Build Mode · Oct 9, 2026 · 57m · 36m saved
With Puneet Agarwal, Managing Partner at True Ventures
True Ventures sees several thousand pitches a year and writes roughly 20 checks, Puneet Agarwal said, and about 60% of its deals come through the 1,500 founders it has backed over 20 years.
Most of the money in venture now goes to a small number of large firms and into late rounds at record valuations. Agarwal said that leaves the earliest stage overlooked, and that founders have to work out which investors will still fund a company with no data.
"There's never been more capital in the system, but you need to be careful and figure out, who is actually interested at the seed and early stages." — Puneet Agarwal
Puneet Agarwal, Managing Partner at True Ventures, on Build Mode, has spent almost 18 years at a seed firm whose funds have been part of seven IPOs and more than 60 acquisitions, including Fitbit, Peloton and Duo Security. Before True he worked at three startups, mostly in product, and invested at the Mayfield Fund. The interview was recorded as a TechCrunch Startup Battlefield masterclass, with questions from founders at the end.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 57 minutes of audio, 21 minutes of reading.
Here are the 25 lessons that matter.
Key Takeaways
Early-stage investing has been forgotten while capital concentrates in fewer firms and fewer companies
True looks for a founder who stands out sharply in one area, such as product, technology or knowledge of a market
A fast start, such as $1M of annual revenue in three months, is not enough without a view of where the market goes
A cold email rarely works at True; an introduction from a founder in its network is the filter
True writes roughly 20 checks a year from several thousand pitches
True never requires founders to move to Silicon Valley, and it was the only bidder that told Duo Security to stay in Michigan
A slow diligence process usually means the answer is no
Every term in a seed term sheet sets a precedent for later rounds, so True keeps its own simple enough to write in 10 minutes
Raising $1B and selling for $1B leaves nothing for common shareholders, which is why a large preference stack is dangerous
Layering several SAFEs leaves founders unable to say what they own; True prefers a priced round from the start
True draws no line between pre-seed and seed
A $10M seed at a $50M valuation means the next round should be priced at $100M or more before the money is invested
1. The Founder Is the Customer
The host, who runs TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield program, introduced True Ventures as a firm that has been part of at least seven IPOs and 60 acquisitions and that leads rounds for very early companies. She asked what drew Agarwal to seed investing.
He came from three startups and has stayed 18 years at True
Agarwal has been at True almost 18 years. He did not start a company, but worked at three startups, mostly in product. The team has started more than 25 companies between them, he said.
The seed investor is the founder's first call when things go wrong
"So you're usually the first investor, you're usually a very, very trusted partner. You're usually that first call when things aren't working well." — Puneet Agarwal
Agarwal said he is not someone who wants to come in late and stay uninvolved.
"We're there to support them, and we view the founder as our customer." — Puneet Agarwal
