Founding a startup can be an incredibly tough process for any entrepreneur, no matter the experience level. To provide some insight into the entrepreneurship process, Bernie Li, General Partner at Antler Canada speaks with Craig Major of Toronto Starts on his podcast, and sheds some light on his own journey, the concept of “founder empathy”, trials and tribulations on the path to success, and some helpful advice on how to get your startup started.

Here's a sneak peek of some of the founders Antler Australia is working with, what they are up to, and the startups they want to build.

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Silvain joined Antler after four years as a CTO at Sayduck, a Finnish company providing services for e-commerce and enhancing interactive shopping experience through displaying 3D products on their websites. Silvain helped to shape the company strategy and played a pivotal role during the acquisition of Sayduck by the Swedish Goodbye Kansas Group. However, he was missing a deeper sense of purpose as the company was “not solving any pressing issue” as he explained in our interview. Therefore, he decided to leave the company and started making the first steps toward building his own company. A company with a significant positive impact on the climate, planet, and people.

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However, this was harder than expected, and even though he met many talented people, there was always something missing – not the right match, timing, or diverse expectations. Struggling to find the right co-founder he joined Antler. Now, he and his co-founder René are building NeoCarbon and are on a mission to tackle climate change using Direct Air Capture.

The Antler residency is a unique opportunity to get together with 60+ other founders eager to build life-changing ventures. No matter how well you prep, it is impossible to be completely prepared for what can be truly transformational. The important thing is to be ready to fully immerse yourself, and take in everything you can during the experience. In this article, I’m outlining how to get the most out of the rollercoaster ride that is an Antler residency. As Co-Global Head of Program, having worked with 450+ founders during our eight latest residencies in Amsterdam, I have a few tips to share.

Have you ever wondered what is it like to be a tech startup founder and bring an idea to life?

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Founder Files is a series of conversations with founders in the earliest days of their entrepreneurial journey hosted by Antler Canada. Guests are founders of our portfolio companies and founders in residence, currently building the next big ventures. Learn about their experiences of finding a co-founder, idea validation and product-market fit.

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In the fourth episode of Founder Files, Elif Hiz interviews Liza Akhvledziani, the CEO and co-founder of Chexy, a platform designed to help tenants pay rent online while earning rewards and building credit. As one of the first entrepreneurs that Antler Canada invested in, Liza highlights her experiences, struggles, and triumphs as a founder, and discusses her future ambitions. 

Meet Carl Prins, co-founder and CEO of Pathzero, on personal quest to help avert the climate crisis through world-class carbon accounting.

Have you ever wondered what is it like to be a tech startup founder and bring an idea to life?

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Founder Files is a series of conversations with founders in the earliest days of their entrepreneurial journey hosted by Antler Canada. Guests are founders of our portfolio companies and founders in residence, currently building the next big ventures. Learn about their experiences of finding a co-founder, idea validation and product-market fit.

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In the third episode of Antler Canada's Founder Files, Elif Hiz interviews Justin Cuaresma, a founder in residence in our third residency. Justin is a Software Developer turned entrepreneur. He believes that the future of work is joyful. He bootstrapped CrowdParty, the “Netflix of workplace games,” and is now working on Delightful, a platform made for employees to foster deeper relationships through shared hobbies and interests!  In this video, we’ll dive into Justin's experience at Antler so far and his learnings from the first 7 weeks of the program.

Insights from helping founders raise billions

Antler founder and CEO Magnus Grimeland as well as partner TC Høiseth spoke to Jacob Trumpy from Norway’s leading financial newspaper Dagens Næriningsliv, about the funding landscape and how Antler supports founders. 

Nestled in the vibrant startup hub of Nairobi, Antler in Kenya brings together founders from all walks of life to build and invest in companies, tackling some of the most ambitious challenges in Africa. Sometimes that means starting from the very beginning—by lifting up young people in our region and providing them with the tools to drive the world forward. This time, through code. Find out about the incredible work done by Code Yetu, in partnership with Alphathesis and Antler in Kenya.

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Antler US works with founders starting from day zero, bringing them in-house to our Residency studios in Austin, Boulder, and New York City. After investment from Antler, our portfolio companies work with the Antler US team to unlock continued growth and scale. As partners at the earliest stage, we’re proud to showcase some of our US companies who’ve matured and are ready to raise their next round of funding.

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InspeCity is building propulsion and in-space servicing to enable space cities in the future.

Harry Truman once said: “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” The source of myriad mental and physical benefits, it’s no wonder highly successful entrepreneurs and business leaders frequently credit obsessive reading as instrumental to their outperformance. In honor of UNESCO World Book Day, Antler is excited to share books every founder should read in 2023.

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Have you ever wondered what is it like to be a tech startup founder and bring an idea to life?

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Founder Files is a series of conversations with founders in the earliest days of their entrepreneurial journey hosted by Antler Canada. Guests are founders of our portfolio companies and founders in residence, currently building the next big ventures. Learn about their experiences of finding a co-founder, idea validation and product-market fit.

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In this episode of Antler Canada's Founder Files, Elif Hiz interviews Zane Hengsperger, the youngest founder in residence in our third residency. Zane is currently working with 2 other founders from the cohort and building Blymp, a platform that will empower podcasters to secure relevant brand partnerships. In this article, we’ll dive into Zane’s experience at Antler so far and his learnings from the first 6 weeks of the program.

Michelle You is co-founder and CEO of Supercritical, one of the world's largest carbon removal marketplaces. But Supercritcal isn't the first startup Michelle has built and scaled. Before Supercritical, Michelle was co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Songkick, a company that helped fans discover concerts from their favorite artists. Songkick was backed by investors like YC, Index, Sequoia, Access and ultimately exited to Warner Music. 

Michelle shares how her experience at Songkick has influenced her approach to building Supercritical. We discuss the importance of user interviews, ascertaining key insights from customers, and how to structure an analytical decision making process. These are valuable, hard-earned lessons from a serial founder that you don't want to miss.