Category creators
Investors hunting for companies that define a new market rather than fighting for share in an old one.
What this thesis means
Category creators invent the frame of reference. Investors with this thesis look for products that make customers change behaviour, create a new budget line, or turn an informal process into software. The upside is asymmetric; the risk is that the category never forms.
Diligence here is narrative-heavy: why the old way is broken, why now (regulation, infrastructure, culture), and why your company becomes the default verb. These funds often tolerate early metrics if the insight is non-obvious and the founder can recruit believers.
Pitch category creation carefully. Do not claim a category without naming the customer job and the competitive set you replace. Show one wedge market where you can win first, then explain how the category expands.
Who it fits
- Founders with a non-obvious insight and a wedge use case
- Products creating new workflows, not only cheaper clones
- Teams that can sell a vision while shipping a narrow MVP
What to prepare
- A category narrative in one paragraph
- Proof someone already pays or changes behaviour for your wedge
- A map of substitutes (including “do nothing” and Excel)
Funds with this thesis
021 Capital
021 Capital focuses on Seed, Series A opportunities across technology and adjacent sectors, operating as a VC relevant to Indian founders.
$1M – $6M100Unicorns
Be the 'Y Combinator of India', provide initial capital plus committed follow-on to idea-stage startups, supporting them across their first three funding rounds before connecting them to large VCs for growth capital.
$250K – $3M108 Capital
108 Capital focuses on Seed, Series A opportunities across technology and adjacent sectors, operating as a VC relevant to Indian founders.
Seed · Series A