We help founders build great companies

Antler founders are turning their visions into reality—tackling pressing problems, creating jobs, and unlocking their personal potential. As the world’s issues become more complex, founders are more needed than ever to solve them. What are you waiting for?

Antler Canada works with solo founders who are looking to find potential co-founders as well as preformed teams that are already in operation.

Who should apply to the Antler Canada Residency?

We're looking for founders who want to change the world and possess a fierce ambition and an intense bias towards perseverance and execution. We work with both individuals who are looking for co-founders and newly formed teams building their ideas into reality. Antler is designed to give you the opportunity to build inside of a community of hand-selected founders. You will have an immediate community of 50-60 founders in your Residency, working side by side with you at the Antler Canada office in Toronto.

Pre-Launch

Individual Founders and Teams

Pre-idea and pre-team. Ambitious founders can join Antler before the inception of their company to find a co-founder(s) and receive their first cheque. We support these founders through team formation, idea validation, dedicated expert coaching, access to the world’s largest-growing community of like-minded entrepreneurs, and a clear pathway to capital.

Pre-Launch

Individual Founders and Teams

Pre-idea and pre-team. Ambitious founders can join Antler before the inception of their company to find a co-founder(s) and receive their first cheque. We support these founders through team formation, idea validation, dedicated expert coaching, access to the world’s largest-growing community of like-minded entrepreneurs, and a clear pathway to capital.

What to expect once you join Antler Canada

Join the Antler Canada Residency to find your co-founder, validate your ideas, and launch your business as a solo founder or preformed team to grow faster with customized coaching support.

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Phase 1: Residency

After 10 weeks of building with us in our Residency, you will have the opportunity to pitch to our Investment Committee (IC) for pre-seed funding to launch your startup. One pitch, one committee, and a decision in less than one week. If you receive funding, we will write you a check for $150,000 for 10% of your new company. If you don't receive funding, we will sit down and tell you exactly why—100% transparency.

Phase 2: Build and fundraising sprint

After passing IC and receiving investment, portfolio companies will engage in a 3.5-month sprint to build and prepare for their next round of fundraising to set themselves up for success.

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Antler Canada's Reveal Day

Antler Canada's Reveal Day gives founders the opportunity to introduce themselves to a highly selective group of pre-seed funds and angel investors.

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Application process

We are currently recruiting for our fourth cohort which will start in September, 2023.

Application

Once you submit your application, our scouting team will review it. Candidates who meet our criteria will move forward in our process.

1st-round interview

Your first interview will be with a member of our scouting team. We will get to know you, get a better understanding of your background, and figure out if our Residency would be an ideal fit for you, together.

2nd-round interview

Your second interview will be with an Antler Canada partner to further evaluate your entrepreneurial aspirations and share more about our Residency.

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Application process

We are currently recruiting for our fourth cohort which will start in September, 2023.

Application

Once you submit your application, our scouting team will review it. Candidates who meet our criteria will move forward in our process.

1st-round interview

Your first interview will be with a member of our scouting team. We will get to know you, get a better understanding of your background, and figure out if our Residency would be an ideal fit for you, together.

2nd-round interview

Your second interview will be with an Antler Canada partner to further evaluate your entrepreneurial aspirations and share more about our Residency.

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Want to find out more?

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Application process

We are currently recruiting for our fourth cohort which will start in September, 2023.

Application

Once you submit your application, our scouting team will review it. Candidates who meet our criteria will move forward in our process.

1st-round interview

Your first interview will be with a member of our scouting team. We will get to know you, get a better understanding of your background, and figure out if our Residency would be an ideal fit for you, together.

2nd-round interview

Your second interview will be with an Antler Canada partner to further evaluate your entrepreneurial aspirations and share more about our Residency.

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Founder testimonials

Don't just take it from us. Hear from phenomenal people who joined Antler Canada to launch their company.

Eli Costea

NetNow

I knew I wanted to build my own start-up for a few years and I was waiting for the right opportunity to jump in. Antler’s structured program and network of potential founders seemed like the perfect fit for someone like myself who was building their first company.

The program exceeded my expectations in all regards! Starting off with the high-caliber peers and the network and introductions that the partners made.

Coming in I had 2 goals: finding the right co-founder and securing funding and I was able to accomplish both.

My favorite highlight from Antler was the community that we build with our cohort, it was not uncommon for us to go for drinks after the end of the day.

I would recommend the program to anyone who is fully committed to build a start-up and is willing to take on the challenge. Building a company is not easy but Antler makes a bit easier.

Tanika McLeod

MinuteSkill

Antler has played such a huge role in our growth. The team at Antler Canada believed in us at a time when all we had was the vision. They treated us like people first - that’s why we joined. They believed in our ability to figure things out as we go. They helped to give us the confidence to continue on our journey despite the barriers certainly we’d encounter. THAT’S what early-stage investment should look like. And that’s why Antler is among the best early-stage accelerators & VC funds in the world.

Pooya Mamaghani

Genuine Taste

When you think about Antler, you should think of more than a fund to start your business or a three months accelerator program. Antler is an affiliation that translates to professional, continuous, and dedicated support, mentorship, and connection to a global network of world-class entrepreneurs for the lifespan of your company.

Our team

Naman Budhdeo
General Partner

Naman has founded and exited 3 travel technology businesses. He has built original small teams from inception and growing them to over 700 people. His companies were able to grow with great people building great products using technology. Developing people, products and technology to rapidly scale business and leading to successful financial exits for investors are the skills and experience Naman brings to Antler Canada.

Bernie Li
General Partner

Bernie combines his experience as a founder and investor to support entrepreneurs. He co-founded a technology based startup in the solar sector that grew from its homebase in Toronto, to over two hundred employees with an additional office in San Francisco, serving customers across the USA and Ontario. That company was VC backed and had a successful exit to a NYSE-listed acquirer. His experience as an investor includes working with premier VC funds, in addition to angel investing. Helping entrepreneurs think about value creation and building relationships with the capital markets are ways that Bernie enjoys working with founders.

Amy Zaghloul
Director (Canada)

Amy combines her global experience in Investor Relations and M&A to support fundraising for Funds and early-stage companies. Most recently, she led Investor Relations efforts at a Venture Fund focusing on the capital raising process for the Fund as well as providing strategic advisory to portfolio companies on growth initiatives. Previously, she spent several years in Investment Banking in New York focusing on M&A and capital raising projects in Healthcare and Technology. Amy enjoys building relationships and attracting strategic investors to help exceptional entrepreneurs build impactful businesses. She is an advisor to a mental healthcare start-up and sits on the board of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

Alex Wright
Director of Finance

Alex is a relationship-driven finance professional with expertise in financial controls and project management. He is a Chartered Accountant trained through Ernst & Young as an Assurance Manager where he oversaw multinational public company audits. Recently, he gained senior leadership experience at a not-for-profit focused on founder education. Alex’s passion for entrepreneurship began at Queen’s University where he was an Ambassador for the Centre for Social Impact - a student group dedicated to social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Yohann John
Director, Venture Scouting

Yohann leads Venture Scouting and Deal flow at Antler Canada. His entire career has been focused on growing early-stage Tech start-ups. In the past Yohann has worked for two of India's most successful unicorns - Zomato and Paytm, where he led their Strategic Growth Expansion. Yohann is also the co-founder of two Non-For Profit organizations that work towards the socio-economic enhancement of underprivileged families residing in the rural slums of India.

Elif Hiz
Director of Marketing & Community

Elif brings a decade of experience in marketing and community building through her work with global marketing agencies, B2B and web3 startups and building her own personal brand. She’s grown a YouTube channel (covering marketing & career) to 43K followers and has 600+ people in her marketing community. She's also had two startups of her own: an e-commerce shop and a review platform for web3.

Daphne McLarty
Program Manager

Daphne is a former strategic startup operator and Techstars consultant. Former Deals & Consulting Manager at PwC. She is also a certified yoga instructor.

Antler Canada

Toronto is Antler’s Canada’s first location. Since launching in 2022, Antler Canada has supported over 100 founders who are creating the next generation of startups.

Jasmeen Raghubans
Visiting Analyst

Jasmeen is a Visiting Analyst at Antler who supports deal sourcing, due diligence, and other aspects of Antler to accelerate the growth of founders. Jasmeen enjoys creating new relationships and diving into the analytical aspect of venture capital. Jasmeen brings experience from IBM, Creative Destruction Lab, Front Row Ventures, and Framework Venture Partners. With experience from pre-seed to Series B, she hopes to help founders with investor connections, business growth, and gain valuable experiences at Antler.

Almas Junussov
Visiting Associate

Almas is a Visiting Associate at Antler who leverages his experience in strategy consulting and entrepreneurship to support founders at all stages. Almas co-founded a FinTech startup and, as a CEO, led it to become a prominent payment processing services provider. As a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, Almas has led multiple strategy and transformation engagements in banking, telecom, mining, and the public sector for clients across the globe.

Yohann John
Director, Venture Scouting

Yohann leads Venture Scouting and Deal flow at Antler Canada. His entire career has been focused on growing early-stage Tech start-ups. In the past Yohann has worked for two of India's most successful unicorns - Zomato and Paytm, where he led their Strategic Growth Expansion. Yohann is also the co-founder of two Non-For Profit organizations that work towards the socio-economic enhancement of underprivileged families residing in the rural slums of India.

Shray Mehra
Director of Growth & Portfolio

Shray is the Director of Growth & Portfolio at Antler Canada. His entire career has been focused on being an entrepreneur or developing startup ecosystems.Most recently, he was the Managing Director at a leading global deep tech startup program, where he coached and advised hundreds of early-stage founders on product-market fit, go-to-market strategies, fundraising, and more. His primary technology focus areas included AI, Spacetech, Quantum Computing, and Blockchain. Earlier in his career, he founded and scaled a successful SME in the retail sector.Born and raised in India, he has completed all three levels of the CFA examinations and holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Naman Budhdeo
General Partner

Naman has founded and exited 3 travel technology businesses. He has built original small teams from inception and growing them to over 700 people. His companies were able to grow with great people building great products using technology. Developing people, products and technology to rapidly scale business and leading to successful financial exits for investors are the skills and experience Naman brings to Antler Canada.

Derrick Raphael
Director

Derrick is a relationship builder and consistent advocate for startup founders. He has spent several years engaging and supporting the growing Canadian early stage tech ecosystem as an advisor and mentor. Most recently he served as a Managing Director at a venture accelerator based in the United States which supported Black led startups. Since 2019 Derrick has led a social enterprise, ICON Talent Partners, which enables high performing Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) to enter competitive sectors of the Canadian ecosystem such as venture capital, private equity and tech startups and sees his current role as an opportunity to amplify those efforts.

Bernie Li
General Partner

Bernie combines his experience as a founder and investor to support entrepreneurs. He co-founded a technology based startup in the solar sector that grew from its homebase in Toronto, to over two hundred employees with an additional office in San Francisco, serving customers across the USA and Ontario. That company was VC backed and had a successful exit to a NYSE-listed acquirer. His experience as an investor includes working with premier VC funds, in addition to angel investing. Helping entrepreneurs think about value creation and building relationships with the capital markets are ways that Bernie enjoys working with founders.

Amy Zaghloul
Director (Canada)

Amy combines her global experience in Investor Relations and M&A to support fundraising for Funds and early-stage companies. Most recently, she led Investor Relations efforts at a Venture Fund focusing on the capital raising process for the Fund as well as providing strategic advisory to portfolio companies on growth initiatives. Previously, she spent several years in Investment Banking in New York focusing on M&A and capital raising projects in Healthcare and Technology. Amy enjoys building relationships and attracting strategic investors to help exceptional entrepreneurs build impactful businesses. She is an advisor to a mental healthcare start-up and sits on the board of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

Alex Wright
Director of Finance

Alex is a relationship-driven finance professional with expertise in financial controls and project management. He is a Chartered Accountant trained through Ernst & Young as an Assurance Manager where he oversaw multinational public company audits. Recently, he gained senior leadership experience at a not-for-profit focused on founder education. Alex’s passion for entrepreneurship began at Queen’s University where he was an Ambassador for the Centre for Social Impact - a student group dedicated to social innovation and entrepreneurship.

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