Antler Australia rings in the New Year welcoming 90 founders to build early-stage tech companies

Global early-stage VC Antler has kicked off 2022 by welcoming 90 Australian founders into its latest cohort to build the defining companies of tomorrow. With ambitions extending across SaaS, FinTech, AgTech, HealthTech and GreenTech, here’s what you need to know about this mix of aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs.

With their eyes set on solving some of the world’s biggest challenges by building new category-defining companies, these ambitious individuals are embarking on their founder journey with Antler Australia to secure Pre-Seed investment.

adele-moynihan

Adele Moynihan

Adele is responsible for leading Scouting and Angel fundraising. Scouting is a pivotal function for Antler to secure exceptional founders to build businesses with the Fund. Turning to fundraising, Antler holds a powerful angel community that deploys post Antler's initial investment. Prior to Antler, she was an early hire of now unicorn SafetyCulture and with corporate VC the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Digital Ventures.

Adele is responsible for leading Scouting and Angel fundraising at Antler Australia.

From day one, the founders are immersed in Antler's methodology of how teams are created and ideas validated. Then, once partnerships are formed and concepts are refined, Antler's global network of advisors, investors and VC experts come to the forefront to guide on company creation and long term scaling.

Despite the uncertainties of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Antler’s platform has once again adapted virtually leveraging the latest technology and productivity tools to provide founders with a seamless online experience.

Antler Australia founders networking and hearing from Bede Moore in Sydney
Antler Australia founders networking and hearing from Managing Partner, Bede Moore, in Sydney on December 9.

Antler Australia kicks off 2022 with 90 founders

The most successful founders are those uniquely positioned to solve specific problems. From fighter pilots to serial entrepreneurs, engineers, lawyers and more, this ambitious group of like-minded individuals have the upper hand to solve some of the biggest challenges facing society. Let’s deep dive into their diverse backgrounds.

This is an entrepreneurial group with real-world experience:

🚀 62% previously worked in a startup

💡 50% previously started a startup

📈 16% exited a company as a founder or executive

💼 11+ years of average industry experience

🙋  48% are technical and industry experts

👩‍💻  42% have a commercial background

The founders join with a variety of skills and backgrounds:

🌍  62.5% hold non-Australian nationality

🎤 45% speak a language other than English

👩‍🎓 43% hold a Masters and 7% PhD

Meet the entrepreneurs behind Antler’s latest cohort

Grit, leadership and an “unfair advantage”, are the qualities that Antler looks for in founders. Embarking on their startup journey with Antler Australia, here are just a handful of extraordinary individuals ready to explore new opportunities and solve complex problems:

Sylvia Huang
Headshot of Sylvia Huang and quote
Mitchell Board
Headshot of Mitchell Board and quote
Jayta Szpitalak
Headshot of Jayta Szpitalak and quote

Formation & validation: How Antler works with these entrepreneurs in the earliest stages

Antler invests in ambitious founding teams with a unique advantage striving to solve a particular problem. Upon joining the Antler platform, founders network at a rapid pace to discover like-minded individuals with complementary skill sets to build their startup with. During this time, they also undertake design sprint sessions to stress-test their ideas and start striving towards product-market-fit.

The focus then shifts to teams preparing for Antler's Investment Committee to pitch for Pre-Seed funding. Those who are successful receive the investment and become Antler portfolio companies.

This unlocks Antler's biggest value add to founders as here the fundraising power to unlock investor introductions to Series A and beyond, both locally and globally, kicks in. More than 80% of Antler companies receive follow-on capital within 12 months of the initial investment. This comes from angel investors through to tier one VCs and institutional investors.

Additionally, as Antler is the only true global VC operating from Australia, this international infrastructure comes into play for further fundraising opportunities and business partnerships for the startups to gain access to new markets. Companies also receive continued coaching plus public relations and hiring support.

To date, Antler Australia has invested in more than 60 early-stage startups via its Sydney and Melbourne locations, this includes 18 investments in the second half of last year alone. The early-stage VC is on track to make over 100 investments from its AU$46m Fund 1, this includes investment opportunities extended to successful founders in this latest cohort. See Antler’s local and global portfolio here.

Antler Australia is now accepting applications for its next intake, supporting individuals or teams looking for an additional co-founder, as well as Pre-Seed investment. The next dates for the new rolling intakes are February 28, May 9, July 18, September 26.

Antler Australia also seeks to fund existing businesses. These are defined as an incorporated company, with a complete co-founder team, and product in market or compelling protected IP. Companies can apply to participate in a 5-week diligence process prior to an investment decision, success participants from this stream also become Antler portfolio companies and receive Antler’s platform support in fundraising and global expansion. Upcoming company intake dates are February 21, April 4, May 9, June 13, July 18, August 22, September 26, October 31.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest news and views from Antler’s global community

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Must-read articles from Antler

Browse our collection of founder stories, industry insights and latest startup successes from Antler Australia

See articles
Insights
5 min read
The UK’s early-stage growth opportunity: How leading VCs see the future

What are the trends and who are the people defining the future of UK tech? Antler in the UK and Google hosted The UK’s Early-Stage Growth Opportunity, a dynamic event exploring the trends and growth opportunities in UK and European early-stage investing over the next 10 years.

Insights
5 min read
From around the world to MENAP: Antler's first Riyadh residency

The startup ecosystem in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP) is bursting with potential. With a young, tech-savvy, and increasingly urban population of 600 million and governments evaluating ways to diversify and modernize their economies, vast opportunities await founders building in the region. Antler is thrilled to support the next generation of standout founders from across the region—and the world—through the launch of our inaugural residency in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Learn more about the 92 exceptional founders who joined our first cohort.

Insights
5 min read
How to stand out to investors heading into 2024

In a fundraising environment that has been challenging for startups of all stages, how can you set yourself apart from the pack when approaching investors? Antler partner Tyler Norwood, Antler venture partner Robbie Crabtree, and post-investment platform co-founder Mike Preuss discuss the best ways to become a top-decile startup with investors.

Insights
5 min read
Unleashing sustainability for founders

The businesses that go the distance are the ones that embed sustainable practices in their operations from day zero. But many founders lack the knowledge and resources to do that. That's why we created our online education platform, the Antler Sustainability Toolkit—exclusively for founders.

Insights
5 min read
The new generation of Nordic founders

The Nordics have produced some of the most successful tech unicorns in Europe—and the world—with Spotify and Klarna securing some of the highest valuations ever achieved by European tech founders. As the tech flywheel spins faster and faster in the region, Antler is excited to publish the largest study of tech founders in the Nordics ever conducted.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Manuel Schönfeld: The management consultant determined to save companies millions

Meet Manuel Schönfeld, founder and CEO of PowerX, who's helping businesses save energy and money while combatting "the largest threat to our planet since the meteor wiped out dinosaurs.”

Insights
5 min read
Build your transformational AI company with Antler

As AI technologies evolve at a breathtaking speed, founders have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage those tools to solve complex, meaningful, and pervasive problems. Antler is looking for the next wave of visionary founders committed to using AI to disrupt industries and improve how we live, work, and thrive as individuals, organizations, and economies.

Insights
5 min read
Under the hood: How Antler sources and assesses great founders

Our Window into Progress digital event series continues with "Under the Hood"—a deep dive into the rigor and scale that makes Antler unique as we source and assess tens of thousands of founders across six continents.