Find your co-founder
We strive to select and bring together a diverse group of exceptional people from technologists to experienced business operators and serial entrepreneurs. This allows you to find the right co-founder with a complementary skill set and experiences from your own to build your next company together.
Grow your network
An intro from the right person can make all the difference. We connect you with door-openers, industry experts, and successful entrepreneurs from all over the world, who will help you on this journey.
Get funding
All participants get an individual grant during the first phase of the program to enable them to focus full-time on building their company and products. We then invest in some of the companies who will get continued support to accelerate their growth.
Inner drive
You're a self-starter and can motivate yourself and others to join your mission. You set high goals and have proven an ability to achieve them.
Spike
That strong attribute which enables your skills and experiences to stand out from the crowd. You have deep knowledge in an area where you can form a foundation of your company's competitive advantage.
Grit
Your source of energy never runs low. You always find a window when the door closes. You have the willingness and ability to keep going when you're faced with obstacles.
How to join Antler as a founder
Apply in one minute
Step 1: Apply with your LinkedIn
Apply in less than a minute: All we need from you is a link to your LinkedIn profile and email address. We’ll take care of the rest.
Next steps: Refer to your specific location page
Once you apply, you will hear from our recruiting team, who will suggest the next steps in the process based on your background. If you pass our initial checks, you will be invited for one or more interviews with our team so we can understand how we can help you to build your startup.
- Presentations by experienced founders
- Workshops and team challenges
- Mini bootcamps and hackathons
- Team coaching
- User research
- Thoughtful presentations
- External validation of the problem
- Strong co-founding team
- Product/team fit
- Traction to date
- Potential
- Paying customers
- Releasing your product
- Shipping frequent product updates
- Recruiting great people
- Building valuable partnerships
- Acting fast on customer feedback
Build a strong co-founding team
Find your co-founder
Before the program starts we invite you to our Slack channel for all participants in your program. Discussions typically start immediately and some pitch their ideas to see if anyone is keen to team up, while others start exploring areas together. The program kicks off with design sprints, team-building exercises, master classes, and inspiring sessions with experienced founders.
Session examples
What if I don’t find the right co-founder?
We do a lot of activities to make sure as many as possible team up early in the program. This is an important decision and we won’t force anyone to team up. We work very actively with founders on co-founder pairing and see it as one of the most important parts. We encourage an open and direct environment and support founders who may break up to try working with other founders in the program.
Validate your business model
Test and iterate product ideas
When a team has decided to start building, you “track out” and get assigned a dedicated team coach. We encourage all teams to meet real, potential customers as soon as possible to validate their problem statements and ideas. If you're working on something similar to what Antler team members or our advisors have built or invested in before, your coach will ensure you connect with these people as early as possible.
The coaching sessions
Weekly coaching sessions will make sure you're on the right track and progressing as fast and effectively as possible. Along with guidance from your coach, you'll be mentored by experienced founders, investors and industry experts.
Session examples
How do I know that I'm working on the right product?
At this point, it's more about the problem you're addressing than what features you're planning to build. Is it a real problem? Is there a big enough market? What attempts have been made in this area in the past? If your potential customers show a clear interest and a willingness to pay, you're probably on to something.
Investment Decision
Pitch to Antler's investment committee
About ten weeks into the program the teams pitch to the investment committee. The investment committee represents our investors in the funds and consists of Antler's general partners (local and global team) and external seed- and venture investors. Leading up to this day, you will pitch to your coach and advisors, and get feedback along the way. We invest in strong teams with a clear problem-team fit and products with big potential.
What we look for
Our terms
Antler invests about US$100,000 - $150,000 (depending on location) for an equity stake in each company. This is the net investment amount. The exact amounts vary depending on location. Refer to the specific location pages for clarification. To cover the cost of the program, all companies invested in are required to pay a program fee between US$15,000 - US$50,000, depending on location. This is taken from the gross investment, so at no point do companies pay Antler.
What if my team doesn't receive funding?
We invest in companies that have a significant potential and are a good fit for venture capital. Not all teams will receive investment. If this is the case, our team will do our best to support you after the program. Some participants who don't gain investment may decide to join one of the other teams who got funding to help build that business instead.
Build and get early traction
Start shipping products and get your first customers
We guide you through the process of incorporation, founder agreements and more, so you can focus on building your business. During this period, founders get more done than what is possible outside the program. Teams continue meeting their coach and work towards getting your business pitch ready for demo day, where you will be exposed to many more local and international investors.
What traction looks like
How do you prepare for demo day?
Demo day is the culminating event to finish your time working with Antler, and an opportunity to pitch to thousands of local and international investors. Having a great pitch is important, but what you present and what you have achieved is more important. Antler provides pitch and presentation training to ensure teams are ready before the big day.
Meet investors at Demo Day
Pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists
Each cohort ends with a demo day where all startups pitch to angel investors, seed investors and venture capitalists. You will be on stage convincing investors why they should join your mission and journey. We also have an area where each startup can showcase their work for interested investors and show product demos. Our demo days are attended by investors from all over the world.
How much do people raise after demo day?
After demo day, our startups typically raise between US$500,000 to US$1.5M. Some close their round ahead of demo day while others start the fundraising process on demo day.
Leverage our global alumni network
Antler continues to support you as you scale your business
The Antler program is just the very start of your company's journey. We will continue to support you as much as we can. We're already seeing examples of companies that were formed in Singapore or Stockholm moving to New York and London and get support from our teams there. All teams will be invited to our alumni network and have direct access to other like-minded founders.
Global community of founders
Stay connected with the founders from your program and meet others from Antler programs around the world. Our growing alumni network will help you stay connected and scale your business.
What successful companies have been built in Antler?
We're very impressed with the companies the founders in our programs have built so far. Sampingnan is connecting companies with freelance agents in Indonesia and has experienced a tremendous amount of growth, for instance.