Build your company with Antler

Apply to Antler in the Nordics to start your next company! As Europe's most active early-stage investor, we invest in the most driven founders working on groundbreaking ideas. No founder is too early for Antler. With a global platform and thriving community of 1,000+ portfolio companies, we support exceptional founders from day zero to greatness.

Antler's Baltic branch is part of Antler in the Nordics, where we run integrated offline residences in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Apply to Antler in the NordicsLearn more
* For the September residency, French founders will need to relocate to Amsterdam, Berlin, or Munich.

Join an upcoming AMA session

  • Funding for your startup in just 5 weeks
  • Get your first cheque from a global VC

Who is Antler for?

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 their journey, we are here to help as a partner obsessed with your success.

Apply to Antler in the Nordics

Individuals

Looking for a co-founder?
Start Date: March 2025

Are you an individual ready to start something new, and looking for the right co-founder?

Antler brings together an exclusive group of ambitious people to explore ideas together. Meet, learn, and co-create with exceptional builders. Join us to turn your vision into reality.

Teams

Already have the dream team?
Start Date: Rolling Intake

Do you already have a team and are ready to start building? Joining Antler gives you the opportunity to build alongside like-minded, ambitious founders.

Build long-lasting relationships, gain access to coaching, network resources, investor introductions, and valuable support—regardless of your idea’s stage.

Apply to Antler in the Nordics

Supporting founders from day zero

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Team Formation and Idea Validation

The 12 first weeks of the Residency are designed for you to team up with your new co-founder(s) and validate your ideas. Our residency team organizes speaking engagements and workshops with industry experts, team challenges, idea sprints, and sparring sessions.

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Build your company

Start talking to customers, develop your MVP, refine your business model, and develop your go-to-market strategy alongside our expert coaches.

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Pitch to Antler’s Investment Committee

Teams deemed ready will pitch to our Investment Committee comprising partners from the Antler in Finland team, external local investors, and partners from Antler's global team. The Investment Committee votes on which teams receive an investment.

Platform to accelerate growth and fundraising

Antler invests through series C and beyond. When joining the portfolio, you are matched with a dedicated partner coach and portfolio team that will support you with fundraising strategy, investor intros, business development, hiring and access to talent, and connecting you to a network of hundreds of experts advisors to help you scale.

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Delighted to have Supertrends as an Antler insights partner in the Nordics.

Application process

The full application process takes about two 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.

Drive or pitch interview

This is an introductory talk where we get to know you or your idea better to determine whether our residency would be an ideal fit for you.

Drive interview

Be ready to speak about yourself, your background, skills, and motivations to join our next Antler residency in Finland.

Pitch interview

If you are applying with an existing idea that you want to bring into the residency, be prepared to present it to us. Present your pitch deck or show us a demo of your MVP, if you already have one. We will use the remaining time to ask you questions about your idea and team, but also to answer your burning questions about what a collaboration with—and ultimately an investment from—Antler could look like.

Partner interview

This is the second and final interview stage to join an Antler in Finland Residency. Meet with one of our partners in Finland to go into more detail about your background, idea, and motivation to join an Antler residency. This stage will take place whether you applied as an individual with or without an idea, or as an existing team in its early stages.

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Application process

The full application process takes about two 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.

Drive or pitch interview

This is an introductory talk where we get to know you or your idea better to determine whether our residency would be an ideal fit for you.

Drive interview

Be ready to speak about yourself, your background, skills, and motivations to join our next Antler residency in Finland.

Pitch interview

If you are applying with an existing idea that you want to bring into the residency, be prepared to present it to us. Present your pitch deck or show us a demo of your MVP, if you already have one. We will use the remaining time to ask you questions about your idea and team, but also to answer your burning questions about what a collaboration with—and ultimately an investment from—Antler could look like.

Partner interview

This is the second and final interview stage to join an Antler in Finland Residency. Meet with one of our partners in Finland to go into more detail about your background, idea, and motivation to join an Antler residency. This stage will take place whether you applied as an individual with or without an idea, or as an existing team in its early stages.

Decision meeting

After the two interview stages, we hold a final meeting to decide whether to extend you an offer to join the upcoming Antler in Finland Residency.

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Application process

The full application process takes about two 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.

Drive or pitch interview

This is an introductory talk where we get to know you or your idea better to determine whether our residency would be an ideal fit for you.

Drive interview

Be ready to speak about yourself, your background, skills, and motivations to join our next Antler residency in Finland.

Pitch interview

If you are applying with an existing idea that you want to bring into the residency, be prepared to present it to us. Present your pitch deck or show us a demo of your MVP, if you already have one. We will use the remaining time to ask you questions about your idea and team, but also to answer your burning questions about what a collaboration with—and ultimately an investment from—Antler could look like.

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Antler-funded founders have gone on to raise investments from other leading VCs and accelerators.

Founder testimonials

Jose Tavares

Zupply

As a startup founder in a new country like Denmark, Antler was the perfect door opener. They helped me find a co-founder team and gave us the investment to kickstart our startup, Zupply. Since joining them, we have received great support to build and grow our sustainability company.

Stephanie Darvill

Going into Antler, I said to myself, there is nothing to lose, worst case scenario I will learn a huge amount and expand my network, best-case scenario I will meet my co-founders, find the business idea I'm passionate about and found a company. The best case happened but it really is a win-win scenario.

Øyvind Sørøy

Sloyd

With Antler, I feel like I'm finally able to make a real difference. Working with experimental technology is a tough sell as not many grasp its true value, but with this network of people who really understands it, it's so much easier to get somewhere

It's the best time in history to build a business.

There has never been a better time to start a business. The barriers to entry are lower than ever, and the dynamic economy provides endless opportunities for spirited entrepreneurs. Join Antler and get started.

Apply to Antler in the Nordics
Entrepass Partner

Our team

Meet the Antler team in Finland and the Nordics, dedicated to your success.

Antti Tormanen
Partner

Antti started his career at OliverWyman and then McKinsey&Company with a brief stint to public sector in the middle. Since then, he has founded two start ups, exited one and worked for the last years in wealth management in leadership roles. During his career, Antti has worked across the Middle East, Europe, US and South America. Antti is also a passionate cyclist and outdoor enthusiast.

Jussi Kallasvuo
Partner

Jussi started his career in finance, but has since turned entrepreneur and investor. During the past 20 years he has worked or studied in Europe, USA and Asia and loves Antler’s international spirit. Jussi has founded and exited two companies and, in addition to doing a variety of sports and being outdoors, gets his kicks from seeing entrepreneurs thrive.

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Oona Suominen
Senior Associate

Oona kicked off her career in tech sales at Salesforce, having worked at various startups prior. Aside from leading the scouting initiatives in Finland and the Baltics, she can found hiking a trail or enjoying a break at a local sauna.

Sebastian Juuri
Residency Associate

Sebastian has joined Antler after working at Slush as Head of Partnerships, with a great passion for the local startup ecosystem. He is looking after our founders in Finland to facilitate the magic that happens during the program. In his free-time he can be found playing a variety of ball sports, or on the beach during the short summer of the Nordics.

Livia Moore
Associate Partner

Livia is a full-stack marketing and communications expert obsessed with building brands. With 10 years' experience from startups in Stockholm and NYC, Livia previously ran fintech Tink’s marketing department and headed up community and content marketing at ecommerce platform Tictail. Livia is a lover of the Russian language, undercover interior designer and will help you set your marketing strategy, grow and attract customers.

Oscar Westergård
Partner

Oscar, heading up Antler Stockholm, is an entrepreneur, expansion specialist and leader with 10 years' experience in building ventures across Africa, Europe, Middle East and Latin America. He previously co-founded BIMA, a global leader in mobile insurance, with 26M customers and has worked at Spotify, Kinnevik and Universal Avenue. He loves the outdoors and his favorite meal is freshly caught trout grilled over an open fire.

Tobias Bengtsdahl
Partner

Tobias Bengtsdahl, now a Partner at Antler Nordics, previously spent four years scaling Memmo as co-founder and COO/CEO. Memmo is a platform that allows users and businesses to order personalized video messages or custom creator content for special occasions and marketing campaigns. He raised over $25M from leading investors for the startup, expanded into 15+ markets, and helped creators generate more than $10M. Under his leadership, Memmo hit $10M in revenue within two years and grew the team to over 150 people in just 20 months.

Anna Munthe-Kaas
Associate Partner

Anna, heading up Antler Oslo, comes with 10+ years commercial experience from big tech, startups, consulting and VC. From launching Foodora at Rocket Internet, to building partnerships at Facebook to heading Growth at Unloc, Anna has helped build and scale numerous companies in the Nordics. Anna loves electronic music and running in the forest.

Kristian Jul Røsjø
Partner

Kristian co-leads the Norwegian operations at Antler alongside Anne, where he leads both our fundraising and partnership efforts. Kristian is also responsible for building the ecosystem around Antler in Europe focusing on partnerships with commercial companies that want to contribute through their services and idea generation towards founders in the programs. He is also working on raising the European funds that invest in Antler's portfolio companies.

Michael J. Wiatr
Partner

Michael started his career with The Boston Consulting Group. Since then, he has worked with building, scaling, and investing in startups. Michael has helped build and scale numerous companies as a co-founder, advisor, or angel-investor including two companies which have experienced exit events.

Aja Guldhammer Henderson
Visiting Partner
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We’re hiring!

We are expanding our team of passionate people backing the most driven founders in Finland. Check out our open positions at Antler in Finland.

Open positions

Some of our Past Speakers

Throughout our residencies, successful entrepreneurs have shared their insights and experiences with our founders, offering valuable mentorship !

Clare Jones

CEO of Polarsteps

Daniel Krauss

Co-founder of Flix

Marc-Alexander Christ

Co-founder of SumUp

Francesco Wiedemann

Co-founder of Kyte

Frank Freund

Co-founder and CFO of Raisin

Robert Kraal

Co-founder of Silverflow

Clare Jones

CEO of Polarstep

Daniel Krauss

Co-founder of Flix

Marc-Alexander Christ

Co-founder of SumUp

Francesco Wiedemann

Co-founder of Kyte

Frank Freund

Co-founder and CFO of Raisin

Robert Kraal

Co-founder of Silverflow

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News and views from Antler

Read our latest insights and stories about our phenomenal founders.

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Insights
A fresh take on early-stage VC: Harvard Business School publishes a case study on Antler

Harvard Business School (HBS) recently published a case study about Antler’s fresh approach to early-stage venture capital. Antler Co-Founder Fridtjof Berge shares thoughts on how the case sparks discussion about the best ways to identify and support great people anywhere on earth.

Read more
News
Backing founders from day zero to greatness

Today we are sharing our new brand that reflects that commitment and the reason Antler exists: to stand behind our founders from day zero and to keep backing them on their paths to greatness.

Read more
Sustainability
The Antler Quarterly: ESG, Impact and VC

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Antler Quarterly. This report explores the impact, risk, sustainability, and opportunity within the global VC industry.

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Read more
Podcast
Real lessons from real founders: Antler’s Early Days podcast

The Early Days podcast launched in June, unwrapping how world-class founders built today’s most influential companies. Antler’s Tyler Norwood, creator and host of the podcast, talks about what inspired it, why the early days are so crucial, and why it’s important to humanize startups.

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Insights
Emilia Theye: The psychologist using AI to democratize access to mental health solutions

Antler was founded on the belief that people innovating is the key to building a better future. To honor them, we are launching a new content series—”It All Starts with People”—spotlighting the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Each story is a window into their passions, motivations, and vision—the reasons they are building and the positive dent they are aiming to make on the world.

In our first spotlight, we sat down with Emilia Theye, the co-founder of clare&me—a mental health app that uses language-based AI to develop an innovative approach to virtual self-help.

Read more
Insights
Venture investing in the downturn

We are living two simultaneous realities: the uncertainty of the current downturn and the unstoppable wave of innovation disrupting every industry. Against this backdrop, Antler's Kevin Brennan shares perspectives on assessing your position in venture capital for the rest of 2022 and into 2023. Might 2023 be the best vintage for the coming decade?

Read more
View all

FAQs

Who should apply?

We’re looking for highly ambitious 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 team at the early stages of their journey, we are here to help as a partner obsessed with your success.

What stage do you invest in?

We are focused on providing founders better access to capital at the very beginning of their journey, so we back founders at the ideation stage. We'll invest as early as a clearly defined product statement and roadmap to your MVP, we'll even help you incorporate your new venture if necessary. We always aim to be the first institutional check into our portfolio companies.

How, where and when does the Residency take place?

Antler's Nordic residencies take place at our offices in Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. The residency is a full-time commitment. This means that you are 100% dedicating your time to building your company. That said, it is not “mandatory” to be in the office from 9-5PM daily. The intention is to foster an engaged and supportive community of founders building together in person. As long as you show up for cohort activities and receive value from the community, you can spend your time in any way you see most fit to build your company. Most founders come in 4-5 days a week.

Can I be part of the cohort if my startup has already received investment?

Our standard terms apply. If your startup has already closed a round at a significantly higher valuation, or are currently closing a round, your specific case can be brought up to the Investment Committee for consideration.

Can I negotiate terms and conditions?

No, our terms are non-negotiable. We invest to catalyze your pre-seed raise, with reserves for later rounds. If you pass our investment committee, we invest €200,000 upfront (€100,000 for 8.5% of equity + €100,000 on an uncapped SAFE or convertible note). In addition to the €200,000, we pre-commit €300,000 of matching funds into the first funding rounds you raise, for a grand total of €500,000. We can continue with follow-on investments in our companies with larger amounts until Series C.

What are the Antler Nordics investment terms?

We commit to pre-seed investing €500,000 in the companies that are successful at our investment committee:

  • The first part of €200,000 is wired immediately post investment decision. The second part of €300,000 is conditional on further capital being raised from other investors within nine months following our first investment

In addition to this, we can support our companies with larger amounts as follow-on investments until Series C.

The details:

Initial investment of €200,000 (first part):

  • The €200,000 is divided in two components: 
    • €100,000 for an 8.5% ownership stake 
    • €100,000 on an uncapped SAFE (or convertible) with a MFN (most-favored-nation) clause
  • Full €200,000 is wired immediately post investment decision

Pre-committed next investment of up to €300,000 (second part):

  • We’ll invest one-third of the total amount raised in the next funding round
  • Within nine months after our initial investment
  • The round needs to involve professional or semi-professional investors
  • On the same terms as those investors
  • No specified cap on the total matching amount
  • For illustrative purposes, if your company raises €600,000 from professional investors after our initial investment, Antler may invest an additional €300,000 on the same terms, totalling €900,000.

Further investments (after initial and next investments):

  • Potential pro rata investments
  • Until Series C
  • No amount limits
What companies do you back?

We are industry agnostic. We invest in scalable companies and exceptional people. However, we do not invest in the following areas: drugs, narcotics, adult entertainment, and gambling.

Build a startup. Build a better world.

Antler founders are turning their visions into reality—tackling pressing problems, creating jobs, and unlocking their personal potential. As the world’s issues become more complex, founders are more needed than ever to solve them. What are you waiting for?

Apply to Antler in the Nordics

Contact Antler in the Nordics

Get in touch with our team!

Individuals
Teams
Baltics