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Pre-Seed Investing in India: How 100x.VC Backs Founders | Vatsal Kanakiya, 100x.VC

Vatsal Kanakiya, Principal and CTO at 100x.VC, explains how the firm writes first cheques for bootstrapped Indian startups, how its process works, and how he evaluates Web3 companies.
Vatsal Kanakiya, 100x.VC on The Builders Club Startup Founders Podcast
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What does it take to be the very first cheque in a startup, before friends and family have even chipped in? Vatsal Kanakiya, Principal and CTO at 100x.VC, spends his days answering exactly that.

In this episode he walks through pre-seed investing in India, the unusual role of a CTO inside a VC firm, and his on-chain view of Web3 startups.

How does pre-seed investing work in India? Vatsal Kanakiya’s view

100x.VC has one clear product: the first cheque into pre-seed, bootstrapped Indian startups, from idea stage up to roughly two and a half to three crore in annual revenue. Vatsal describes the firm as a shadow co-founder that helps shape the pitch, business model, go-to-market and tech, then opens its investor network for the next round.

Vatsal also shares a framework for Web3: projects that stay purely on-chain have a global market, while anything mixing on-chain with the real world is limited by geography and regulation.

  • Be the first cheque. 100x.VC wants to back founders before they have access to mentors or lead investors.
  • Be fast and human. The goal is a real first response to every application within 24 hours.
  • Distribution is the moat. Brand recall among new founders matters as much as any single metric.
  • Early outcomes take years. A fund’s judgement takes 10 to 15 years to prove right or wrong.

What does 100x.VC invest in?

Vatsal explains that the firm is sector agnostic but strict on stage and structure. It looks for India-domiciled startups that are bootstrapped, which the firm defines as having diluted no more than five percent.

The pitch to founders is simple: a lead investor who stays with you from the first cheque through later rounds. More than 100 companies had worked with the firm at the time of the recording.

  • Idea stage up to about 2.5 to 3 crore in annual revenue
  • Domiciled in India and bootstrapped
  • Help with pitch, business model, go-to-market and product roadmap
  • Introductions to a wider investor network for the next round

How does a pre-seed VC process work, step by step?

Because 100x.VC wants to sit at the top of the funnel, it drives a lot of inbound. Vatsal says the team sees around 1,500 deals a month, so internal tech is needed to review applications and manage a large portfolio.

  1. The founder fills in a short application and uploads a pitch deck.
  2. A partner reviews every deal at the top of the funnel.
  3. Promising teams get a first call and basic checks, while another partner adds his view.
  4. The investment committee speaks with the startup.
  5. Founders are invited to Bombay and, if it goes well, the deal can close the same day.

How long does it take?

Vatsal puts it at roughly three to four weeks, six at most. For other VCs he says founders should expect at least seven meetings before a term sheet, and a longer road after that for due diligence and negotiation.

What does a CTO do inside a venture capital firm?

Vatsal splits the role into three parts. He builds internal tech and processes, evaluates deeply technical startups, and works with portfolio founders after investment.

With founders, he says his focus is the fastest path to an MVP: what to build first, what to leave for later, and how to validate the idea before scaling.

  • Internal tools to review applications and activate the portfolio community
  • Deep technical evaluation of architecture
  • Post-investment help on product roadmap and growth ideas

How do VCs measure success and handle the misses?

Vatsal says there is no single north star metric. The firm tracks applications, investments, surviving companies, capital raised, jobs created and revenue generated, plus brand reach.

He adds that it takes 10 to 15 years to know if an early bet was right. He cites Chris Sacca’s idea that investors are in the business of being wrong, and says one outlier winner can make up for many losses.

How should you evaluate a Web3 startup?

Vatsal describes himself as an on-chain maximalist and says the dollar value of crypto matters less to him than building a digital economy where money moves quickly on-chain.

He separates two cases. Investing in a company means betting on a team that can ship several projects, so market size matters less. Investing directly in a token means studying how value accrues, the yield and the entry price.

What did he tell an NFT founder?

Responding to a live pitch, he said the customer is the brand, so founders must show how businesses benefit and how many issued NFTs actually get used.

Should an early product launch a token?

For a SaaS-style product, he suggested subscriptions over a token, and said ten paying, loyal customers beat a hundred thousand free users.

Is it still a good time to start up during a funding winter?

Vatsal said late-stage funding was hit by rising rates and a rush for liquidity, but early-stage capital was still flowing. He said his firm had invested in 35 companies that year.

The gap to Series B and C had widened, so founders need more discipline to build a sustainable business.

Further reading and sources

Frequently asked questions

What kind of startups does 100x.VC invest in?

Per the episode, it backs India-domiciled, bootstrapped startups from idea stage up to roughly 2.5 to 3 crore in annual revenue. It is sector agnostic and typically writes the first cheque.

How long does it take to raise from a pre-seed VC?

Vatsal says 100x.VC’s own process takes about three to four weeks, six at most. For other VCs, expect at least seven meetings before a term sheet, followed by due diligence and negotiation.

Should my startup issue its own token?

Not necessarily. Vatsal says tokens make sense when everything is truly on-chain, and designing good tokenomics is very hard. For a SaaS-like product, he suggests charging subscriptions early instead.

Conclusion

Vatsal’s takeaway is to build for your real customer, get paying users early, and choose investors whose stage and thesis match yours.

If you are pre-seed, tighten your pitch, get your first paying customers and apply to funds that back your stage.

Want more conversations like this? Join The Builders Club, our community of 35,000+ founders and CXOs, and explore more episodes of the Startup Founders Podcast.

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