Partner at First Round Capital
Check size: First Round's published firm-wide initial checks are typically $1M–$7M, averaging about $3.5M; it has participated in rounds from $100K to $20M. No personal range is published for Hayley.
Hayley backs very early founders tackling real-world systems—especially healthcare, climate, supply chain, and commerce—that have been overlooked or written off as unsolvable. As a former founder, she evaluates both halves of the journey: the cold mechanics of execution and the emotional endurance of company-building, combining data-driven precision with direct, empathetic support.
Start with the neglected real-world problem and why insiders have assumed it cannot be solved. Show your firsthand insight, the measurable human or operational impact, the wedge into a large market, and a grounded 0-to-1 execution plan. Be candid about the hardest obstacle you face—First Round describes its partner work as recurring deep working sessions, not just governance updates. Referrals help response time, but cold opportunities are reviewed.
Founders with lived or unusually deep insight into a stubborn problem, a credible 0-to-1 plan, resilience for the emotional journey, and the operational discipline to turn a contrarian idea into a large company. Her portfolio and writing emphasize direct working sessions, candid problem-solving, and real customer impact.
The published thesis implies weak fit for later-stage rounds, fashionable problems without real-world impact, shallow understanding of a supposedly unsolvable system, small markets, weak founder resilience, and teams unwilling to engage openly on both execution and the difficult emotional realities of building.
Assess and support the business on two simultaneous planes: hard execution, metrics, and decisions on one; emotional stamina, identity, and trust on the other.
Find a consequential healthcare, climate, supply-chain, or commerce problem others call unsolvable, identify the specific broken workflow, and prove a narrow entry point with measurable real-world impact.
Replace status-report meetings with a recurring 4–6 week cadence devoted to one important company problem, combining data, decisions, and candid founder support.
“Founders are on twin journeys.”
— https://www.firstround.com/team/investing/hayley-barna
“I’m equally comfortable engaging on both planes.”
— https://www.firstround.com/team/investing/hayley-barna
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