Swissep 25 2 Erik Jonsson - From Idea to Scale - Antler Vietnam and the Future of Founders
Short Summary:
Erik Jonsson, head of Antler Vietnam, discusses Antler's unique approach to early-stage venture capital investment. Antler identifies and supports founders with nascent ideas, providing resources and funding before they even have a fully formed startup. They utilize AI for founder screening and a rigorous selection process, resulting in a portfolio of companies with diverse backgrounds and technologies, including AI, sustainability, and fintech. Their investment strategy emphasizes scalability, speed of execution, and founder personality traits, with a focus on globally-minded founders building businesses beyond the Vietnamese market. Antler's methods include a 10-week program, coaching, and a consensus-based investment decision process.
Detailed Summary:
The transcript details Antler Vietnam's operations and investment philosophy. It can be broken down into the following sections:
1. Introduction and Antler's Model: Jonsson introduces himself and Antler, a global VC firm operating in 30 locations. He emphasizes that Antler is not an accelerator or incubator but an early-stage investor focusing on founders with promising ideas rather than established startups. They provide support, funding, and access to a global network. Vietnam is highlighted as a particularly successful location for Antler.
2. Founder Selection and Screening Process: Antler uses AI to screen approximately 2000 founders per residency (twice a year), filtering them based on experience and other criteria. They select around 7-10 companies from a pool of 75 founders per residency. A significant portion (60%) of their founders are serial entrepreneurs, and a notable percentage are female. The speaker mentions a $2000 grant to help international founders participate.
3. Investment Themes and Portfolio: While Antler is sector-agnostic, recurring themes in their portfolio include AI (described as a transitional technology), sustainability, and fintech. They've learned from past mistakes, acknowledging over-investment in SAS businesses that didn't scale. They now prioritize founders with a deep understanding of their problem and a vision for a global market.
4. Investment Decision-Making and Metrics: Antler uses a consensus-based investment decision process, requiring a majority vote from their seven-member committee. They also have a "golden buzzer" system allowing a single partner to override the committee. Key success indicators include the speed at which companies secure subsequent funding rounds and founder referrals. They also analyze personality traits, finding that high openness and conscientiousness correlate with success.
5. Founder Characteristics and Ideal Profile: Jonsson stresses the importance of scalability, speed of execution, and a long-term commitment to a single, well-defined idea. He highlights the need for founders to think globally from the outset, contrasting this with a perceived tendency towards lifestyle businesses in Southeast Asia. He emphasizes the value of founders who have deeply considered their problem for an extended period.
6. Team, Coaching, and Advisor Network: Antler Vietnam operates with a small team, relying heavily on coaching and a network of advisors who volunteer their expertise. These advisors are not paid but often have a vested interest in Antler's success. The coaching is extensive, consuming a large portion of Jonsson's time. The team is diverse, reflecting the international nature of the program.
7. Q&A: The final section includes a brief Q&A, addressing the geographical distribution of founders (a significant portion are non-Vietnamese), the types of coaching provided, and the diversity of the advisor network.
Notable Quotes: "Vietnam is kicking ass at the moment," "a lot of founders are pitching to us lifestyle businesses," "founders that have been noodling on an idea perform way better," "dragging your feet means loss of opportunity," "we are overweight in our portfolio...in SAS businesses that didn't lead anywhere."