After months of team building, ideation and validation, 35 businesses were formed, and Antler invested in 15 of them. With a complementary founding team, a critical challenge at stake and a scalable solution, these teams all possessed key elements needed to build a strong foundation for long-term prosperity.
Upon receiving investment, the portfolio companies were able to accelerate their growth and scale. From building the MVP, securing significant partnerships or selling the first products, each team worked hard to put their business on the front foot ahead of Demo Day, the culminating event of the program where the businesses publicly present to hundreds of investors on stage in the hope to secure their first external round of investment.
On Wednesday, January 15, that time came. Although nervous, it was evident that the teams' pitch practices had paid off and the founders were ready to effectively deliver their problem statement, solution, what they had accomplished already and their future ahead.
Anders Hammarbäck and Oscar Westergård, Partners at Antler in Stockholm, entered the stage alongside Livia Moore, Marketing & PR Director at Antler. Hundreds of investors and journalists were seated in the audience and more than 1,200 individuals watched the live stream, all of them eager to hear the pitches.
"We add business savviness, tech skills, tons of grit, industry experience and mix it in a cohort - and let it brew for 6 months."
— OSCAR WESTERGÅRD, PARTNER AT ANTLER
Indeed, Antler's recipe for success that Oscar described is true - and all ingredients are equally important. As a result, these startups are now on the trajectory to disrupt various industries, ranging from Treyd, a fintech startup providing a simple payment and financing solution for international B2B trade, Olivia, a femtech one-stop digital menopause platform, and Lifelong, a DTC sustainability brand for a plastic-free future.
So what now? For the startups, the official program is over and their fundraising period has begun. For Antler, the next cohort starts January 27, with more than 80 new exceptional people ready to build the next wave of tech.
Here are the 15 new startups to keep on your radar
Treyd enables any company to trade with any company in the world, solving the trust- and working capital problem - while radically simplifying the process using a digital contract. Treyd was founded by Peter Beckman, CEO, and Sameh El-Ansary, CTO.
Lunch.co unleashes the passion for cooking, and matches it to the desire for convenient lunch options at work. Lunch.co is a digital marketplace platform founded by Aleksey Nikulin and Chris Fung along with Philip Henriksson, Head of Nordics.
Skip the line by using Way to checkout and pay with your mobile in seconds. Stores can use Way to increase conversion, reduce cost and gain new customer insights. Way was built in Antler this fall by Albert Lundberg, CEO, and Cornelius Ruckman, CTO.
Prove is an application founded by Henrik Ringström, CEO, and Syed Awais Ahmed, CTO, to identify and authorize logins to banks and other service providers globally, inspired by the Nordic solution Mobile Bank ID.
AWAN is a tech-driven DTC brand on a mission to redesign comfortable clothes for women, founded by Anette Miwa Dimmen, CEO/CCO, and Lisen Follin, CFO/COO. Using renewable nanotech fabrics and retail technology, AWAN is closing the loop towards a circular value chain.
Lifelong's mission is to make single-use plastics a product of the past. Their premium, refillable containers, plastic-free refills and automatic deliveries all pave the way towards a plastic-free future. It was founded by Chris Higham, CEO, and Adam Webb, COO.
By making fertility information, testing and guidance more accessible and individualised, Tilly enables more transparent, patient-centered fertility treatment with informed decision making. Tilly was created by Jenny Ann Ax:son Johnson, CEO, and Anna Sane, COO/CMO.
With Olivia, women in the menopausal age get guidance to learn about themselves and menopause. Olivia lets women track their symptoms and progress over time, as well provide personalized tips on techniques. It was founded by Mina Lindman, CEO, and Amy Aanen, COO.
Anyone connects people with questions and people with answers, around the world. An alternative to Google and Wikipedia for more complex questions, and an alternative income for millions of people with unique expertise. Built by David Orlic, CEO, and Alfred Malmros, CPO.
Brightbee is a SaaS platform for Real Estate agents to reach a wide range of social media channels with ease, using Machine Learning models and proprietary algorithms to fully optimize every ad. Brightbee was founded by Nick Borjlind, CEO, Rashdan Natiq, CTO, and Niven Chinasamy, COO.
Allihoop is a progressive co-living brand offering flexible urban living. By combining Scandinavian design with creative technology and a strong community they create innovative housing solutions. Founded by Milad Barosen, CEO, and Nassim Chekroun, COO.
StarPrise is the first peer-to-peer marketplace in the Middle East for fan-ordered personalized celebrity-made videos. This lets celebrities interact more authentically with their fan base while also monetizing on it. Starprise was created by Eyad Al Nesrawi, CEO, and Bakr Kawkji, CTO.
Teemly co-founders Charlotte Ekelund, CEO, and Oleg Danylenko, CTO, have built a virtual office platform that allows physically distributed colleagues to connect and collaborate seamlessly. Teemly fosters a united work culture, drive engagement and team performance.
Yayloh. is a SaaS platform to help e-commerce retailers regain control of their returns flow by digitizing and automating the return process. Using data analytics and applied machine learning, yayloh. increase customer satisfaction, streamline costs and increase conversion. Founded by Sophie Aubard, CEO, and Nikhil Shikarkhane, CTO.
Dolprop is revolutionizing the marine transportation industry by using a patented fluke propulsion technology that is over 40% more effective (NTNU) and mimics the movement of a dolphin tail. Dolprop was invented by Thomas Jemt, CTO, and is run by Per Eriksson, CEO.
Any startups that sparked your interest? Click here to get in touch with them.
