Antler
How to get into Antler according to the founders who pulled it off
Our take
Best if you are a solo founder who wants a cofounder and a first pre-seed check, and can commit full time in an Antler hub city. A weak trade if you have a team and traction, or won't give up 10 to 12% for a check the program fee shrinks.
Acceptance
~5%
Equity
10-12%
Funding
$100-190K
Duration
3-6 months
Stage
Pre-Seed
HQ
Singapore
We asked the founders how Antler really went.
Every interview behind this page is one we ran ourselves. The numbers and quotes come straight from founders who went through Antler, in their own words.
Who Antler is for, and who should skip it.
Best for
- You are a solo founder and want structured help meeting a cofounder you can actually build with
- You want a first pre-seed check and the credibility that comes with Antler backing you
- You can go full time and base yourself in one of Antler's cohort cities for a few months
- You are early and coachable, happy to find or reshape your idea inside the program
Skip it if
- You already have a cofounder, a team, and traction, and only need capital
- You do not want to give up 10 to 12% of your equity for a pre-seed check
- You cannot commit full time or relocate for the length of the cohort
- You want the whole check to reach your company without a program fee taken out
What it's actually like at Antler
Antler does not start with your idea. It starts with a room. You arrive in one of its cohort cities, get added to a Slack channel, and walk into a space with seventy to ninety strangers, and the first few weeks are a sprint to find the cofounder you will build with. The program runs cofounder matchmaking like speed dating, and the faster you pair off, the more time you have to build something real before the investment committee at the end.
The pace is the point. Founders describe an intense stretch of activities, workshops, and weekly presentations where you read people's working styles on the fly and figure out who you can stand to build a company with. Vasileios Nikolaou, who cofounded Luca Health out of the UK program, described the opening.
You're dropped into a room with 60-70 strangers and you have to dive in, introduce yourself, and read work ethics, interests, and culture compatibility almost on the spot.
Every week, teams present their progress to the room, partners included, and the feedback lands as a one-way verdict rather than a discussion. Johannes von Gottberg, who built the fintech Amply after meeting his cofounders through Antler, was candid about how that feels.
It's not a back-and-forth, it's a one-way stream of insights aimed at sharpening your thinking. It can sting, but it works.
Nobody holds your hand through any of it. The coaches, the weekly sessions, and the global network are there, but the founders who got the most out of Antler were the ones who chased it down. Thomas Scholte, who cofounded the culinary marketplace Sous at twenty five, put the value squarely on plain hustle.
I was the first one in, the last one out. I made it my mission to connect with every one of the 50 people in the cohort.
What you give, and what the check is really worth
The headline numbers are straightforward. Antler invests roughly $100,000 to $190,000 for 10 to 12% of your company, with the exact figure depending on the city you join. It is not a grant or a prize. Antler becomes a shareholder in your business from day one, and the equity is gone for good.
The part founders flag is the program fee, which comes out of that headline before the cash ever reaches you. Norbert Herrmann, who built the stadium-delivery startup Liively in Australia, did the math out loud.
Antler puts in $190,000 as pre-seed, but $70k of that is the platform fee covering their team, resources, and operations. So you really have $120,000 to work with.
Founders across cohorts told the same story, with the program or participation fee often around 30% of the figure on the term sheet. Many followed the first check with a small follow-on round, often near $25,000, and Antler can keep investing through its later-stage fund if a company performs. Aaron Deutsch, who cofounded the kids-activity marketplace Kidly, told prospective founders to go in clear-eyed.
you're giving up a meaningful slice of the company for a set amount of capital, and that capital may not stretch as far as you'd think.
What the deal really buys is two things at once, a cofounder you found inside the program and a first check with Antler's name on it. For founders coming in cold, with no startup network, that combination is the draw, and several said the credibility ended up mattering more than the cash.
How founders actually got in
Most founders did not find Antler through a cold application. They saw a LinkedIn ad, got a warm introduction from an investor, or met the team at an event, and went from there. The process itself is quick, an online form followed by three to five interviews, usually starting with the team or an associate and ending with a partner or the program director. Some cohorts add a practical business case, and a few founders even sat an IQ test. Across the most competitive cities, only around 5% of applicants get in.
The interviews are not really about the idea. Antler is reading the founder, the background, the motivation, and whether you can work inside a team under pressure. Plenty of founders pitched one idea and walked out building something completely different. Vuong Hoang, who cofounded the relationship-wellness app DearAimii, kept his advice simple.
There's no special trick. Be yourself and be honest. You don't need to oversell your idea or yourself.
What the founders said actually helps you get in, in their own words.
- Walk in with a clear idea and test the concept first, even though they care more about you than the pitch
- Be authentic, and understand why each question is being asked, not only what it asks
- Study other founders' pitch decks on YouTube to see what a strong one looks like
- Know Antler's criteria cold and prepare the specific discussion topics they send ahead of time
- Be honest, passionate, and true to yourself
One more edge came up again and again. A warm introduction from someone who has already been through Antler goes a lot further than applying cold, so if you know an alum, lean on them.
The founders we talked to.
Alumni include Pemo, Civils.ai, Glints, StashAway, Sampingan.
Want the mentorship without the accelerator?
An accelerator's real value is the people who have done it before. GrowthMentor gives you that on its own. Unlimited 1:1 calls with founders and operators, from $50 a month, no equity, no cohort and no 10% to give up.
RecommendedFormat
Live 1:1 calls, on demand- Antler
- 3-6 month cohort, cofounder matchmaking
Cost
$50-150/mo, no equity- Antler
- $100-190K for 10-12% equity
Time to value
Same day- Antler
- 3-6 months
Commitment
None, cancel anytime- Antler
- Full-time, relocate to a hub city
Selectivity
Open to every member- Antler
- ~5% accepted
The network
750+ vetted operators- Antler
- Global network across 27 cities
What you get
The right person for each problem- Antler
- A cofounder and pre-seed capital
From $50 a month · no equity.
Questions founders ask about Antler.
Around 5%, and steeper in the most competitive cohorts, where some founders reported well under 1%. Selection runs across three to five interviews, first with the team and then with partners, and it weighs who you are as a founder more than a polished idea.
Usually 10 to 12%, in exchange for a check of roughly $100,000 to $190,000 depending on the city. A program or participation fee comes out of that, often near 30%, so the cash that actually reaches your company is meaningfully smaller than the headline figure.
Antler is built around cofounder matchmaking. You join as an individual, spend the first few weeks in speed-dating style sessions finding a partner whose skills complement yours, validate an idea together, then pitch the investment committee for a pre-seed check. Only a handful of teams per cohort get funded.
Three to six months depending on the location, with founders describing a core run of roughly two and a half to three intense months from team formation through the investment committee, after which most startups operate on their own.
It depends on where you start. If you are a solo founder who needs a cofounder, a first check, and the credibility of Antler's name, founders said the matchmaking and the network are hard to find elsewhere. If you already have a team and traction, giving up 10 to 12% for a check that shrinks after fees is a weaker trade.
