Backing ambitious
founders right from
the ideation stage
We invest in teams across the Paper-Plan / Pre-Product / MVP stage
We invest when
nobody else
will.
Founded in 2018 under IndiaQuotient, First Cheque was built to formalise "first cheques" into very early-stage founders. We back first-time founders from India at the pre-seed stage — Paper-Plan, Pre-Product, MVP — when the market is large and the team is compelling.
We are comfortable investing when the product is basic, not fully developed, or without proven PMF. It's never too early for us.
"The best time to pitch is when you haven't got a single customer — best form is a product link."
Startups backed since 2018
Graduation rate to follow-on rounds
Any Sector
Enterprise Tech, Consumer, Edtech, Fintech, D2C, AI/ML, Agritech — we go where the founder insight is non-obvious.
Up to $500K
Pre-seed cheques sized to give you runway to build product and reach early validation milestones.
10-Day Process
From first call to term sheet. We move fast when we have conviction — no bureaucracy, no endless rounds.
We have provided bridge rounds to every portfolio company that requested one.
From idea to
term sheet.
We prefer "slow dating" — but when we have conviction, we move in 10 days flat.
Apply & First Call
Submit your application. We schedule a Zoom with a partner or associate — no deck required, just your product link.
Follow-up & Deep Dive
We dig deeper into the market, the team and the insight. Could be a second call or an async follow-up.
Partner Pitch
Pitch to two or more partners, then to the full team if we're convinced. This is where conviction crystallises.
Term Sheet
Term sheet targeted within 24 hours of IC. Standard docs, no surprises. Welcome to the family.
No formal board meetings while we are the only investors. Each portfolio company gets a dedicated partner.
We get our hands
dirty with you.
Money is the smallest part of what we offer. Here's the full platform.
Demo Day
Pitch your business idea to a curated pool of leading investors — Series A, B and beyond.
Community
Engage with 250+ founders across all stages and sectors. Peer learning, warm intros, real talk.
Mentorship
Personalised guidance from industry veterans — VCs and founders who have built and exited.
Expert Connects
Talk to operators who have been there, done that. Domain experts on-demand, no cold emails.
Dealbook Perks
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure credits and SaaS tools to reduce your burn in the early days.
Beyond Investments
Legal, hiring, PR, fundraising strategy — assisting founders with everything apart from just money.
First Cheque startups.
120+ companies backed at the earliest stage — when most said it was too early.
Seekho
Seekho is building the upskilling platform for Bharat — short-form video learning for real jobs.
Showing 12 of 120+ portfolio companies
Heard from the
founders themselves.
"First Cheque is our earliest believer. Their process is focused on building conviction in the team and the support post investment is unwavering."
Ishendra Agarwal
Founder, Giva
"First Cheque is one of the easiest investors to get on a call with. They act as friends before investors — that makes all the difference at pre-seed."
Ajinkya Kulkarni
Founder, Wint Wealth
"The FC team is very rigorous and detail-oriented over our monthly update calls. They are ready to get their hands dirty whenever needed."
Rohit Taneja
Founder, Seekho
"As a first-time founder, one has many questions. The First Cheque team has always been available for support — no question is too small."
Amritanshu Nanda
Founder, SimpliSmart
Tell us your
big idea.
No deck needed. Just share your idea and a product link. We read every application.
Questions we
hear often.
We invest at the Paper-Plan, Pre-Product and MVP stages. We are comfortable investing when the product is basic or not yet built — as long as the market is large and the team is compelling. It's never too early for us.
We are sector agnostic. Our portfolio spans Enterprise Tech, Consumer Tech, Edtech, Fintech, D2C/Ecommerce, Media & Entertainment, Agritech, AI/ML and more. We go where the founder insight is non-obvious.
We write pre-seed cheques of up to USD 500K. The amount is sized to give you enough runway to build product and reach early validation milestones before your next round.
From first call to term sheet in 10 days. The process involves 2–3 calls: an initial Zoom, a follow-up deep dive, and a partner pitch. Term sheet is targeted within 24 hours of IC. We prefer "slow dating" but move fast when convicted.
We back first-time founders with strong conviction in their market insight. We test how strongly you believe in your approach on questions of market choice, network effects, tech vs design, and distribution vs engagement. We prefer demos over decks.
Yes. We typically lead or co-lead pre-seed rounds. We aim for meaningful ownership and provide a standard term sheet with tag-along rights, pre-emptive rights and veto rights. We plan to back 15–20 exceptional companies in the next 18 months.
Still have questions?
Reach out to us on Twitter/X at @firstcheque or apply and we'll get back to you.