Insight
Early-stage VC returns depend entirely on top founder access
“If you want to deliver tremendous returns in early stage venture capital, number one thing you need is access to the best people. It doesn't matter if you're an amazing decision maker if you don't have access.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Antler receives more applicants than Harvard, Stanford, and MIT combined
“We get more applicants now in a year than Harvard, Stanford, and MIT combined.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Antler's portfolio achieves a 5.3x MOIC after four years
“And we see quite interesting linear trajectory on MIC growth in our portfolio. After four years, about 5.3 X, and it's increasing quite linear towards that.”
Disclosure
Antler allocates 75% of carry locally and 25% globally
“If you run, for example, India, or if you run the Nordics, if you run the US now, 75% of the carry goes to the partners who run it. And then we put 25% of the carry into global pool, which is shared with everyone.”
Insight
Mental resilience beats athletic pedigree in military selection
“There were people there who were Norwegian champion in this, world champion in that, incredibly athletic individuals who lasted much shorter than people who were just determined to succeed. And the ones who really made it all the way to the end were people wit…”
Insight
E-commerce value proposition relies on execution, not the core product
“If you think about building an e-commerce company, whether it's fashion or any other thing that you're selling, the core product that you're selling is a very small part of the value proposition. What you're ultimately building is an executional machine. You'r…”
Disclosure
Antler selected roughly 2,000 founders from 131,000 applicants in 2023
“We look for amazing founders, and last year we got a 131,000 applicants from founders who want to work with us, who applied to come into one of our programs across 27 operating locations across the globe, plus three other offices where we have support networks…”
Assertion Partly supported
Seventy percent of US unicorns have an immigrant co-founder
“So for example, in the US, I think 70% of unicorns have A first or second generation immigrant co-founder.”
Insight
Teams built around spiky founders outperform teams of generalists
“Most founders tend to be really great at one or two things, and they leverage that strength, and they know that strength, and they build a team of people around them who have different strengths. That ultimately creates a much higher performing team, that a te…”
Insight
Exceptional teams trump great ideas in early-stage venture capital
“If you have an exceptional team where the ID still needs work and the product still needs work, you can still back them. If you have an exceptional ID, but we figure out the team is not AAA, top notch, you tend not to back them because so early on, IDs still r…”
Assertion Supported
a16z's first Norway and YC's first Vietnam deals were Antler startups
“So I think for example, Andreas and Horowitz first investments in Norway was an antler company. White Combinator's first investment in Vietnam was an antler company.”
Insight
Fixed cohorts outperform rolling admissions due to peer pressure dynamics
“So there's all this human psychology into how a cohort works, which you can't replicate through a rolling program. So even if it logically makes sense, the outcomes ended up being worse. We tried it, I think, six times in total. So that's equivalent to three y…”
Insight
The geographic time lag for startup model replication has collapsed
“There used to be a time where you'd see something happening in China, let's say, and then a few years later, you'd see it in Southeast Asia, or you'd see something happen in the US, and then a couple of years later, you see it in Europe. The cadence behind tha…”
Insight
Early-stage VC requires local presence, while late-stage does not
“Unless you're there on the ground and you have teams on the ground, you won't be able to capture. And the earlier you go, the more important that is. Later stage, you actually can make investments from other locations because you're much more looking at the bu…”
Disclosure
Antler refuses to lead follow-on rounds in its own portfolio
“When you look at us doing a series A deal into our own portfolio, we decided to put a few principles in place to avoid any conflict of interest. So first of all, we don't lead rounds into our own portfolio. So there are many multi-stage funds that could lead a…”
Assertion Supported
Southeast Asia had only $200M in annual VC when Zalora launched
“So, in a year, when I decided to leave McKinsey, two hundred million dollars a year was put into venture in Southeast Asia, which is a population of six hundred million, very fast growing.”
Assertion Contradicted
Five or six Stockholm unicorns were founded by Spotify alumni
“You go to Stockholm today, and there's five or six unicorns that came out of Spotify.”
Disclosure
Antler makes around 400 pre-seed investments per year
“We make about 400 investments per year. We lead pre-seed rounds, and then we have follow on capital to pack the very best founders in their subsequent rounds to concentrate capital in the winners.”
Disclosure
Antler invests $250k upfront for roughly 9% equity in the US
“So for example, in the US, we invest then In cash for about nine percent equity. And then we put in another 250 K commitment for their follow on round in total of 500 K commitment, but 250 K coming in up front. And it's only us doing that round.”
Disclosure
Antler raises 40% of its capital centrally and 60% locally
“About 40% of the capital raised globally. It's raised through a global capital team, and the rest we raised locally.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Grimeland survived selection rate of 1% for Norwegian Special Forces
“So I think we were about a thousand people who tried out for the Special Forces when I was there. After about half a year of selection, we were 10 people left.”
