First Funders
by Shaherose Charania and Aamir Virani
May 28, 2025 2:00 am
Learn from angel and seed investors bold enough to write the first check. How do they decide which startups to invest in? How do they gain conviction in founders and ideas? How do they add value to their companies? Shaherose Charania and Aamir Virani are operators turned investors. They chat with their friends investing in early-stage technology startups and learn about their strategies to fund the best founders and startup companies. If you are an angel investor or seed investor, you’ll hear how others operate. If you are a startup entrepreneur, you’ll hear how investors filter and decide on writing that first check.
Recent Episodes
S2E03: Atoms over bits: Investing in hardware and innovative founders to solve climate challenges - Sundeep Ahuja, Climate Capital
2 months agoS2E02: Before Clay Was a Unicorn: The First Check, the Thesis, and the Long Game - Andre Charoo, Maple VC
3 months agoS2E01: Lessons on AI, PM, and LLMs from founder, investor, and operator Shalin Mantri
4 months ago15: Founder to fintech evangelist to Internet personality and always a Taco Bell enthusiast – Sheel Mohnot, Better Tomorrow Ventures
8 months ago14: First checks for dropouts, students, and deep tech sci-fi founders - Danielle Strachman, 1517 Fund
10 months ago13: Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund has seen over 50,000 companies and made 800 investments – usually in just 30 minutes
10 months ago12: First checks building the future of cities since 2012 led to unicorn investments and $215M in AUM - Julie & Clara, Urban Innovation Fund
10 months ago11: How one of Arian Ghashghai’s virtual reality companies is on track to hit $20M in revenue after one round of funding
11 months ago10: How Amit Garg co-founded an AI-first seed fund before AI took off
11 months ago09: Angels of Shopify investing collectively and lessons on following your gut - Atlee Clark, Angel
1 year ago