First Round is a seed-stage-first firm that backs founders at the earliest, pre-product-market-fit moment with an operator's lens. They look for a compelling and contrarian insight into how a market works, a small group of passionate early customers, and a market that is genuinely worth winning. As they put it, they 'go to unreasonable lengths for unreasonable founders in their early years' and 'don't think VCs predict the future — founders do.'
A compelling, contrarian insight into a market or need that others miss — and a founder who has broken the problem down to its 'atomic unit' and lives inside it.
“We look for compelling and contrarian insight into how the world works. What do you understand about a market or a need that no one else does?” — Who We Back — First Round
“The best founders go unreasonably deep. They don't just study a problem — they break it down to its atomic unit and live inside it. They obsess over the mechanics that others overlook, uncovering hidden leverage in the smallest details.” — Bill Trenchard
“Find a new way to tell the story that's oriented around the unique vantage point of the entrepreneur, and what she sees that everyone else just doesn't get.” — Bill Trenchard
Evidence the product solves a critical need repeatably — a small group of passionate early customers and creative go-to-market thinking, moving toward the firm's PMF levels.
“Extreme product-market fit is a state of widespread demand for a product that satisfies a critical need and — crucially — can be delivered repeatably and efficiently to each customer.” — How to Measure Product Market Fit
“How happy are customers with the product? Are you able to effectively retain customers? How much do people need the product?” — Levels of PMF — First Round
“You'll know you understand the customer problem enough when you can predict 75% of what a customer tells you.” — How to Measure Product Market Fit
A market that is genuinely worth winning at scale — sized credibly bottom-up for the near term, not inflated headline TAM.
“Let's say you win the whole thing — is the prize worth winning? The game is long and hard, and some markets are more rewarding than others.” — Who We Back — First Round
“Founders want to show massive markets, but they're at risk of doing so in an unsophisticated way. They throw big numbers that don't reflect their specific market in the near term.” — Bill Trenchard
At seed: a small group of passionate early customers showing real demand. The bar shifts to measurable demand, satisfaction and efficiency as you climb the PMF levels.
“Do you have the proverbial 'lines out the door'? How quickly and how much can you sell your product for?” — Levels of PMF — First Round
“How would you feel if you could no longer use the product?” — How to Measure Product Market Fit
“As I always say, there's nothing like numbers to fuck up a good story.” — Josh Kopelman
Founders with one or two outlier abilities and relentless, obsessive drive; a team uniquely suited to this problem, able to swing between a 10-year vision and today's weeds.
“The best founders can paint a picture of what they'll be doing in 10 years and then zoom all the way down into the weeds of today.” — Here's What You Can Really Expect When Pitching Your Seed-Stage Startup at a VC Partner Meeting
“A big speed bump for the momentum of a pitch is the mishandled team slide. First, I wouldn't put it at the front of the deck, especially because its biggest value is to demonstrate that the team is uniquely suited to tackle a problem.” — Brett Berson
“I'll tell you what I think, but recognize that I'm just one data point — and that great companies are built by great founders, not great investors.” — Josh Kopelman
A path to delivering the product repeatably and efficiently — efficiency (CAC, conversion, margins, burn multiple) is an explicit PMF dimension once demand exists.
“Can the product grow repeatably and scale effectively?” — Levels of PMF — First Round
“Extreme product-market fit is a state of widespread demand for a product that satisfies a critical need and — crucially — can be delivered repeatably and efficiently to each customer.” — Todd Jackson
An honest, woven-in handling of the competitive landscape — addressed throughout the deck, especially in contested markets, rather than isolated on one slide.
“The best way to talk about competition, particularly if you're in a contested market is to address it throughout the entire deck.” — The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise Billions in Follow-On Capital
“We knew a generic cloud platform had no chance against Amazon and others whose cost of capital was lower.” — Brian O'Kelley (AppNexus founder)
A reason this insight wins now — grounded in the founder's view of what others don't yet get, since First Round believes founders, not VCs, predict the future.
“Find a new way to tell the story that's oriented around the unique vantage point of the entrepreneur, and what she sees that everyone else just doesn't get.” — The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise Billions in Follow-On Capital
“The first 24 months of a company's life are a magical time...When I started First Round, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my career focused exclusively on this period.” — Josh Kopelman
Confidence paired with candor: demonstrate the business will get funded, while being openly honest about what's still unfigured. Slides should guide a partner-meeting conversation.
“Getting a vote of confidence takes, well, confidence. It's key to demonstrate that you have a great business, good numbers, and that you're going to get funded.” — The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise Billions in Follow-On Capital
“One of the biggest ways to build credibility, particularly with early-stage fundraising, is to be very open about what you haven't figured out yet.” — Bill Trenchard
“For partner meetings, it is almost always recommended to come with slides, since it can help you guide the conversation and answer questions in more detail.” — Liz Wessel
“The first 24 months of a company's life are a magical time...When I started First Round, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my career focused exclusively on this period.”
“The best way to talk about competition, particularly if you're in a contested market is to address it throughout the entire deck.”
“Extreme product-market fit is a state of widespread demand for a product that satisfies a critical need and — crucially — can be delivered repeatably and efficiently to each customer.”
“The best founders can paint a picture of what they'll be doing in 10 years and then zoom all the way down into the weeds of today.”