A first cheque, written by people who were in the room.
10xC is a venture firm in formation. We are building it because the gap we kept running into was never talent — it was the institutional cheque before the metrics exist.
The name
10x, compounded.
The C is for capital, and for compounding. A ten-times outcome in venture is not a slogan about ambition; it is the arithmetic that makes an early portfolio work at all. Most cheques return nothing, so the ones that return have to return a great deal.
We say it plainly because it sets an expectation both ways. We are looking for companies that could plausibly be worth a hundred times what we paid, and we should be honest with founders whose businesses — often good businesses — do not fit that shape.
The bench that can build world-class software here is already built. What is missing is the first person willing to fund it as a product company instead of renting it by the hour.
The reason 10xC exists
Principles
How we intend to behave.
These are commitments we would like to be held to, especially by founders we decline.
Answer quickly
A clear yes or no in weeks, not a quarter of polite silence. A fast no is worth more to a founder than a slow maybe.
Give the real reason
If we pass, we say why, in writing, and what would change our mind. Founders can then argue with it.
Own a minority
We are early money, not a controlling shareholder. Founders should still own the company after the round.
Do the unglamorous work
Incorporation, cap table, first contracts and hiring letters. This is where early companies actually get damaged.
Reference honestly
When another investor asks about a portfolio company, they get the same view we hold internally.
Stay in scope
If a company is outside what we understand, the useful answer is a referral, not a small cheque and vague help.
Answer quickly Weeks, not a quarter
In writing The real reason, every time
In scope A referral beats a vague cheque
In practice
What we do and do not do.
Early-stage investors are frequently vague about their own behaviour. This is our attempt to be specific, so a founder can decide whether to spend an hour with us.
First hour What the product does, and who pays for it
Write the first institutional cheque We do
Help structure the offshore topco We do
Work the first outbound customer list We do
Introduce the next round, warmly We do
Take a board seat at pre-seed We do not
Require a Western co-founder We do not
Ask for exclusivity while we decide We do not
Invest in direct competitors We do not
We would rather meet early.
Before the round, before the deck. If you are building something and it is too early to raise, that is a good time to talk.
