Stake sale · Commerce & Consumer Brands

First Cheque partially exits GIVA with 75X return

By Startup Enthusiast · 11 September 2023

What they do

GIVA sells certified silver and gold jewellery online with lifetime replating

Early investor First Cheque sold part of its stake for about $7.5 million, earning 75 times its investment

The exit signals strong investor confidence in the direct-to-consumer jewellery space

First Cheque, the first institutional investor in GIVA, sold part of its stake after about four years.
The partial exit returned 75 times the initial investment, with an IRR of 194%.
The estimated exit amount is about $7.5 million, based on a typical $100,000 initial cheque.
GIVA had raised a $33 million Series B round led by Premji Invest.
Early backer Kunal Shah also took a partial exit after the Series B round.
Total equity funding raised by GIVA exceeds $50 million.

First Cheque's 75X return is among the highest in Indian startup exits.
Other notable partial exits include SoftBank from FirstCry and Elevation Capital from XpressBees.
The exit shows that early-stage jewellery brands can generate strong returns for investors.

GIVA sells certified silver and gold jewellery, including rings, bracelets, pendants, earrings, and men's silver.
It offers lifetime replating and a six-month warranty on its products.
The brand ambassador is actor Aditya Roy Kapur.
FY23 projected revenue is ₹170 crore, double the previous year's ₹84.6 crore.

First Cheque (seller) — First Cheque is an early-stage fund that invests in pre-seed and seed stage startups, with over 130 investments and a ticket size up to $800,000.
Premji Invest (lead)
A91 Partners (participated)
India Quotient (participated)
Sixth Sense Ventures (participated)
Aditya Birla Ventures (participated)