From idea to $730M vertical AI acquisition: EvolutionIQ's path to PMF
[Read more](https://review.firstround.com/evolutioniq-path-to-pmf/)
Where
_imagine if
_gets to work
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Take a straighter path from idea to product-market fit.
From the lightbulb to the LLM, every great invention started with someone who imagined a different future.
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As the first in seed stage, we've been a part of many important _imagine ifs_.
But the companies we all know didn’t get big just because they dreamed big — they went unreasonably deep to figure out where to start.
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Notion
###
_Imagine if_ documents worked more like software.
Ivan, Simon, and Akshay rebuilt Notion from the ground up four times, often working grueling 18-hour days to nail the experience.
Initial Partnership:
Seed
[Read the story](/companies/notion)[All companies](/companies)
Roblox
###
_Imagine if_ kids learned to code while playing video games.
Dave was already on v87 of Roblox’s business model before he raised a round.
Initial Partnership:
Seed
[Read the story](/companies/roblox)[All companies](/companies)
Square
###
_Imagine if_ phones could accept credit cards anywhere.
Jack started by listing 140 reasons Square would fail, and then went to work disproving each one.
Initial Partnership:
Seed
[All companies](/companies)
Notion
###
_Imagine if_ documents worked more like software.
Ivan, Simon, and Akshay rebuilt Notion from the ground up four times, often working grueling 18-hour days to nail the experience.
Initial Partnership:
Seed
[Read the story](/companies/notion)[All companies](/companies)
Roblox
###
_Imagine if_ kids learned to code while playing video games.
Dave was already on v87 of Roblox’s business model before he raised a round.
Initial Partnership:
Seed
[Read the story](/companies/roblox)[All companies](/companies)
Square
###
_Imagine if_ phones could accept credit cards anywhere.
Jack started by listing 140 reasons Square would fail, and then went to work disproving each one.
Initial Partnership:
Seed
[All companies](/companies)
Beginnings matter.
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Working to get the right things right early is our sweet spot.
In fact, it’s all we do.
###
Beyond board meetings
Get all the hands-on help you want, when you want it.
###
Obsessed with the start
Put our 20 years of early-stage experience to work to skip costly detours.
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Unwavering support
Because that’s what
we needed as founders, too.
[How We Work](/how-we-work)
For all the _imagine ifs_ you haven’t heard of yet
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[Companies](/companies)
Pomelo
Clay
Verkada
Prepared
_Imagine if
_mothers had 24/7 access to prenatal care.
_Imagine if_
go-to-market tools were as malleable as clay.
_Imagine if_
buildings protected the people inside using consumer technology.
_Imagine if_
911 calls came with all the context dispatchers need to respond
You've got questions.
We've got answers.
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###
What makes First Round different?
We’re focused on being the world’s best partner for founders at the very first stages of company creation — so we’ve designed First Round to do just that. You get super active partners (most of whom are former founders themselves) to work side-by-side with you across your first few years. You also tap into an extenstive team designed to help you fast forward through the tough nitty-gritty of those early years so you can focus on what makes your company special. Whether it’s GTM experts mapping out your initial sales strategy, or recruiters connecting you with top-tier candidates for critical early hires, we’re here to fill in until your team is filled out.
Usually founders have to choose between early stage focus and that kind of functional expertise, but with First Round you can have your cake and eat it too.
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What does First Round look for in an idea?
Above all, we look for compelling and contrarian insight into how the world works. What do you understand about a market or a need that no one else does or that other companies in the space get wrong? And why is your company the most likely to win at addressing this gap?
Second, if you have a product in market, we’re always excited to see a small group of passionate early customers. As an extension of this, we want to see creative thinking around go-to-market strategy as well as product. The best startups take both seriously.
Third, we take a close look at the market you’re going after. Let’s say you win the whole thing — is the prize worth winning? The game is long and hard, and some markets are more rewarding than others. To mix metaphors, before a founder starts building their castle, they have to make sure they’ve picked the right piece of land.
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Does First Round only invest in particular areas or industries?
No. We don’t think VCs predict the future — founders do. And we look to founders to teach us what’s next. We were fortunate to invest in Uber before the rise of the on-demand economy. We invested in Flatiron in 2012 before everyone jumped into health tech. But all of our companies have one thing in common — we met the founders when they were just starting out.
Our investments do tend to cluster around enterprise, AI, hardware, healthcare, fintech, and consumer. But that’s not where our curiosity ends. If you’re building something outside of those areas, we still want to learn about the future you’re imagining. We're interested in founders who see opportunities others miss, whether they're building bigger satellites, teaching robots how to fold laundry, cryogenically freezing cadaver bone marrow, helping trucks capture their own carbon emissions, extending the lifespan of dogs, or equipping patent attorneys with AI.
Tactical 0-1 breakdowns to help you build a better company
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[Explore The Review](https://review.firstround.com/)
* [
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Not satisfied with watered-down advice that’s more hand-wavy than tactical, we set out to create a new framework to meaningfully increase the odds of B2B startups finding product-market fit. One that skips the “We just went viral!” founding stories and reverse-engineers success into concrete steps.
](https://www.firstround.com/levels)
* [
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### 50 Questions to Ask a Potential Co-Founder
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* [
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### The Minimum Viable Testing Process for Evaluating Startup Ideas
After being early at three startups that achieved over $1M in run-rate in their first six months of going live, Gagan Biyani makes the case for running MVTs over building MVPs.
](https://review.firstround.com/the-minimum-viable-testing-process-for-evaluating-startup-ideas/)
* [
Review Article
### How to Find Language-Market Fit and Make Customers Feel Like You’ve Read Their Minds
A detailed framework for understanding and articulating your customers' goals, struggles and anxieties in simple, precise language.
](https://review.firstround.com/finding-language-market-fit-how-to-make-customers-feel-like-youve-read-their-minds/)
* [
Review Article
### Non-Obvious Signs of Early Startup Traction — And How to Spot Them
We gathered the most surprising signals from interviews with dozens of seasoned founders about when things clicked into place on their path to PMF.
](https://review.firstround.com/non-obvious-signs-of-early-startup-traction-and-how-to-spot-them/)
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