Partner at First Round Capital
Check size: Firm-level: First Round says its average initial investment is $3.5M, with investments in rounds from $100K to $20M.
Liz invests at the earliest stages across categories, with a stated soft spot for startups reimagining old-school industries and companies made possible by breakthrough technologies. Her founder lens emphasizes unusual intensity, exceptional command of the problem, a contrarian insight, a large prize, and a team uniquely equipped to win; her operating style is hands-on, especially around go-to-market, enterprise sales, storytelling, hiring, fundraising, and board preparation.
Lead with the problem insight only this team has, why the founders are unusually suited to solve it, and why the market is worth winning. For a partner meeting, use slides, know every number, prepare an appendix, expect interruptions and detailed diligence, rehearse both short and long versions, and ask the point partner what the group will challenge. Show high energy and authenticity while answering the question behind each question.
Founders with exceptional intensity who will push through obstacles, understand their problem at unusual depth, and pair a compelling or contrarian insight with a market worth winning. Liz also looks for products that modernize entrenched industries or become possible only after a technical breakthrough.
No personal pass list is published. First Round's stated firm lens is weak on teams without a distinctive founder advantage, ideas lacking a compelling contrarian insight, markets whose upside is too small even if won, and later Series B/C opportunities outside its first-round mandate.
Treat the point partner as an internal champion: ask what context the partnership has, which concerns to address, how to allocate founder and business detail, and what work must be completed before the meeting.
In partner meetings, know granular operating and diligence facts while retaining the high-level mission and market narrative; answer both the literal question and the underlying concern it is testing.
“I will work harder than any other investor on your cap table. That's a guarantee.”
— https://www.firstround.com/team/investing/liz-wessel
“Your job is to show the other partners what this person already sees.”
— https://review.firstround.com/heres-what-you-can-really-expect-when-pitching-your-seed-stage-startup-at-a-vc-partner-meeting/
A seed-stage partner meeting rewards preparation, command of the details, flexible delivery, and close coordination with the point partner who is already championing the deal.
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