Antler backs the world’s most driven founders, from day zero to greatness. In our vibrant tech hubs we bring together exceptional founders from all backgrounds to build companies that move the world forward.
We’re looking for experienced business operators, technologists, or serial entrepreneurs who can motivate themselves and others to join their mission to build a game-changing business. Whether you’re an individual or a team at the early stages of a startup journey, we are here to help as a partner obsessed with your success. Become part of the top 2% of selected entrepreneurs in your region and elevate your entrepreneurial journey with us.
Join us in Amsterdam, Berlin, or Munich. The next cohort starts March 31, 2025. You get 3 months of free office space after the conclusion of the residency. Antler will continue supporting you and your venture even after.
Antler welcomes applications from founders at the very beginning of their startup journey — this can range from pre-idea to a running company with initial traction.
Residency for individual founders extends over 11 weeks. We support individual founders through a network of hand-selected peers (and potential co-founders), idea validation, dedicated expert sparring sessions, access to the world’s largest-growing community of like-minded entrepreneurs, and a clear pathway to a first cheque (€300k investment commitment at Day Zero in two tranches of €100k for 10% without dilution protection and €200k converting at the valuation of your next round).
Completed teams with an idea at hand are also welcome to join Antler residency. Teams are generally at the stage of validating their idea, building the early product, or having gained initial traction. Here we also stay very close to the team and provide for example dedicated expert sparring sessions, industry connections, and a strong global network of VCs and angels to access funding at the right time. This residency runs in parallel to the one with individual founders but is a bit shorter with a potential Investment Committee meeting already in Week 7 (€300k investment commitment at Day Zero in two tranches of €100k for 10% without dilution protection and €200k converting at the valuation of your next round).
From day one, we provide access to an unrivaled set of co-founders, strong ecosystem, network and expertise to support exceptional founders building what will define tomorrow. Having invested in hundreds of companies and worked with thousands of entrepreneurs, we know what works and what doesn't. This helps us better support our founders and help maximize their chances of success.
We start with venture development and testing your startup hypotheses. You will be surrounded 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, and perks from partners and a global network.
Start talking to customers, develop your MVP, refine your business model, and develop your go-to-market strategy. You will get the opportunity to pitch your startup to Antler’s Investment Committee. If successful, Antler will commit €300,000 at Day Zero. The first €100K is in return for 10% of the business with no dilution protection. The other €200K is a binding commitment (signed at Day Zero) to the startup’s pre-seed funding round within the following months at the round’s terms. As a reference, in recent residencies, we have typically invested in one-third of the teams that made it to IC.
You will join the Antler portfolio and receive continued support and access to a global capital pathway.
Antler is the most active day-zero investor in the world with a strong European footprint
Portfolio companies in Europe
Average years of work experience of founders working with Antler
Third-party capital raised by Antler’s Netherlands portfolio
Portfolio companies have at least one female 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.
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.
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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.
Don't just take it from us. Hear from phenomenal people who joined Antler to launch their company.
Mira Gleisberg
RespiQ
Antler acted as a platform that allowed me to combine the two things I am truly passionate about: Healthcare and business.
Valentin Kassarnig
SoSha
Many decisions are made in uncertainty that define the outcome of your company. Antler gives me the support needed to make those decisions.
Julia Wadehn
Novo
All of the positive expectations that I had regarding Antler became true. I love the hands-on approach of the Antler team, directly helping you tackle the problems you identify, rather than focusing just on theory. It feels that the team is with us on the entire journey from 0 to 1.
Misha Bragin
netbird
Each individual I meet, I understand why they are in the cohort. Being surrounded by these founders, and the support that is given from the Antler team from day one makes it much easier to move forward. They're here with you. They want you to succeed and they do everything in their power to do for you and your company to succeed.
There has never been a better time to start a business. The barrier to entry is lower than ever, and the dynamic economy provides endless opportunities to the spirited entrepreneur. Join Antler and get started.
Meet the Antler Continental Europe Team
Alan Poensgen, now Partner at Antler, formerly co-founder at Westwing, a pan-European home & living e-commerce business, where he spent seven years as part of the executive team and saw the company go public in 2018. He also led a Southeast Asian e-commerce venture backed by Rocket Internet, NEA and others and was part of the early Rocket Internet core team based out of Berlin building out their global product development teams.
Ronald Jan is an experienced operator, entrepreneur and investor, with expertise in a.o. e-commerce, fintech and healthtech. He has spent over a decade with various C-level roles in tech startups including Rocket Internet and Delivery Hero. Previously he has been a strategy consultant at Booz & Co and an investment banker at ABN Amro. INSEAD educated.
As Partner in Central Europe, Christoph supports exceptional entrepreneurs along their journey - from entering into a cohort to building and scaling their ventures successfully. He draws on his background as Business Angel and Partner with McKinsey & Company. Before joining Antler he served a range of leading technology organizations, amongst others from the mobility and transportation space, on disruptive strategy and building innovative business models. Building and nurturing top talent organizations is one of his key passions and a great source of inspiration for Christoph.
Antoine is a partner at Antler France. He was previously a partner at Antler's London office. Antoine was also the cofounder, chairman and COO of StanPlus Tech, a VC backed startup leading the change in the Indian medical transportation market. Before his MBA at INSEAD, Antoine spent 8 years at Areva, the World Nuclear Energy leader and a growing OEM in Renewable Energy.
Saskia started her career at BCG in Recruitment, and Egon Zehnder (Executive Search), after which she joined UBER and helped scale their Eats & Rides businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Her most recent role has been with OYO, a Softbank-backed hospitality company, where she helped launch their European business from scratch. At Antler, Saskia has an integral role in scouting founders both for the Amsterdam team but also supporting teams throughout Europe.
Dr. Saskia Appelhoffis a global marketer, entrepreneur and growth leader with 15 years of experience covering all areas of marketing. Saskia has worked internationally across Europe and USA focusing on growing teams and efficiently scaling businesses. Passionate about building purpose-driven brands and companies. Advising start-up focusing on Food & Health Tech and sustainability. Previous brands that she has worked for include Zalando, raisin, SmileDirectClub, Outfittery, Wooga, navabi, blablacar among others.
Niko was previously a partner at McKinsey, where he was a core member of the Retail & Consumer Goods Practice and led the store ops practice in EMEA. He left McKinsey in 2019 to build his own business, eagle lsp, a legal service provider focusing on tech-enabled, scalable solution in mass litigation and e-Discovery. His first Angel investments include successful Y-Combinator applications.
Frederik is an Associate Partner at Antler based out of Berlin. After kickstarting his career at the BCG, he worked as an operator and investor and decided to now follow his passion and focus on investing in the venture space. Having studied Philosophy and Management in Hamburg, London & Barcelona and working in a big variety of different fields - from football clubs to FemTech - he’s a generalist at heart and incredibly eager to support founding teams from day 0.
Matteo is a former entrepreneur and an experienced professional in consultancy and recruitment. After a BSc in Economics and Management from Bocconi University and an MSc in Finance from VU Amsterdam, Matteo started his career in Huxley as a Recruitment Consultant for tech and financial roles within banking and fintech organizations mostly in the Netherlands and Italy. His passion for startups and innovations led him to create his own AI startup in the hr-tech domain, bynd.ai, and to start working alongside founders to support them on their journey.
With a degree from WU Vienna and a strong foundation in the startup ecosystem, she has previously played pivotal roles in driving strategic growth and expansion. Through her positions at N26, Trade Republic, and FORMEL Skin, she has gained extensive exposure to various verticals, allowing her to develop a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in driving startup success. Now she will leverage her skills and collaborate with the exceptional founders who are joining us at Antler. Besides that, she is passionate about creating social impact by working with different NGOs in her spare time.
Job’s career unfolded through internships at ASML, Kempen, and Torqx Capital Partners. He holds a double Master’s degree in Applied Physics and Management Engineering (cum laude) from TU Delft, with an honours term in Artificial Intelligence at Stanford. During this term, he played a pivotal role in the inception of an AI startup in Silicon Valley. In addition to giving several guest lectures on AI, his curiosity regularly leads him digging into all sorts of domains, from deep tech to B2B SaaS to consumer.
Sophie is the Operations & Outreach Associate at Antler in France, responsible for increasing visibility and sourcing top founders. Previously, she was a Digital Transformation consultant at McKinsey and developed her marketing strategy expertise at Société Générale and EY. She holds a degree in Digital Strategy and Business from ESSEC and ESCP Business School.
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Elisabeth is the Finance Associate at Antler in France. She oversees all matters linked to the funds and finance function. She previously worked as a Head of Finance for a french food tech company and coupled her expertise by exercising the role of a VC analyst in a french impact fund.
Lara is part of the Investment Team at Antler based out of Berlin. Before joining Antler, she spent two years in Copenhagen where next to her studies at Copenhagen Business School, she gained hands-on experience working for an e-Mobility start-up GreenMobility. Before moving to Copenhagen, Lara completed her Bachelor's degree in Berlin and worked for a global mobility service provider Sixt Leasing SE. She also built up her skills and knowledge in strategic consulting at RITTERWALD Consulting, where she helped clients solve complex strategic and operational problems and improve their performance. In her free time, Lara enjoys cooking and is a passionate traveller.
As Capital Director Fabian is responsible for securing capital and manages investor relations in the DACH-region. Previously he spent significant time within the media company Bertelsmann´s German advertising sales business. In his last role he led operations for a number of industry sectors as well as brands. Fabian graduated from University of St. Gallen with a Masters in International Affairs and Governance.
Throughout our residencies, successful entrepreneurs have shared their insights and experiences with our founders, offering valuable mentorship !
Read our latest insights and stories about our phenomenal founders.
“How much can I realistically raise?” I hear this question a lot from our founders. The answer is especially tough for the very first funding rounds before a lot has been built. The spread in the pre-seed and seed rounds is massive. Some teams can raise millions with nothing but a pitch deck, while others struggle to close a hundred thousand euros from angel investors.
Since we are usually the very first investors, we discuss this a lot with our founders. So, I have come up with a simplified framework to give some directional guidance. The framework is most certainly not scientific and you will find exceptions all over the place, but I believe it is directionally right for the Berlin Ecosystem in 2023. So let’s dig into it.
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12 MINUTES with Antler founders gives a closer look into the journey of founders toward successfully building their ventures. Every first Wednesday of the month Alan Poensgen, Antler Partner in Germany, sits down with a founder of an Antler portfolio company and talks about their time at Antler, the team formation, the ideation process, and more.
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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.
Our baby, UpMarket, is already two months old. It’s been an incredible experience from the point I joined Antler as a founder, only a few months ago, to now being ready to go live with our product and first customer. In this article I will share my experience on the rollercoaster that started with an idea I originally came up with during dinner.
"The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination." —John H. Schaar
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As everyone anticipates the next wave of ultra-successful companies in Benelux, what does it take to get there? What do the successful founders of Benelux unicorns look like? This report is an in-depth look at the Benelux startup ecosystem and its brightest stars. And above all, it is for anyone who is helping build the next 50 unicorns in Benelux.
Meet Piet Hein van Dam, co-founder of Clear, who is using data—not pills—to help millions of people with type 2 diabetes eliminate the disease within three months.
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.
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.
We are neither an accelerator nor an incubator, we’re a day-zero investor. We help founders brainstorm, develop and validate ideas and start scaling their start-ups with us. Additionally, we continue to support our founders throughout their whole start-up journey.
Day zero investing means backing founders from the very beginning—whether it’s pre-team or even pre-idea—and continuing to support them on their company’s journey. We are there when a founder is at the starting line, when everything is possible and nothing is certain. When they have made the life-changing decision to take the leap and build a company, leaving conventional career paths behind. When their belief, passion, and drive are often the only things fueling them. And we are still there after we make our first investment, as a long-term partner providing advice, introductions, resources, and follow-on funding—all the way to their exit.
We are industry agnostic. We invest in exceptional people building scalable companies. However, we do not invest in alcohol, tobacco or gambling.
Our industry partners may provide problem statements they would like to solve, and the Antler team and mentors will help find the right area and business model to work in, but we don’t believe in providing ready-made ideas for you to work on. Ultimately this will be up to you and your co-founder(s)!
Yes. Please consider your current notice period, plus the personal and financial investment starting a business requires.
Yes. We fully believe in meeting each other in person to develop meaningful relationships. You can incorporate your company anywhere.
No, you don't. Some founders have a clear idea of what they want to build, however, most join us with areas of interest and expertise they then start to explore.
Our terms are non-negotiable. Any further investment would be distinct from Antler’s investment and subject to new terms.
Every cohort member in Berlin and Munich receives a EUR 1,000 grant.
Depending on the kind of residency you are opting for, we have different requirements. During the main 7/11-week program, we require your physical presence in our Amsterdam, Berlin, or Munich offices.
Yes, we even encourage this. However, we require you to work from the same location for a significant amount of time.
We will facilitate virtual meet-ups with additional optional meetings in person. You will also work in the same virtual workspaces and be in one community Slack channel.
Besides working alongside like-minded founders, you’ll spend your time developing and iterating on your ideas, conducting customer discovery and research, beta testing as quickly as possible, and building your product roadmap and go-to-market strategy The Antler team will provide guidance and sparring sessions, organize challenges, social sessions, and speaker series with industry experts, coaches, and successful founders. At the end of the program, teams present to our Investment Committee.
Most Antler teams consist of two to three co-founders.
Antler specialises in bringing the most exceptional people together and enabling them to build a great startup. Our cohort members are often pre-team, pre-idea and pre-funding. Furthermore, we promote diversity at every level: background, career stage and skills.
Yes, but only one location at a time will consider your application.
Antler has more than 1,000+ companies in its portfolio.
We select between 50 to 70 exceptional founders from over 4,000 candidates on average per residency. We select the top 2% of applicants, which allows us to maintain a high-standard residency with outstanding individuals.
We empower exceptional people to turn their visions into reality—tackling pressing problems, creating jobs, and unlocking their personal potential. Our founders are supported by an unrivalled network of experts and advisors from around the globe. As the world’s issues become more complex, founders are more needed than ever to solve them. What are you waiting for?
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