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

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 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

Mitchell Board

Jayta Szpitalak

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.