“No one wants to be the first one in the pool” is a truism regularly bandied about the venture funded startup circles. That’s because — for companies that choose that equity based financing route — landing that first check can be the most critical component of fundraising. But which venture capital firm or Angel is truly the most likely to be that “first money in” for your company? That’s what TechCrunch is seeking to answer with The TechCrunch List.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be collecting data around which individual investors are actually willing to write the proverbial “first check” into a startup’s fundraising round and help catalyze deals for founders — whether it be seed, Series A or otherwise (i.e. out of your Series A investors, the first person who was willing to write the check and get the ball rolling with other investors). Once we’ve collected, cleaned and analyzed the data, we’ll publish lists of the most recommended “first check” investors across different verticals, investment stages and geographies, so founders can see which investors are potentially the best fit for their company.
Have an investor you’d like to submit to the list? You can vouch for them by completing the TechCrunch “First VC Check” Endorsement form.
In order to do this, we need to hear from you, founders, on who wrote the first check into your startup. Maybe it was your lead investor, or maybe it was an angel who led with a small check. Who catalyzed your round? Who guided you through the fundraise process and helped to close your round? Who, ultimately, would you recommend to other founders who are trying to find their VC champion?
For more on this project, visit TechCrunch.
