VC Spotlight: First Round Capital
There are firms that talk about founder-first. Then there’s First Round Capital, which wrote the blueprint before the term ever made it to a pitch deck. In 2004, Josh Kopelman and Howard Morgan made a bet: that the first check, if aimed right, could tilt the axis of an entire market. That a founder with only an “imagine if” didn’t need proof, they needed belief, and a partner willing to get in before the crowd even knew where to stand. This wasn’t a seed-stage strategy. It was a statement.
Josh Kopelman wasn’t theorizing. He’d built, sold, and scaled companies like Infonautics, Half. com, and Turntide Technologies before most VCs had even figured out email filters. Howard L. Morgan brought the firepower of academia and quant with Idealab and Renaissance Technologies, and together they set a tempo few could match. From there, the roster expanded: Hayley Bay Barna, co-founder of Birchbox. Brett Berson, Todd Jackson, Bill Trenchard. Names with enough operating scars and founder wins to fill a floor at the NYSE.
The bets? Uber, Square, Warby Parker, Notion, Roblox. Each one a standalone empire. The outcomes? An $80B mobility transformation. A $100B fintech firestarter. A $10B productivity engine. But it wasn’t luck. It was pattern recognition sharpened over 924 companies, multiple unicorns, and a 36:1 follow-on capital ratio. They didn’t just spot trends. They built the radar.
First Round Capital doesn’t spray and pray. They swing early, lead strong, and guarantee follow-on firepower with their Second Round Guarantee, up to $3M locked and loaded when the next round hits. Sector-agnostic? Yes. But don’t confuse that with passive. They go deep in AI, SaaS, fintech, and health tech because that’s where the next tectonic shifts are already forming, and they’re backing the scientists and savants pushing the plates.
They’ve architected a startup ecosystem within their own walls: the First Round Review distills GTM strategy into gospel. The Dorm Room Fund and Graduate Fund have turned campuses into launchpads, seeding over 250 startups before most grads have bought furniture. And the community is no accident, it’s infrastructure. Founder peer networks. Invite-only summits. Workshops that actually work.
This is seed investing with conviction, not consensus. If you’re still asking who’s next, you’ve missed the signal. First Round Capital didn’t wait for the wave. They’ve been under it, building surfboards.
Their portfolio companies are hiring across engineering, product, marketing, and sales.
Square / Block – https://careers.squareup.com
Warby Parker – https://www.warbyparker.com/careers
Notion – https://www.notion.com/careers
Roblox – https://careers.roblox.com
Follow this firm. Study their founders. Track their plays.
Let’s connect and keep the momentum going across the tech ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder shaping the future, a leader driving change, a VC backing bold ideas, or an investor spotting the next big thing, together, we’re pushing boundaries. Proud to be building the future with you.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Twitter (X), and keep the conversation going.
If engineering peace of mind is what you crave, Vention is your zen.