Residency

Meet Mast! Joy, Rob and Henry all joined Antler UK two weeks before the UK government announced the lockdown. Apart from informal discussions they had never brainstormed together in our offices. Everything happened remotely and they've never looked back!

Different nationalities, different backgrounds and different interests. Rob, the CEO, has seven years of experience working in Risk for Barclays in London and Frankfurt. Emmanuel, the CTO, has spent eight years in Academia. After his PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Sorbonne University in Paris, he joined University College London (UCL) as a Research Associate focusing on automatic persuasion methods for behaviour change. They probably would not have met if it wasn't for Antler.

‍

Environmentally conscious, commitment phobic, or just indecisive? In a market research survey conducted by Lab42 published by Adweek, most millenials today aged 18-38 prefer renting over purchasing goods. Today, thanks to the rise of rental subscription services ranging from clothing to furniture, tools to technology, millennials can now pick from best in class offerings and incur minimum cost for maximum gain, all while saving the environment. How's that for a mission?

‍

Antler held its fourth Singapore Demo Day and the first virtual one to an audience of investors, VCs and entrepreneurs from the global startup ecosystem. We had over 2800 people tune in to the live stream from our Demo Day landing page and YouTube. You can still get in touch with the new startups and rewatch their pitches through our post-Demo Day page.

Chris Fanucchi is no stranger to traveling for work. As the co-founder of beverage companies KOIA, a plant protein drink now available at Whole Foods nationwide, and Limitless, a lightly caffeinated sparkling water acquired by Keurig Dr. Pepper in January 2020, Chris spent years traveling the country as he built two successful businesses from scratch. But Chris encountered a persistent problem as he traversed state lines: he constantly struggled to maintain healthy eating.

‍

What does it take to start a business during a pandemic and how do you adapt? Some of the founders from our new companies in the fourth Singapore cohort share their experiences ahead of Antler Southeast Asia’s first virtual Demo Day on July 16 at 5pm SGT.

Fundraising is not an easy walk in the park, it will be challenging. It always  takes longer than you think and has more ups and downs than you'd expect. Go into the process with an attitude that "you'll be successful". You need to commit to this process, even though it can be unpredictable and messy.

After attracting 2,800 registrations for the event a whopping 2,000 people watched the live event.

Now that the majority of the companies have seen that there is a way to work remotely, it looks like remote working is here to stay for a while longer at least and that more and more companies are going down this path even after the pandemic. We have listed some tools and services that startups and VCs we know recommended.

We invited four experienced CTOs to discuss how to build a successful tech platform, the process behind establishing a startup and some of the key things to consider when you are just starting to build the tech behind your product/service. They discuss key questions such as why is speed important and what to prioritise between your product vision and customer validation.

Antler Sydney Venture Partner Christian Wanner explores what is Demo Day and why it is important for founders, investors and the wider community.

Antler Australia received 1,400 applications in total, and spent 618 hours interviewing to identify and select this cohort - the largest to date, up 20% from the previous Sydney cohort of 80.

Launching your own business can be daunting. Launching your own business during a pandemic can seem downright impossible.

But with the help of Antler Australia, 26 entrepreneurs launched 12 startups spanning FinTech to Saas, HealthTech, DeepTech and more, and are flourishing in their early stages of growth.

‍

12 early-stage powerhouse tech companies will be revealed. Join us and help chart the path to recovery for the tech startup ecosystem.

This story is covered by Business Standard, Hindu Business Line, Economic Times, Business Insider, Business World, Outlook, Mint, YourStory, VC Circle and Tech in Asia.

Antler announced plans to launch in India to enable more entrepreneurs to build startups through their platform, support and global reach. The local operation will start in Bangalore and be led by Rajiv Srivatsa, co-founder of Urban Ladder, who is joining as Partner.

“Out of every crisis, voices emerge from unlikely places to help us understand how we can build a better future” - Scott Galloway. In this opinion piece, Antti Rantanen, Venture Partner at Antler, draws inspiration from this quote and reflects on how tech collaboration between startups and giants will breed new innovative models of operation in the near future.

Having a strong co-founding team is an important success factor for startups. In fact having the wrong founding team is amongst the top reasons why companies fail. Read more about how to build a strong team.

Without a strong team, the idea will just stay as that, an idea. However, finding the right co-founder can seem like a long and complicated process. There are many things that entrepreneurs need to take into consideration when making the decision of who to start a company with; starting with what to look for in terms of skillsets, compatibility and personality, followed by where to meet available co-founders, to making sure it will last in the long run. Based on our experience, there are 5 important elements that make a strong co-founding team. But before you start searching for someone, you need to ask yourself some key questions.

‍

Meet the Yayloh team! Nikhil Shikarkhane, CTO and co-founder, is a full-stack engineer and deep learning specialist as well as a serial entrepreneur. At Antler, he met his co-founder and CEO Sophie Aubard, who had the same entrepreneurial mindset but who could complement his skills well with deep knowledge about how to run and scale big businesses after having worked for big malls in the retail space.

‍

At Antler, we often get asked how we invest in startups. We believe that  startups belong in five different "archetypes" and we try to help our  founders frame their companies and ideas around these archetypes. This, in  turn, shall help them create a strong, compelling Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy  that will help them win in their respective spaces and selected  industries.So what are the five archetypes and how do they differ?

‍

It has been incredible to see over the last few weeks how our portfolio companies are supporting their customers and communities during this global pandemic. They are doing this either through their existing solutions or pivoting so they can more appropriately address one of the pain points of the COVID-19 crisis. We are very proud of them.

We have put together a (non-exhaustive) list of those companies and we will continue to update it to reflect these incredible initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about what they do or are in a position to help these companies in any way please reach out to them.

We spoke to 12 Australian angel investors - here's what they had to say.

What founders should be considering with the added complexity of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Antler Global Partner Andreas Birnik shares his tips for navigating through a turbulent time to successfully innovate.

As part of Antler’s mission to chart the path to recovery, we want to support teams working on solutions to these problems by investing in their startups.

The Covid-19 epidemic is now a Global issue and everyone is affected one way or the other. As most of us are remote working and in-person events are on hold, we want to continue to share some of the insights and sessions that we usually do for our founders with the wider startup ecosystem so that we can help and support entrepreneurs around the world.

Being a startup founder can be difficult at the best of times. Adding the stress and impact of a pandemic, crisis or recession, especially now, with the human tragedy of the Covid-19 doesn’t make it easier.

Some straightforward ways founders can help each other during turbulent times

There several ways in which entrepreneurs build their businesses and in recent years, quite a few startup ecosystem players have entered the journey in order to support Entrepreneurs in their endeavor. Antler, a startup generator and early-stage VC has brought a unique approach for aspiring entrepreneurs by creating a program that allows them to find their co-founding team, define their business idea and an opportunity to receive an investment all in 11 weeks. Check out the feature on #BBC Africa as we welcome our second cohort of the Nairobi program to #buildnextwaveoftech in the next 11 weeks.

Women make up 50% of the population but only 11% of capital is invested in female-led companies, even though data shows that diverse teams perform better. Antler wants to enable more women to launch and lead companies. Click to read the startup stories of 5 female founders and why they decided to become entrepreneurs.

There has never been a better time to start a technology-enabled business, given how much low-cost and high-quality existing tech infrastructure can be used, the digital business opportunity in Southeast Asia with exponential growth in smartphone usage and most importantly, localised problems that need to be solved in many parts of this region on a large scale.

Whoever said Science was organized knowledge most likely had a point. What is less organized is the immense volume of research that is annually conducted. 2.3 trillion US Dollars are spent globally on Research and Development in 2019. More shockingly, it still takes pharmaceuticals approximately 15 years to bring a drug to the market - despite the given funds. What if we told you there was a way to reduce not just costs but also time by up to 25%?

‍

Math, Physics, Chemistry... Chances are high, it is one of these subjects that embodies the source of all evil for many students. The vast majority of parents who want to help their children excel in school and connect them with a private tutor are financially unable to do so. Enlight Ed CEO Artur Lorincz and CCO Sartou Djibril are dedicated to put an end to students falling behind in the curriculum solely because of the lack of access to educational help. Antler Amsterdam's Yingzhao Zhu got to chat with Artur and Sartou about their leading-edge approach to ending this battle of frustration.

‍

If you were told that something as elementary, yet complex, as data has pushed oil from its throne as the world's most valuable resource, would you believe it? Data has indeed become such an essential part of our everyday lives that it is impossible for many to envision a world without it. Self-driving cars, diagnostic in medicine, security systems -  they all rely on labeling data so it can be interpreted and decisions can be made accordingly. But what does data labeling actually mean? Put simply, it means that a computer is able to tell a dog apart from a car in images. Applied to medicine, this could mean that the computer was previously told what cancerous cells look like. Later, it is able to detect similar cells in new patients without the time-consuming manual reviews. The greatest challenge with data labeling is the unfathomable volume that it comes in. But no need to despair, LabelFuse is coming to the rescue, so beware.

‍

Liz Kaelin is an entrepreneur in the second Sydney program. Here's her advice for others who are about to join.

In June 2019, 71 exceptional individuals, representing 32 different nationalities, were carefully selected to join our first program in London. After just 2 months we invested £1.56 million in 13 different companies that were generated in that program, 30% of which have a female co-founder. At our first London Demo Day, these companies pitched in front of a full house of 400 investors at the iconic Royal Institution in Mayfair.

During the day, we also had the pleasure to invite Reshma Sohoni, founder and managing director at SeedCamp, for a fireside chat together with our CEO and founder Magnus Grimeland. Moderated by Amy Lewin from Sifted, they shared their insights on the European startup and venture capital scene, how it has evolved in the last few years and what's to come. Get a first glimpse at the 13 companies below.

"You have 3 months to start your company from scratch. You have to find your co-founder, pick a problem, and validate your solution with customers. If all  goes well, you'll get 3 more months to complete building your MVP and generate traction before you pitch to investors. Ready? Go!"

In a global partnership, Antler is taking part in the Annual Investment Committee (AIM) Dubai summit in March. 6 Antler locations will hold a local startup pitch competition calling on all our portfolio companies in specific sectors.

Adam Ross is an entrepreneur participating in Antler's second Sydney program. Here's what he learned from participating in Design Sprints.

Sydney entrepreneur and PhD candidate Snow Li discusses what it was like to form new bonds in Week 1 of the Antler program

Back in August 2019, 98 carefully selected founders were brought together to embark on their startup journey. This diverse group of people from 22 nations, and experience from more than 30 industries and academia, along with a female representation of 35%, all had one thing in common - the desire to create impact and build their own new venture.

Global startup generator and early-stage venture capital firm Antler and the National University of Singapore (NUS), via the Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP), has launched an Executive Programme to enable more entrepreneurs to build successful deep tech startups. The bespoke six-month part-time programme will combine the best of both organisations including platforms, funding and ecosystems.

‍

21% of Antler Sydney's second cohort have previously exited a company as a founder or executive.

81 of Australia's most entrepreneurial tech and commercial leaders are ready to build the next wave of tech.

The group of companies invested in the third Singapore program drive disruption in e.g., B2B SaaS, e-commerce, GreenTech, PropTech and HealthTech.

Many of us struggle to maintain boundaries from our work and our personal life. We discussed this with mindfulness expert Johanna Dahlman about how you can make sure you stick to your boundaries as 2020 get's underway.

Here we are, 2020. New year, new decade, new you right? Your resolution this year is the same as every year, to eat healthier and have a better diet. You've got the brown rice, chicken and green veg meal prepped for the next month and you're feeling good that you're going to stick to it this year. Thing is...What if that brown rice, chicken and veg is actually not responding well with your body?

‍

People join Antler for many different reasons, but all come in with a common goal, "I want to build". In an era powered by the internet when successes all look the same, the initial steps of early-stage startups are one of it's most inspiring parts. Podcaster, Alex Chisnall sat down with 5 Antler entrepreneurs from Amsterdam on their motivations and entrepreneurial journeys in the latest episode of his "Screw it, just do it" podcast.

‍

Big companies, small companies, political parties - everybody spends large  amounts of money on digital advertising every day, trying to increase their  brand awareness and sales. However, some of them should not have to, given  that they already have large, loyal communities that are happy to support  their cause for free - yet they don't. Why is that?

‍

As the medical field keeps evolving with new emerging technologies, the future of medical care is prepared for constant and rapid change with advancements poised to make the industry even more human-focused than it is currently. Better trained physicians, improved accuracy in disease targeting coupled with improving medical standards globally have rendered most diseases no longer life-threatening.

‍

In the coming weeks, we will be introducing our first Amsterdam cohort's startups. Today we will hear from the founders of RespiQ, a startup that is building a cutting edge, patent-pending technology based on proven science.

‍