheque's revenue model is conventional for a venture fund: it earns through management fees and, ultimately, equity returns from portfolio exits, demonstrated by a 75x partial exit from D2C jewellery brand Giva in 2023. The firm has co-invested alongside tier-1 venture firms including Sequoia, Accel, Y Combinator, Lightspeed, Matrix, Blume, Eight Roads, Westbridge, and Nexus, and runs international deal flow through vehicles such as the Octopus First Cheque Fund for European and UK rounds.
First Cheque firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- First Cheque
- Legal name
- First Cheque LLP
- Website
- https://firstcheque.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- First Cheque is a Mumbai-based, India Quotient-affiliated pre-seed and seed venture capital firm that invests up to $500k at the ideation/Paper-Plan stage across 19+ sectors, supporting 120+ portfolio companies and a 250+ founder community with Demo Days, mentorship, and service-provider credits.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
First Cheque industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-Stage Venture Capital
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Corporate Fintech / Insurtech CVC (Financial-services-led CVC) (FSANAHAK)
Keywords
Where First Cheque is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mumbai
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
First Cheque business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Investment Returns and Management Fees: First Cheque generates returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies. The firm takes equity stakes (convertible preferred stock) in exchange for investments of up to $500k per company. As a venture capital fund, revenue is realized through exits via acquisitions, IPOs, or secondary transactions. The firm has achieved a 75x partial exit from D2C jewellery brand Giva.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Standard Pre-Seed Investment |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
First Cheque product offering
Product offeringCore offering
First Cheque is a Mumbai-based venture capital firm that provides pre-seed and seed-stage investments of up to $500,000 (INR 75 Lakhs) to early-stage startups at the Paper-Plan, Pre-Product, and MVP stages. The firm offers a 10-day turnaround from first call to term sheet, with funds disbursed within 30 days, and supports portfolio companies through Demo Days, expert mentorship, a founder community, and a Dealbook of service provider credits.
Product overview
First Cheque is a venture capital firm operating as a single integrated investment platform rather than a multi-module software product. The core offering is early-stage seed investment services targeting Paper-Plan/Pre-Product/MVP stage startups with investments up to $500,000. The platform is complemented by several support mechanisms: Demo Day for investor pitching, Expert Connects for mentorship from 25+ operators, Dealbook for portfolio company benefits (AWS, Google, Webflow, Razorpay, Hubspot, MongoDB credits), and a Founder Community of 250+ founders for peer learning. The portfolio spans 120+ companies across 19 sectors including B2B Marketplace, SaaS, FinTech, EdTech, Generative AI, and Web3.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pre-Seed Investment Services Pre-seed and seed-stage capital investment of up to $500,000 (INR 75 Lakhs) in early-stage startups at ideation, paper-plan, or MVP stages, with a 10-day term sheet turnaround and 30-day funding disbursement.
- Demo Day A portfolio support program where portfolio companies pitch their business to a pool of 120+ leading investors across 10+ sectors, facilitating 500+ 1-on-1 investor calls for follow-on fundraising.
- Expert Connects (Dream Team) A network of 25+ expert operators with 10+ years of average experience providing mentorship and operational guidance across Product, Marketing, Community Building, Growth, Tech, Finance, Sales Strategy, Customer Success, Engineering, Leadership & Fundraising, and other areas to portfolio founders.
- Dealbook A collection of partner benefits and credits for portfolio companies, including AWS credits ($25k), Google Cloud credits (up to $100k), Webflow (90 days free), Notion ($1k credits), Razorpay (INR 5L credits), HubSpot (up to 90% off), MongoDB ($5k credits), Freshworks ($10k credits), and MoEngage (up to 50% off).
- Founder Community A community of 250+ founders across all stages and sectors providing peer networking, mutual support, and continuous learning programs covering Monetisation, Metrics, Fundraising, SEO & ASO, Growth, Community Building, US GTMD, Digital Advertising, Hiring, Customer Retention, ICP Identification, Design & UI/UX, Customer Success, and TAM Expansion.
Quantifiable outcome
- 75x partial exit from Giva
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use First Cheque
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
First Cheque technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
First Cheque partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- AWScoreFirst Cheque Dealbook offers portfolio companies $25,000 in AWS credits through the AWS Activate program for startups.
- Google CloudcoreFirst Cheque Dealbook provides portfolio companies with up to $100,000 in Google Cloud credits for startups.
- MetamajorFirst Cheque Dealbook offers preferential partnership opportunities with Meta for portfolio companies.
- WebflowminorFirst Cheque Dealbook provides 90 days of free Webflow access for portfolio companies.
- RazorpaycoreFirst Cheque Dealbook offers INR 5 Lakhs in Razorpay credits for portfolio companies in India.
- HubSpotmajorFirst Cheque Dealbook provides up to 90% discount on HubSpot services for portfolio companies.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
First Cheque competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- India Quotient: Parent VC firm of First Cheque. India Quotient operates early to growth-stage funds across India, and First Cheque is its pre-seed/seed vehicle. Highly comparable in stage focus and sector breadth, with deeper capital reserves for follow-on.
Direct peers
- 3one4 Capital: Bengaluru-based early-stage VC investing at pre-seed through Series A in India. First Cheque explicitly lists 3one4 as a co-investor with maximum overlap, and both target tech-enabled Indian founders from the earliest stages.
- Better Capital: Pre-seed and seed fund backing Indian founders at the idea and pre-product stage with similar $100k–$500k cheques. Closest Indian peer in thesis, ticket size, and community-driven model.
- 100X.VC: India's first investor-led fund focused exclusively on pre-seed startups, writing ~INR 1 Cr cheques. Direct competitor for the earliest stage founder segment First Cheque targets.
- Antler India: Global early-stage VC with a major India presence, investing pre-seed into Indian founders often before product, plus a residency/co-founder matching program. Comparable in stage and founder-development focus.
- Y Combinator: Global pre-seed/seed accelerator explicitly listed as a co-investor with maximum overlap. Comparable in investing at the earliest stage and pairing capital with community and founder support.
- Blume Ventures: Mumbai/Bengaluru-based early-stage VC listed as a co-investor with maximum overlap. Blume's pre-seed/seed Fund I/II is highly comparable in stage, sector breadth, and Indian founder focus.
- Venture Highway: India-focused seed-stage VC listed as a co-investor with maximum overlap. Both target early Indian tech founders with similar cheque sizes and a community-led support model.
- Chiratae Ventures: Indian early-to-growth VC (formerly IDG Ventures India) listed as a co-investor with maximum overlap. Operates with a sector-agnostic thesis similar to First Cheque's, though typically at larger cheques.
- Pravega Ventures: India-focused seed/early-stage VC listed as a co-investor with maximum overlap. Comparable cheque size and stage, focused on Indian tech-enabled startups at the earliest stage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
First Cheque social profiles
Digital presenceFirst Cheque financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
First Cheque leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
First Cheque funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
First Cheque M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments130 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about First Cheque
What does First Cheque do?
First Cheque is a Mumbai-based venture capital firm that provides pre-seed and seed-stage investments of up to $500,000 (INR 75 Lakhs) to early-stage startups at the Paper-Plan, Pre-Product, and MVP stages. The firm offers a 10-day turnaround from first call to term sheet, with funds disbursed within 30 days, and supports portfolio companies through Demo Days, expert mentorship, a founder community, and a Dealbook of service provider credits.
Is First Cheque a public or private company?
First Cheque is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was First Cheque founded?
First Cheque was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is First Cheque based?
First Cheque is headquartered in Mumbai, India, in the Asia region.
How does First Cheque make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Returns and Management Fees.
Who are First Cheque's main competitors?
India Quotient is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are 3one4 Capital, Better Capital, 100X.VC, Antler India, Y Combinator, Blume Ventures, Venture Highway, Chiratae Ventures and Pravega Ventures.
Does First Cheque have an API?
No public API is recorded for First Cheque.
What industry is First Cheque in?
First Cheque's product category is Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated).