Some venture funds want to see years of revenue before taking a meeting.

First Round takes a very different approach.

The firm’s website says it invests in companies before most people know their names and sometimes even before the company itself has a name.

Founders can approach First Round at angel, pre-seed or seed stage, and the firm explicitly states that it is never too early to reach out.

What Stage Does First Round Invest At?

The clue is in the name.

First Round focuses overwhelmingly on the first institutional stages of a startup.

Many companies approach the firm with little more than an idea, deep market insight and a strong founding team.

First Round says that founders do not need customers or revenue.

It is more interested in whether the founders deeply understand the problem and possess unusual strengths as builders.

The firm is generally not suitable for companies already raising Series B or Series C.

How Much Does First Round Invest?

Its current published range is approximately $1 million to $7 million for an initial investment.

The average is around $3.5 million.

First Round notes that it has participated in rounds ranging from as little as $100,000 to as much as $20 million, demonstrating flexibility around total round size.

Its ideal ownership after the seed round is roughly 14%, although the firm has gone above or below that and says it rarely goes below 10%.

What Industries Does First Round Invest In?

The firm does not impose a rigid sector mandate.

Its portfolio commonly clusters around:

• Enterprise software;
• Artificial intelligence;
• Hardware;
• Healthcare;
• Fintech;
• Consumer technology.

But First Round says founders, rather than venture investors, predict what comes next.

Its portfolio has included Notion, Square, Roblox, Verkada, Planet and other companies that looked unconventional when First Round first encountered them.

What Does First Round Look for?

The investment framework begins with contrarian insight.

What does the founder understand that others are missing?

If a product already exists, First Round likes to see a small group of passionate early customers.

It also evaluates the size of the eventual prize. Even a brilliant solution can be a poor venture investment if the market is too small.

Above all, the firm says its biggest factor is the founding team, including innovation, resourcefulness and resilience.

Does First Round Invest Outside the U.S.?

Rarely.

First Round says it focuses primarily on companies based in the United States because that is where its team believes it can provide the most value.

It has made exceptions for companies headquartered outside the country, but these are not the normal case.

International founders should take this geographic preference seriously.

How Does the Investment Process Work?

The process generally progresses from an initial meeting to follow-up conversations and then a full partner meeting.

First Round says it normally spends at least three to five hours getting to know a company before making a final decision.

About half of the companies that reach the full partner meeting are ultimately funded.

Do You Need a Warm Introduction?

No.

First Round values trusted referrals because they can accelerate the process, but it explicitly says founders should not be afraid to contact the firm cold.

The firm notes that at least one portfolio relationship began through cold email.

Learn how First Round evaluates startups

For exceptional founders still near the beginning, First Round’s model is unusually clear: it wants to meet companies before the evidence becomes obvious to everybody else.