First Drop Ventures LLC: Transforming Innovative Ideas into Successful Companies

As it is rightly said, ‘The beginnings are always tougher.’ Over the last few years, the start-up culture has grown immensely. However, it was not so popular back in the earlier days of big companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple. The one thing that these big companies and many more such companies share in common is how they began their journey. They began as a start-up—they initiated their journey from a small garage and grew strong and bigger. Since then, numerous individuals have ventured into entrepreneurship—few made it to the top while others went unnoticed.

Even after so many years, start-up companies are born with the same enthusiasm. The passion and motivation behind these companies remain the same. So, what makes the big companies differ from the failed start-up companies. The answer is the guidance from companies who professionally help and guide such start-ups with initial funds, technical assistance, and other services. First Drop Ventures was established with the aim to aid the issues hindering the growth of revolutionary ideas. Founded in 2020, First Drop Ventures is ideal for companies who are on a journey to grow in the ever-growing start-up culture. The cornerstone of the company was laid to support the founders who have trouble finding the right investing partner who also provides them with the right strategic guidance.

Aiding Sustainable and Scalable Growth

Generally, for pre-seed companies, most investors prefer to be involved at the later stages. However, a start-up has a higher chance of success if it can take as many guided steps as possible from the beginning. This is where First Drop Ventures comes into the picture. The company provides the core resources to portfolio companies including the capital, know-how, and network connections to grow the start-ups FROM THE FIRST DROP ON. It is an early-stage venture studio providing strategic guidance, operational support, technology infrastructure and development, and pre-seed capital. First Drop Ventures prepares founders for Seed and Series A funding with a viable and tested product and go-to-market plan, as well as a comprehensive business plan.

First Drop Ventures aims to propel portfolio companies to sustainable and scalable growth. The new-age companies are not always aware of the roles and responsibilities when they commence their journey. The pressure to outperform at every stage is also high. As a result, First Drop Ventures firmly stresses factors such as ethics, environmental responsibilities, and commitment to human development from the very beginning. These factors help ideas to transform into successful next generation of companies.

To nurture the next generation companies, First Drop Ventures has developed its start-up selection criteria with the guidance of the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals. Moreover, the start-ups who contribute to at least three of the pre-set goals by the company have a higher chance of acceptance to the venture studio’s portfolio. In the coming years, the venture studio is determined to grow its portfolio with many diverse tech start-ups that will positively contribute to the world.

Advisories and Veteran Expertise

The process First Drop Ventures takes is more nurturing and developing especially for start-up companies who need assistance at their initial stage. So, once the company recruits a start-up to its portfolio, the team of First Drop Venture works intensively with the founders to bring to life their vision for the company. The confidence and understanding of what exactly start-up companies need come from the immense experience of the company’s founders. The Trio Esra Pelitozu, John Yanyali, and Emin Yilmaz have been entrepreneurs for most of their careers. The team has over 50 years of collective experience in building successful businesses. The immense experience also is one of the distinctive factors that makes First Drop Ventures stand out from the rest. Despite being new to the industry, the company’s vision is clear.

Esra Pelitozu, Managing Partner and Co-founder, has over 20 years of experience in strategy, finance, and international development. She has held several positions in the corporate world, in international development, and in her entrepreneurial businesses. Co-founder and Partner, John Yanyali, has been an entrepreneur for over 15 years and jumped into the business world by investing in the agriculture, education, construction, and technology industries. He then expanded into the Smart Industry focusing on energy, finance, infrastructure, transportation, and security. Emin Yilmaz has been involved in the finance industry and been a CEO and investor of fintech companies for the past 12 years.

Furthermore, the company consists of over 15 advisors who bring immense knowledge to the table. These advisors come from various industries and backgrounds that guide the founders in establishing a reliable and sustainable strategy. Moreover, the internal team supports the portfolio companies in their day-to-day operations and networking opportunities while the in-house marketing team works closely with the founders to create and implement a successful marketing strategy. It also has an experienced in-house technical team that is readily available to start-ups for technological developments and infrastructure needs.

Diligent Team Work

The team at First Drop Venture has worked diligently evaluating start-ups. The journey of the company began with a fintech start-up. Globy is a comprehensive fintech platform enabling direct carrier billing where people can pay for services and subscriptions via their mobile phone bills. It aims to serve both unbanked and underbanked customers while offering merchants another payment alternative.

First Drop Ventures has worked attentively to put together a strong team for the company and appointed its advisors who helped create a strategy. Under the Globy team’s leadership, the company mobilized its technical team to help build the MVP. In only six months, both the team and the product were ready to reach the first customer. At the turn of 2021, Globy is getting ready to onboard its first clients. The key here has been the diverse and experienced team. The team members relied on each other’s strengths and weaknesses to carry the startups forward.

Serve Diverse Industry Sectors

The partnership with Globy was transformative because the team saw how passionate everyone was working toward the same goal. At First Drop Ventures, the team believes in focusing on the area of expertise that will benefit a higher rate of success with the founders. Acknowledging the rising demands of tech solutions, the company has also highly invested in innovative tech solutions. Every week, the team is talking to, evaluating, and vetting many start-ups. Currently, the primary investment area is fintech but soon it plans to add more diverse industry niches to the portfolio. “Our underlying thesis is that all of our portfolio companies create a synergy between their technologies. We seek companies who are enthusiastic about their idea and have a scalable vision. The rest is what we build on together,” concludes Esra Pelitozu.