MyFirstCheque announces a “seed investment” into a web based tech start up - mKay
Tuesday June 14, 2011 , 3 min Read
MyFirstCheque, a seed fund, announces funding for a web based tech start-up, mKay Innovative Solutions Private Limited, making its second investment since its launch in Dec 2010 (the first one was in MeriCar.com in March of 2011). MyFirstCheque believes in playing a bigger role than just an investor, as it also embraces the task of evaluating and entering a business as a co-founder. With average investments of Rs. 20 lakhs and a maximum of Rs.25 lakhs, MyFirstCheque follows a unique funding model of ‘Co-Fun investing’ which stands for co-founder investing, affirming its role in mentoring and guiding entrepreneurs besides funding.Reiterating its role on being the 1st external investor into a start up, MyFirstCheque seed invested in mKay, a tech start-up which aims to provide solutions, services and products for various domains like IT, Education, Legal, Healthcare, Agriculture, Social Welfare, among others under one web platform. As a pilot project, mKay’s first web based service apply2many.com will addresses the problem of college applicants and educational institutions. Online Enroll Enlist Service (OEES) by mKay will automate and streamline application procedure. It will manage application forms, admission procedures, applicant profiles, fee payment modes and applicant-institution interactions on a single virtual platform.
Commenting on the completion of the funding Gautam Sinha, Partner, MyFirstCheque said, We see tremendous potential in the idea and the space that Mkay is in, however the tipping point for us was the quality of the entrepreneur. Karunjay’s focus and persistence is what made us invest in him and his venture. The added fact that he has already put together an impressive team within such a short time sealed the deal! We are seeing lots of passion among the young Indian brigade to embrace entrepreneurship and hope to announce several such investments in the months and years to come.“
On the occasion of the announcement of the funding, Karunjay Anand, Founder & CEO, mKay, stated, “We are extremely pleased that in such a competitive market, our potential has been recognized by MyFirstCheque. It’s overwhelming to see that someone else believes in your venture and provides consistent support. I got great response from both Gautam Sinha and Prahlad Rao (), and I feel that if organizations like MyFirstCheque exist in large number in India, entrepreneurship will never be a distant dream”.
About MyFirstCheque:
MyFirstCheque is a seed fund which will help start-ups and budding entrepreneurs realize their dreams by providing the initial investment (the first cheque) of INR 5-25 lakhs.
The customized website encourages entrepreneurs with ideas for start up companies to approach My First Cheque, who in turn plays an integral role in seeding and mentoring them to success.
Represented by ‘Chequemate’ in the form of an online avatar, My First Cheque has a unique model of investing called co-fun investing. This entails evaluating a business as a potential co-founder (focused more on execution) and NOT as a traditional investor. My First Cheque is started by three experts with more than 50 years of entrepreneurial experience, including successful exits, between them -Gautam Sinha, Prahlad Rao and Monisha Advani.
About mKay:
mKay - a tech start-up intended to provide smart web based solutions to facilitate tedious and time consuming activities like education admissions, job applications, entrance exams, filing LIC/Mutual Funds/Bank forms , entry to commercial enterprises, etc. The primary objective is to create a universal integrated community of schools, students and parents, and bring them together on a single platform.
