We are one of the most active early-stage investors in the world, enabling the most driven people to build companies that move the world forward. We invest from the pre-seed stage and continue to be a long-term partner as your company grows.
The next Lisbon in-person program starts on the 11th of September 2023. Applications are now open.
We’re looking for people committed to turning their ambitious ideas into game-changing businesses. We work with founders regardless of background or geography—from experienced business operators to technologists and entrepreneurs. Whether you've just started building, but haven't yet raised capital; you've got an idea and are thinking about getting started, but haven't quite made the leap; or you don't have an idea but are determined to be an entrepreneur, Antler is the right place for you to bring your idea to life.
We accept applications from individuals and teams.
The next Lisbon in-person program starts on the 11th of September 2023. Applications are now open.
The next Lisbon in-person program starts on the 11th of September 2023. Applications are now open.
The program is structured in two phases:
Phase 1 runs for ~2.5 months and is focused on venture development and testing a startup hypothesis. Here we surround you with everything you need to build at lightning speed: a community of diverse founders so that you can find the right co-founder, coaching from our team of proven founders and advisors, perks from hundreds of partners, and a global network.
At the end of this phase, teams that have validated an idea will pitch to our Investment Committee. Successful teams will move to phase 2 and receive pre-seed funding from Antler at the following terms: €120,000 investment for a fully diluted 10% equity stake. €80,000 will be received by the company and the remaining €40,000 will be deducted to cover the costs of the program. If you don't get an investment from Antler, we do not charge any fee or take any equity.
Phase 2 runs for ~3.5 months, where you will receive personalized coaching from our partners and global network of advisors to help you scale and hire your core team. It culminates with Demo Day, where you will get the opportunity to pitch to local and international investors.
As an Antler startup, you continue to be a member of our global community where you will meet other founders from around the world, access our portfolio job boards, sign up to events, draw from our resource library, share learnings, and get support from other founders, advisors, and the Antler team.
Founders supported
Portfolio companies
Combined portfolio value
Startups with at least one woman co-founder
The full application process takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. Once you apply, our scouting team will guide you through the full process and will be available to answer all your questions. All of our interviews are done online.
The next Lisbon in-person program starts on the 11th of September 2023. Applications are now open.
The full application process takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. Once you apply, our scouting team will guide you through the full process and will be available to answer all your questions. All of our interviews are done online.
The next Lisbon in-person program starts on the 11th of September 2023. Applications are now open.
Join our Ask Me Anything sessions that will take place every week from April 2023 onwards.
Stay up-to-date with Antler Lisbon's upcoming programs, latest events, and information. Sign up to our monthly newsletter.
https://antler.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=ca8e71dfc43df42e91b000beb&id=5d2cf8a914&v_id=3644&f_id=004b25e1f0
The full application process takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. Once you apply, our scouting team will guide you through the full process and will be available to answer all your questions. All of our interviews are done online.
The next Lisbon in-person program starts on the 11th of September 2023. Applications are now open.
Antler-funded founders go on to raise capital from other leading VCs
Don't just take it from us. Hear from phenomenal people who joined Antler to launch their company.
Manuel Shoenfeld
PowerX
Building a startup with Antler allows you the room to develop, grow or even pivot your business idea, providing you with the guidance you need along the way.
Bree Pagonis
WIRL
We had never stepped foot in the startup space before. Antler’s support from initial ideation through to setting us up for success when pitching to external investors was invaluable.
Valentin Kassarnig
SpeechifAI
Many decisions are made in uncertainty that define the outcome of your company. Antler gives me the support needed to make those decisions.
Meet the people dedicated to our founders’ success.
Sérgio is a Partner at Antler. Previously he was the Head of Expansion at Antler, leading the firm's growth to 21 geographies in 6 continents. Before, he was a Principal at Seaya Ventures, the largest Spanish VC fund with operations in Iberia and LatAm. Sérgio was previously a Managing Director at Linio Mexico, one of the largest e-commerce in LatAm, and before that, a Global Operations Director at Rocket Internet. Sergio was also on the founding team of Lazada in the Philippines. He started his career as a Fiber-optics engineer at Portugal Telecom. Sérgio holds an MBA from INSEAD (where he is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence), a BSc & an MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Tecnico and Post-graduate studies in Innovation from the Lisbon School of Economics.
Ricardo is an Investment Director at Antler Iberia. Previously at Glovo, Spain's largest unicorn, he was General Manager for Portugal and for Lola Market (an acquired company). Before Glovo, Ricardo scaled the Marketing department of a tech startup, CompareEuropeGroup (part of NovaFounders' portfolio), and led the Product department for one of its subsidiaries. In his early career, Ricardo experienced multiple roles at Vodafone, ranging from product to engineering to strategy. He holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Técnico Lisbon and an MSc in Telecom from KTH Stockholm.
Clark is an Investment Director at Antler Iberia. He brings significant experience to Antler having scaled tech marketplaces across various industries. He was most recently the COO at Heli, an adventure travel marketplace and booking software. Previously, Clark was the Director of Growth at Vettery, a data-driven hiring marketplace focused on software development roles across the United States and Europe which was acquired by Adecco in 2018. Prior to that, Clark was the Chief Business Officer at Fever, one of the leading global live-entertainment discovery tech platforms, during its early years. Clark is a passionate skier who holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from Hamilton College.
Soledad is the Capital Director at Antler Iberia. Previously Soledad was the Head of Investor Relations at Kronos Investment Group, leading the Real Estate firm's fundraising activity, and was a member of the Strategy Committee. Before, Soledad was an Investor Relations & Strategy Manager at Enagás, an Ibex35 listed energy corporation. She was also an executive member of the Enagás Start Up Team, responsible for the analysis and valuation of the dealflow. She started her career at Accenture London as a Strategy Consultant. Soledad holds a BSc in Economics and Business Administration from CUNEF and an MSc in Advanced Valuation from IEB.
Catarina is the Finance Manager at Antler Iberia. She was previously an Audit and Assurance Manager at Deloitte Portugal where she accompanied the audit work of several clients across a diverse set of industries and integrated several assurance projects mostly related to internal control. Catarina has an MSc in International Management from NOVA SBE and a MIM from CEMS.
José Luis is a Senior Investment Associate at Antler Iberia. Serial entrepreneur, he previously founded Bistrohub and BMM (both exited) and was Head of Sales at IONIQ group. He started his career in clean technology investment management at Tianqing Power. José has a MIB from HULT and a BSc in International Management from University of Navarra.
Monica is a Senior Investment Associate at Antler Iberia. She was previously Chief of Staff at Net4things, a B2B SaaS startup in the mobility sector. Before that, she founded Glocal (an alternative MBA), and at the beginning of her career she was in the venture building space at Anima Ventures and worked in strategy consulting at Kearney. Monica has an MBA from INSEAD and a BSc in Economics & Geography from University College London (UCL).
André is an Investment Associate at Antler Iberia.He was previously the Strategy & Innovation Manager at Sogrape, leading their digital transformation program and supporting their ventures ecosystem. He also co-founded Betmarkets, a fintech platform aiming to become the eToro for sports betting. Earlier on, he completed a short stint in investment banking at Citi's London office and worked in business analysis at Sonae. André graduated with Distinction from London Business School's MSc in Financial Analysis and holds a BSc Hons in Economics from the University of Porto.
Stefanie is a Marketing Associate at Antler Iberia. She comes from an entrepreneurial background, having co-founded Denq, a digital bank in Brazil. Before that, she had long exposure to marketing, PR and social media, having held roles at multiple businesses, such as YatchLife, Intersection Ventures, Agencia 11Onze, Suporte Comunicação and Young & Rubicam. Stefanie holds a BS in Science Communication, Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication from Boston University.
Mehdi is a Visiting Investment Analyst at Antler Iberia. He was previously a Partner Ecosystem Manager at Atani, a Web3 startup building an integral platform for crypto-asset investing. He is also the founder of Hauma Corp, a small dark kitchen and food delivery project based in the island of Mallorca. Mehdi holds a MIB from Hult International Business School and a BSc in Business Administration from Universidad de Deusto.
José is a Visiting Investment Analyst at Antler Iberia. He previously co-founded Hunchat, a video-first social network and freelanced as a UI/UX designer. He holds a BA in Design Management from the University of Arts (London), a Multimedia design Bachelor from Kobenhavns Erhvervsakademi in Copenhagen, and an International BA in Global Design from IADE in Lisbon.
Andrea is a Venture Partner at Antler Iberia. She is the Co-founder and CEO of Emjoy, an intimate well-being app for women. Before that, she worked in VC, both at Nauta Capital and at Dawn Capital. In her early career she worked at Immfly, a content platform for the aviation industry, and in the venture-building space with Rocket Internet. Andrea is also a Forbes 30 under 30 honouree. She holds a BBA in Business from ESADE, where she is now a Startup Mentor at their accelerator.
Madalena is a Venture Partner at Antler Iberia. She is the Global Head of Marketing at Amplemarket, a sales software platform powered by AI. She was previously the Global Director of Marketing at Bitpanda, a crypto exchange. Before that, she was the Country Manager of Spain and Portugal for Too Good To Go and founded Misk, a platform for dining recommendations. She also worked as Product Marketing Manager at Google. Madalena holds a BS in International Affairs and Journalism from the University of Miami.
Thibaud is a Venture Partner at Antler Iberia. He is the Chief Growth Officer at KOBAJ; an e-commerce marketplace for winemakers. Previously, he co-founded Aspire, a fintech in South East Asia, and was the Regional Director for Digital Goods at Alibaba - Lazada Group. He started his career in M&A working for MK Finance - Deloitte Group, Altium Group and Hyva. Thibaud holds a Master's degree in Corporate Finance from TBS.
Filipa is a Venture Partner at Antler Iberia. She is the Head of Innovation at Farfetch. She previously co-founded two e-commerce startups, the last one being Chic by Choice, a fashion rental site. She is also a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum and has advised startups through Farfetch's accelerator. Filipa holds a Bachelors's degree in Economics from Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
Santiago is a Venture Partner at Antler Iberia. He is currently the General Manager of Micromobility for Spain at Bolt, a leading mobility platform. Previously he launched Micromobility in Portugal and led the ride-hailing expansion in Mexico, also at Bolt. He has also co-founded Platón, a consulting marketplace and worked in the education space, at Colegio Miramar and at Centro Espacios. In his early career, he was a corporate lawyer. Santiago holds an Executive Master's in Finance from ESADE and a Bachelor's of Law from Universidad Anáhuac.
We are expanding our team of passionate people backing the most driven founders in Portugal. Check out our open positions at Antler Iberia.
Read our latest insights and stories about our phenomenal founders.
Harvard Business School (HBS) recently published a case study about Antler’s fresh approach to early-stage venture capital. Antler Co-Founder Fridtjof Berge shares thoughts on how the case sparks discussion about the best ways to identify and support great people anywhere on earth.
We are delighted to announce that we are expanding our investment activity. Our primary focus remains to invest at the pre-seed stage, but we now also have the ability to offer our portfolio companies follow-on capital as they grow and scale, up to Series C.
Today we are sharing our new brand that reflects that commitment and the reason Antler exists: to stand behind our founders from day zero and to keep backing them on their paths to greatness.
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Antler Quarterly. This report explores the impact, risk, sustainability, and opportunity within the global VC industry.
The Early Days podcast launched in June, unwrapping how world-class founders built today’s most influential companies. Antler’s Tyler Norwood, creator and host of the podcast, talks about what inspired it, why the early days are so crucial, and why it’s important to humanize startups.
Antler was founded on the belief that people innovating is the key to building a better future. To honor them, we are launching a new content series—”It All Starts with People”—spotlighting the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Each story is a window into their passions, motivations, and vision—the reasons they are building and the positive dent they are aiming to make on the world.
In our first spotlight, we sat down with Emilia Theye, the co-founder of clare&me—a mental health app that uses language-based AI to develop an innovative approach to virtual self-help.
We are living two simultaneous realities: the uncertainty of the current downturn and the unstoppable wave of innovation disrupting every industry. Against this backdrop, Antler's Kevin Brennan shares perspectives on assessing your position in venture capital for the rest of 2022 and into 2023. Might 2023 be the best vintage for the coming decade?
Antler is the day zero investor backing the world's most driven people, from day zero to greatness.
We are one of the most active early-stage investors in the world, present in 23 locations across six continents. Since making our first investment in 2018, we have invested in over 600 companies. Our global footprint enables businesses we invest in to access international startup ecosystems for quicker scaling, due diligence, and problem-solving, and our fast-growing community of early-stage startup founders.
Antler helps you meet potential co-founder(s), form a team, or add to your existing team. Working with Antler will also help you to test and validate the problem you have identified, enable you to build a technology startup to solve it, and then invest in it. Additionally, Antler helps to de-risk common pain points throughout the business-building and scaling journey with dedicated coaching, practical workshops, and, of course, insightful and helpful resources.
We're looking for hungry and driven founders with grit who are beginning the journey of starting a new venture that can change the world. Maybe you've just started building, but haven't yet raised capital; or maybe you've got an idea and are thinking about getting started, but haven't quite made the leap. Either way, if you're in the earliest days of launching a startup, Antler is the right place for you to bring your idea to life.
We accept applications from individuals and teams. This includes solo founders, looking to find a co-founder and to validate your idea. You are at the stage where you’re ready to give it everything you’ve got. You want to test a number of promising ideas, be part of a supportive environment, iron out what to build, and figure out what market to go after. When you join Antler, you join a community of founders, get support from a global platform of experts and resources, and receive investments to scale your ideas and businesses. We invest from the pre-seed stage and we continue to be a long-term partner as your company grows. You may already have a team and have already started your business, but you did not yet raise funding.
Join forces with Antler to fast-track your startup by getting support tailored to your stage of the journey. You’ll join our fast-growing founder community and have the opportunity to receive an investment from Antler. If you want to positively impact the world by creating a company that solves real problems, join Antler and build a groundbreaking technology company by applying on apply.antler.co.
We accept founders and teams who have already launched their product.
Finding your first backers is a great achievement. We accept founders who have raised non-institutional capital, but ideally, we would like to be your first institutional VC check.
We are industry agnostic and invest across all technology sectors.
We deliver an in-person program structured in two phases.
Phase 1 runs for ~2.5 months and is focused on venture development. We strive to select and bring together a diverse group of exceptional people—from engineers to experienced business operators and serial entrepreneurs—so that you can find the right co-founder. The right founding team is what sets successful businesses apart from those that fail.
Besides finding a co-founder, the Antler team will provide guidance and coaching as you work to identify areas of opportunity, iterate on your ideas, conduct customer discovery and research, beta test as quickly as possible, and build your product roadmap and go-to-market strategy. During this time, we'll also organize meetings, social sessions, office hours, and speaker series with industry experts, coaches, and Antler advisors. Most importantly, you'll be surrounded by hand-selected founders to work alongside, brainstorming ideas, testing assumptions, sharing expertise, and building close bonds.
At the end of this phase, teams that have validated an idea will pitch to our Investment Committee. Successful teams will receive pre-seed funding from Antler and move to phase 2.
Phase 2 runs for ~3.5 months and founders get more done than what is possible on their own. We guide you through the process of incorporation, founder agreements, go to market, and more, so you can focus on building your business. We work with you to prepare your fundraising strategy and growth roadmap. This phase culminates with Demo Day, where you will have the opportunity to pitch to local and international investors.
As an Antler startup, you will remain a member of our global community where you will meet other founders from around the world and access our portfolio job boards, sign up to events, access our resource library, share learnings, and get support from other founders, advisors, and the Antler team.
We work with founders in person. We believe in the magic and serendipity of working together in person. If you already have a team, you all need to be in person.
Yes. Building a new venture is a full-time job and we only want to work with founders who are fully committed to the process. If you already have a team, you all need to be full time.
Yes. The official language of the Antler program is English, so it is a requirement for all participants.
Yes. Antler Lisbon doesn’t sponsor visas. Founders will need to have a work permit (i.e., not a tourist visa) for Portugal in order to qualify.
The grant is one part of the support that Antler offers founders and is only disbursed during Phase 1 of the program (i.e., initial 2.5 months). This grant is attributed on a need basis and is independent of Antler’s decision to invest in the ventures being built and does not constitute in any way an offer of employment or indicate any sort of labour affiliation with Antler. The founder is responsible for any taxes and any other amounts payable in respect of the receipt of the grant.
Antler Lisbon will invest at the following terms: €120,000 pre-seed investment for a fully diluted 10% equity stake. €80,000 will be received by the company and the remaining €40,000 will be deducted to cover the costs of the program. If you don't get an investment from Antler, we do not charge any fee or take any equity.
Step One: apply on apply.antler.co using your LinkedIn account or CV. We will ask you a few questions to get to know you a bit better.
Step Two: intro interview.* You will hear back from us shortly after you've submitted your online application on whether or not you qualify for the first-round interview. In the first round interview, we will focus on getting to know you, getting a better understanding of your background, and figuring out if our program would be an ideal fit for you, together. In case you have an idea and/or team, we will dig deeper into your idea/startup, team, and motivations.
Step Three: detailed interview.* You will hear back from us after your first-round interview on whether or not you qualify for our detailed interview.
Step Four: partner interview.* You will hear back from us after your detailed interview on whether or not you qualify for our partner interview.
Step Five: offer decision. You will be notified of the offer decision. If successful, the next steps are simple. All that is left is for you to sign an Antler Founder Agreement before you can officially kick off your entrepreneurial journey. Shortly after, we will send you a welcome package containing instructions on how to participate in our pre-program activities to prepare you for your first day, including get to know the other founders in your program ahead of time.
*All of our interviews are done online.
Yes. When you fill up your application, you have to select the co-founder option where you provide your co-founder details. We will reach out to them with a link to complete their part of the application.
All team members will be interviewed individually and have to participate in the program full time.
All of our founder interviews are done online.
The application deadline is 1 month prior to the start of the program. Please bear in mind that admissions are made on a rolling basis so there is a real chance that the program is already filled by then - do not wait for then to apply! Should the program be filled by the time of your application, we will invite you to apply for the following program.
We offer founders the opportunity to meet a co-founder, get hands-on coaching, access a network of industry experts and advisors, and access capital as well as a great co-working space and helpful tools and resources.
But the real work has to be done by you.
This means that we expect you to be in the driver's seat, come up with ideas, and show us the research you have done, the customers you have spoken with, and the signed LOIs you obtained. Your expectations may be high, but so are ours. We set ambitious goals and expect you to deliver.
