From around the world to MENAP: Antler's first Riyadh residency

Driven people on impressive trajectories are taking up the challenge to launch their startups with Antler in MENAP from day zero.

Our inaugural MENAP residency in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) launched in September, welcoming 92 exceptional founders handpicked from over 3,000 applicants. Through our three-month, in-person program, we are enabling driven entrepreneurs to find their co-founder, validate their startup idea, and secure their first investment of $180K for 11% of equity.

Let's take a closer look at our founders' backgrounds, and what motivated them to build with Antler in MENAP.

Seasoned founders ready to build again

Endeavor studies reveal that former employees of high-growth companies make excellent scale-up founders—80% of the top unicorn founders they surveyed have either worked for another startup or founded another business, prior to launching their top-valued unicorn company. 

Our first residency cohort in MENAP reflects these traits—68% of our founders have founded at least one company before joining Antler, half of whom are serial founders who started at least two companies. They range from experienced founders with track records of startup exits to managers in established corporations to young builders who have been innovating and developing products since age 14. 

Antler's first founders in MENAP have raised VC funding, but are also comfortable bootstrapping. Forty-eight percent previously raised funds from VCs, angels, and institutional investors and the rest bootstrapped their businesses.

Sixteen percent of those who previously founded companies have exited, with a total exit valuation of $293 million. 

Impressive spike and expertise

Our inaugural MENAP founders have diverse spike backgrounds that lead to fruitful co-founder matching. Forty percent of the cohort has tech expertise to build products themselves. Forty-two percent of the cohort has commercial expertise, leading sales, operations, product, partnerships, fundraising, and more in companies including Careem, Uber, and others.

Eighteen percent of our founders are considered domain experts—people with a deep understanding of a sector—coming from a range of industries. Some have PhDs in AI and machine learning, while others have deep professional experience in industries such as healthcare, financial services, and space technology. 

A cosmopolitan cohort, assembled from around the world

International talent is attracted to building startups in KSA, motivated by the rapid growth of innovation in the region. Our first Riyadh cohort reflects this: founders from 34 nationalities and four continents are building with Antler, with more than one third of founders relocating to MENAP to join the residency. Our MENAP team's local expertise paired with Antler's global, growing network across six continents are big motivators for founders to relocate to the region.

Founder nationalities 

Experienced professionals with a global view

Endeavor's Founder Pathways: Where Do Unicorns Come From? highlights that international work experience, founding other startups, and being employees of high-growth companies prior to launching a top-valued unicorn company are key indicators for enterprise success—qualities possessed by most founders in our first Riyadh cohort.

Our inaugural group of MENAP founders have 12 years of average work experience, and many of them have worked in global environments. Eighty-nine percent of our founders have worked in more than one country. They are industry experts across multiple fields, including machine learning, last mile delivery, and space technology.

Years of work experience

Over two thirds of founders have led teams of 10+ people previously. Over a quarter of founders have led teams of 100+ individuals, enabling them to hone strong leadership skills over the course of their careers.

Team sizes previously managed by founders

Our inaugural MENAP founders bring a wealth of experience from established companies. Some of our founders have also achieved success in the corporate world before deciding to pursue their own entrepreneurial ventures. Below is a list of select companies our founders have worked for or founded, along with some of their alma maters.

In search of co-founder matching and pre-seed funding

When asked why they joined Antler's residency in MENAP, founders cited four top reasons: co-founder matching, pre-seed investment and terms, building with a like-minded community, and Antler's global network—our unique offering that addresses common founder pain points from day zero.

Top reasons founders joined Antler in MENAP

Serial founders—who typically understand what is critical to succeed in entrepreneurship—were most strongly aligned on their reasons for joining Antler. They prioritized pre-seed investment and co-founder matching and significantly valued pre-seed investment and terms more than founders who started less than two companies (29% versus 18%). 

For the remainder of their time in residency, founders will continue working on their venture idea, getting coached by venture partners and the Antler team, and presenting to our investment committee in early December. Selected teams will receive their first investment of $180K for 11% of equity. It’s an exciting time to be building in the MENAP region and we are delighted to be supporting these exceptional founders as they continue on their path from day zero to greatness.

Interested in building a game-changing company with Antler in MENAP? Learn more about our residency.