Our Investment Process
How We Invest
At First Row Partners, we back founders at the earliest stages with a process that’s analytical, transparent, and collaborative. We use it to identify amazing opportunities, isolate what matters, and use founders’ time well.
With our champion/challenger model, both partners work on every deal but from distinct angles: one partner champions, while the partner and rest of the team sharpen the analysis and seek alternate points of view. Ultimately, the champion builds conviction in you and your vision. We believe that consensus investing within a firm leads to poor outcomes; the champion/challenger model allows us to gain a point of view on each opportunity.
Every deal we pursue gets our attention, curiosity, rigor, and respect — and when conviction is there, we lean in fully. Here’s what to expect from during the due diligence process:
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Our goal is not a pitch deck walkthrough, but a real conversation. “Screening a company in” means that we’ve done some initial thinking about what this company could become and we have a reason to believe in your success. We begin with a 30-minute call with one of the First Row Partners. We ask questions to understand your insight, your (future) customers, and what the world could look like if you succeed.
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Next, you and your co-founder(s) will meet the full First Row Partner team. Using a topically-focused agenda, we’ll explore your long-term vision, near-term challenges, and how we might support you along the way. We’re looking for honesty, clarity, and ambition — not perfection. This is also your opportunity to evaluate the type of questions and perspectives we bring to your company strategy.
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We review core documents: incorporation docs, cap table, roadmap, financial model, and references. Our goal isn’t to make diligence painful, but to confirm the strength of the foundation you’re building on. The areas of deep diligence, whether customer or founder reference interviews, or company structure, will depend on the “soft areas” we’ve uncovered through our exploration thus far.
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Once we have conviction, we move quickly. We’ll communicate clearly if we decide to pass, and when we invest, we immediately shift gears to being a partner in your journey.
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We aim to be the most helpful, least annoying investor you’ll work with. Here’s what that looks like:
A quick onboarding call (or two) to set cadence and align on KPIs.
Access to our founder resources hub, including our exclusive startup resources, workshops, templates, and fundraising frameworks.
A private Slack group for ongoing support and resource-sharing.
Consistent communication — we respond to every update and stay close to what matters most: helping you win.