Yesterday Former Fave executives Audra Pakalnyte and Joel Neoh officially launched First Move, a founder-led early stage fund for consumer-focused startups across Southeast Asia.

The fund is backed by 500 Global and will be providing pre-seed funding of up to US$100,000 (RM466,000) and already has a portfolio of seven companies in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

In addition to providing direct funding to startups, First Move is actively partnering with other regional venture capital firms, including 500 Global. Besides the backing of 500 Global, First Move has also established the Consumer Tech Angel Syndicate, a group of experienced founders and executives in the consumer space. Angel Syndicate members will co-invest in First Move deals. Members include founders and senior executives from D2C, e-commerce, mobility and fintech scale-ups across Southeast Asia.

For more on First Moves’ first moves, we speak with First Move’s Joel Neoh and Audra Pakalnyte, former executives at Malaysian fintech firm Fave turned startup investors.