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The global pandemic had a profound impact on the mental health of many, so now more than ever, it is crucial to be aware of and apply good mental health practices.

At Antler, mental health is an important topic not only during Mental Health Awareness Month or the World Mental Health Day but throughout the whole year. As such, we've compiled advice from some of our portfolio companies that are tackling mental health: Stockholm-based VoiceHER, London-based Blueheart and Kalda, Singapore-based Innade, and Berlin-based clare&me.

Here's what they had to say.

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In Episode 19, we speak to Simon Schmincke, General Partner at Creandum, a VC advisory firm with offices in Stockholm, San Francisco and Berlin. Spotify, Klarna and Kahoot are among their portfolio of companies across Europe and the US. Originally from Germany, Simon built three companies for Rocket Internet and was part of the founding team of FoodTech startups Foodpanda in Singapore and HelloFresh in the United States. In this episode, Simon talks about the fundamentally human side of venture capital, his ideal founder-investor relationship and the differences in consumer behaviour he has noticed while working and investing across Asia, Europe and America.

Tim Fung is the co-founder and CEO of Airtasker, Australia's number one marketplace for local services.

Since its inception in 2012, Airtasker has gone on to enable more than $1 billion in working opportunities and acquired more than 4.3 million registered users. On top of that, in March 2021, Airtasker made its debut on the ASX and is now valued at $255 million.

During a virtual fireside chat, Antler Managing Partner Bede Moore spoke to Tim about his entrepreneurial experience thus far, Airtasker's growth to date, and advice he has for others looking to pursue a similar path.

The founders series takes a deep dive into the journey of Antler portfolio company founders and sheds light on the space they are building in. This week, we spoke to Arun Sugumaran, co-Founder and CEO of ArtWallSt. ArtWallSt is a global exchange for art where anyone can become collectors, exhibitors and investors. In addition to bringing art closer to people through everyday physical spaces, the startup is currently developing a platform where blockchain-authenticated physical artworks can be traded on the platform.

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When we interview visionaries, we want to get to know them. The one thing we love is when they open up about their failures and hard times. When we feel tears coming up, we know we’re on the way to a beautiful story.

Katherine McConnell, Founder & CEO of Brighte shares her journey to building her startup, as well as how she’s been able to achieve 912% revenue growth over the past three years and built relationships with investors such as Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Atlassian.

I've been an active angel investor for about ten years now. Since we started Antler back in 2018 I've been part of many of our investment committees (IC) around the world. Every IC member and angel investor is different and will have different views on what makes a good investment. For me, there are three specific things I focus on when a team pitches to Antler for investment: The people, the product, and, of course, the potential.

The founders series takes a deep dive into the journey of Antler portfolio company founders and sheds light on the space they are building in. This week, we spoke to Sophie Jokelson, co-founder and CMO of Cove.

Cove is a coliving company putting renters first. They make it easier, faster and more flexible to rent comfortable homes at honest prices. Their flatshare rooms, studios and apartments are hand-picked in top city locations, thoughtfully furnished and include utilities. The bookings process is digital and hassle-free, and the community of 'Coveys' get access to a network of like-minded people as well as exclusive events and perks.

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I recently had the pleasure of speaking to a group of aspiring angel investors in Australia. The theme of the presentation was about evaluating products. During the discussion, we explored the different ways to assess a startup, ways to evaluate ideas and products, and some resources that can help you along the way.

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In episode 16, we speak to Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch, the world's leading social video platform and community for gamers. Kevin led the Twitch team as COO for a decade before serving as Culture, Strategy, and Innovation Officer, following the company's staggering $970 million all-cash acquisition by Amazon. In this episode, he shares his origin story as an entrepreneur, tips for early-stage founders and advice on how to create a culture of transparency in your startup from the early days. How do you stay true to your identity and culture as your company scales rapidly? What's the secret to success when building remotely and gathering customer feedback? Tune in to find out.

In Episode 18, we speak to Nicole Quinn, General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. Lightspeed Ventures is an iconic Silicon Valley fund that has 10 billion dollars in assets under management. Nicole's focus is on early-stage consumer internet and fintech companies, with a portfolio that includes mental wellness app Calm, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop, Lady Gaga's Haus Laboratories, cult shoe brand Rothy's, Zola and Girl Boss. Nicole talks about consumer behaviour that is going to stick post COVID, the incredible value of Influencer Marketing for customer acquisition, and shares her predictions for the next big trend in the consumer world.

For episode 17, we speak to Colin Bryar, an early employee at Amazon and co-author of the book Working Backwards: Stories and Secrets from Inside Amazon. Colin joined Amazon's leadership team in 1998 - only four years after its inception. He worked side-by-side with Jeff Bezos as his Chief of Staff (and "Shadow") for 2 years. Colin was instrumental in bringing several Amazon businesses to life, including Kindle, Amazon Prime and Amazon Web Services. After Amazon, Colin relocated to Singapore and served as Chief Operating Officer of e-commerce giant RedMart, which was subsequently sold to Alibaba. In this episode, Colin discusses the importance of always having a customer-first mindset, the benefits of Amazon's unique narrative meeting culture, his key lessons for early-stage founders, and lots more.