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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Antler India plans to invest in 120 startups over four years with a $75 million fund.</li><li>The firm runs cohorts for individual founders and teams, selecting 100 from up to 5,000 applicants.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rajiv Srivatsa, a partner at Antler India, a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/founders-putting-startup-dreams-on-hold-in-the-tech-downturn-2024-7">pre-seed venture capital firm</a> based in Bengaluru. It has been edited for length and clarity.I'm a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/landed-vc-job-varied-resume-diverse-experience-resume-2024-8">partner</a> at Antler India, an early-stage <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-success-secret-vcs-founders-nate-silver-on-the-edge-2024-8">venture capital</a> fund. We launched the India chapter about four years ago, and it was the firm's sixth location globally. Antler India has a $75 million fund, which we closed in March.Our plan is to invest in 120 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/more-startups-get-bought-up-by-private-equity-vc-2024-8">startups </a>over four years, and we have about 65 to date.The classic Antler model includes running a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-vc-firms-funding-creator-economy-startups-next-phase-2024-6">cohort of individuals </a>who are transitioning from being employees to startup founders. We help them look for their cofounders and give shape to their idea.One thing we do differently in India is we run a cohort for teams as well. We found that there is a social tendency for people to prefer going into business with people they have known from college or work, and we welcome founders who may already have a team or product in mind.My team and I receive about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-apply-y-combinator-application-down-market-successful-2022-8">4,000 to 5,000 applications</a>, and we select 100 people to join our individual founders' cohort. The program runs for six months, and we end up investing in 20-25 people, or eight to 10 companies. We give them a sum of $250,000 to fund their idea, and another $250,000 once they raise additional capital.I've been a founder myself and have run a company in the 2010s. I have seen two main positive shifts in the Indian startup market.It is a lot easier to attract talent than it was 10 years ago. There was a lot of entitlement and questioning from potential employees, because working for startups instead of long-established companies was seen as a risk. Since the pandemic, there has been a shift, and people are keen to join startups.Founders are getting more mature by the year and have a better understanding of what it takes.They're more frugal because they know capital is tight and they have given their industry more thought. They're not getting into business because something is hot and are instead building for the next five to 10 years. They also assume that their products will need higher traction to raise the same amount of money that would have been invested in them before.Here are five things I look for in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-partner-jess-lee-advice-for-startup-founders-2022-9">first-time founders</a>:<h2 id="5a01f9b1-7907-4c47-aa10-ead284c40a4d">Five founder traits</h2>Execution and strategy: This is their ability to iterate fast — move between ideas, drop things, and find something new quickly.We also seek people who have ideas that match their skill sets. For example, we don't want to invest in an AI company where none of the founders have solid tech expertise. In the early or "zero to one" and "one to 10" stages, founders have to be able to do things on their own.Grit and tenacity: Either in their personal life or professional life.Customer obsession: We spend the longest time gauging how obsessed a founder is with their customer and problem statement. We want to know if it's just a flash in the pan or if it's something they have been debating over many years. Does the founder really feel the pain of the customer?We want people who are not just armchair experts but have worked with customers and gotten their hands dirty. Someone who has spent their professional life making presentations and in conference rooms may not cut it.Communication: Another thing we look for is a high level of clarity in thinking and how they communicate. At the end of the day, venture capital is a continuous fundraising game — you have to always keep finding good talent, as well as keep telling new investors and the media your story.We try to gauge if the person is getting mixed up, or if they're clear about what they're doing.Ambition and scale: The venture capital industry does not work if you want small outcomes. Even if you don't want to be a unicorn, a startup that is valued at $1 billion, you still need to think in terms of hundreds of millions of dollars of valuation and foresee hundreds of millions of people using your product.<h2 id="019aa888-dfdf-4ac4-bda4-422664c1e934">Plus an X-factor</h2>We don't look for people who score about 80% to 100% on each of these criteria. Instead, we prefer if, for one to two of the five traits, they demonstrate a spike or an X factor — they immediately stand out as someone who is world-class when it comes to execution or communication, for example.We want people who are terrible at some things but exceptional at others.<h2 id="e8cf18ff-f29f-4d97-9753-7fe9d1705a42">Cofounder complements</h2>Most of our participants look for their cofounders after they've entered the cohort, and we spend a lot of time and attention matching people.In my experience, India is not a country where teaching communication is emphasized a lot, so we ask each participant 60 questions to understand their values, working styles, and personality types. We look for complements and see pair-ups between one person with a technical background and one person with business acumen. If a third cofounder is needed, they usually come with operations expertise.One company we recently funded is working on listening to conversations between employees and customers in retail stores, in order to provide retail data to convert more customers. It was the outcome of someone who has worked in retail for years, paired up with a cofounder with tech background.Are you a founder who moved to India to launch their own startup? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

I'm a VC in the world's fastest-growing economy. I look for 5 traits in first-time founders.

<ul><li><keyword id="387319" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="antler">Antler</keyword>, which invests in early stage startups, has set up shop in India with Rajiv Srivatsa, co-founder of Urban Ladder as a partner. </li><li>While it has begun operations in Bengaluru, over the next four years, it plans to expand to several more cities and invest in a total of 150 startups.</li><li>The fund is betting on India’s vision to grow into a 5 trillion dollar economy. </li></ul>Singapore-based Venture Capital fund Antler, which invests in early stage startups, has set up shop in India with Rajiv Srivatsa, co-founder of Urban Ladder as a partner. Antler has investments in over 160 companies globally, and now plans to invest in 40 <keyword id="982553" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-startups">Indian startups</keyword> in its first year of operations. The company’s decision to enter India comes at a time when investments are low and businesses are hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, the fund hopes to scale up operations soon. While it has begun operations in Bengaluru, over the next four years, it plans to expand to several more cities and invest in a total of 150 startups. “We believe the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem has massive potential. The quantity of exceptional talent, the ambition level of founders and the proliferation of high-quality venture capital and angel investors provides an incredible opportunity to build successful early-stage companies from scratch,” said Magnus Grimeland, Founder and CEO of Antler. Grimeland added that he is betting on India’s vision to grow into a 5 trillion dollar economy which will fuel “a much higher growth for the digital economy”. “We will launch an India fund and collaborate with the entire ecosystem including VCs, angels and work closely with corporate partners and functional specialists as mentors, to power the India opportunity ahead this decade,” said Srivatsa who will be leading the India vertical. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/this-indian-angel-investment-platform-has-invested-in-eight-cos-in-60-days-and-plans-to-fund-startups-every-week/articleshow/76082960.cms">This Indian angel investment platform has invested in eight cos in 60 days and plans to fund startups every week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-drops-six-places-in-the-ranking-for-worlds-best-startup-ecosystems/articleshow/76057610.cms">India drops six places in the ranking for world’s best startup ecosystems⁠— power outages and slow internet speeds get some of the blame</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/hiring-now-check-out-these-job-openings-at-indian-startups-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/articleshow/75963395.cms">Hiring now! Check out these job openings at Indian startups during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>

Global VC fund Antler, with tech investments in 160 cos, sets up India specific fund – to invest in 40 Indian startups in its first year

<ul class="summary-list"><li>We are looking for women startup founders in the creator economy and influencer space.</li><li>Nominees must be women and have founded a creator-adjacent startup.</li></ul>Insider is seeking nominations for our inaugural list of women founders in the creator economy and influencer space.Startups that cater to content creators have boomed in the past two years.After a rosy 2021 that saw 11 unicorns in the industry, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ma-predictions-for-creator-economy-and-influencer-marketing-in-2023-2022-12">2022 was a slower year</a>, with only four companies exceeding a $1 billion valuation, Insider previously reported based on data from venture-capital fund Antler.But despite a complicated year, the space continues to grow and VC funds continue to invest in startups that cater to creators and influencers — some of them, like <a href="https://www.nightventures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Night Ventures</a> or <a href="https://www.creator.ventures/">Creator Ventures</a>, have made investments in this area their focus.Now, we are looking to highlight women founders in the creator-economy industry. The list will be determined by Insider based on our reporting and the nominations we receive.We will take into consideration factors like customer adoption, funding and financials, and its impact on the creator economy as a whole. Please note, we will not be considering influencer-marketing agencies and talent-management firms for this list.You can nominate yourself or someone you know via the Google Form below, until Monday, February 13. The form will close on that date, and we will not be accepting further applications past the deadline.<h2>Submit here:</h2>

Seeking nominations for women startup founders in the creator economy. Nominate yourself or someone you know.

<ul><li>OYO has allotted ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) worth ₹130 crore ($18 million) for its furloughed employees, founder <keyword id="1670338" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ritesh-Agarwal">Ritesh Agarwal</keyword> announced in an email to employees.</li><li>Earlier in April, OYO had announced a 25% pay cut for all employees and also said that it will be placing a number of employees in furloughs.</li><li>Agarwal addressed the same in his email and said that furloughed employees are free to look for job opportunities in different companies.</li></ul>Indian hospitality unicorn OYO has allotted ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) worth ₹130 crore ($18 million) for its furloughed employees. In an email to the employees, OYO founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal announced the move. “We understand that some of you may already have stock options. For those employees, we are dropping the one-year cliff on the vesting of stock options for everyone we have hired in the past year. This will ensure that everyone departing, regardless of how long they have been with OYO, can become a shareholder. We will also be providing stocks to OYOpreneurs not impacted, thereby making 100% team members co-owners,” wrote Agarwal in the email. “This is the first time in the history of the company that such a large part of the organization is being inducted as a stakeholder. That too, at a time when some of you may decide not to be part of our future,” he further wrote. Earlier in April, OYO had announced a 25% pay cut for all employees and also said that it will be placing a number of employees in furloughs. Agarwal addressed the same in his email and said that furloughed employees are free to look for job opportunities in different companies. The founder also said that a placement cell is being put in place for the employees. “Some of our initial thoughts revolve around providing B2B placement opportunities for those who suggest strong interest; enabling monthly connect with furloughed OYOpreneurs to upskill; sharing workshop/course links, mentorship programs focused towards entrepreneurship, guidance and support from OYO leadership in addition to offering references and recommendations,” he wrote. Through a similar initiative, OYO has found job opportunities for 150 employees in Japan. In a video message to its employees in April, founder Ritesh Agarwal said that he cannot imagine any other industry being worse impacted than travel, tourism and hospitality due to coronavirus. Earlier, Agarwal had estimated a 15-20% drop in revenues and occupancy over Covid-19. Later he himself said that its revenues dropped by over 50%-60% globally. In the email sent to employees today (June 1), he said that they had tried to cut down expenses by reducing marketing costs by 88%, general administrative expenses by 43% and so on. OYO, whose hotels have been shut since March 25 with the lockdown, will now be able to open its hotels from June 8. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-will-try-again-for-a-made-in-india-tag-to-be-able-to-sell-farm-produce/articleshow/76131890.cms">Flipkart will try again for a ‘Made in India’ tag to be able to sell farm produce</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/global-vc-fund-antler-to-invest-in-40-indian-startups-in-one-year/articleshow/76133913.cms">Global VC fund Antler, with tech investments in 160 cos, sets up India specific fund – to invest in 40 Indian startups in its first year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/paytm-mall-set-to-hire-300-people-as-it-cuts-down-quarterly-losses-shifts-operations-to-bengaluru/articleshow/76130075.cms">Paytm Mall set to hire 300 people as it cuts down quarterly losses – shifts operations to Bengaluru</a>

OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal announces ESOPs worth ₹130 crore for furloughed employees

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>A number of ad agencies are trying to crack direct-to-consumer market by applying what they've learned working with DTC startups over the years to launch brands of their own.</li><li>Agencies including Decoded, former agency Gin Lane, and The Engine is Red are launching everything from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-boom-has-created-a-roster-of-specialized-ad-agencies-2018-11">eco-friendly yoga equipment</a> and cookware to cannabis-infused beverages and snackable ricotta cups.</li><li>While launching their own DTC brands enables agencies to expand their revenues, not everyone is convinced that ad agencies can create viable and long-lasting consumer companies. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul>Last week, Gin Lane, the creative and design agency behind direct-to-consumer upstarts including Harry's and Hims, shut shop.The move wasn't driven by financial challenges or increasing competition and decreasing margins. Instead, it was driven by the agency's desire to carve a piece of <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/direct-to-consumer-brands-2019">the burgeoning DTC pie</a> for itself by launching its own suite of DTC brands.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gin-lane-is-spinning-off-into-multi-brand-dtc-company-2019-8">A leading direct-to-consumer ad agency behind upstarts including Harry's and Hims just raised $14 million to spin off into its own multi-brand DTC company</a>Gin Lane is hardly alone. A number of ad agencies are trying to crack the DTC arena by applying what they've learned working with startups over the years to launch brands of their own, from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-boom-has-created-a-roster-of-specialized-ad-agencies-2018-11">eco-friendly yoga equipment</a> and intimate activewear to cannabis-infused beverages and snackable ricotta cups.<h2>Specialist agencies around DTC brands are now launching DTC brands of their own</h2>Ad agencies incubating brands in-house is nothing new, and even established shops like BBH, Huge and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40427324/advertising-superstar-david-droga-knows-how-to-get-in-your-head">Droga5</a> have all dabbled in developing their own products alongside the services they provide their clients. And big brands, including P&amp;G and Mars Petcare, have also attempted to build DTC brands of their own. But DTC upstarts have given rise to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-boom-has-created-a-roster-of-specialized-ad-agencies-2018-11">new type of agency that caters specifically to the needs of such brands.</a> And with several years of experience under their belt, many of these specialist agencies including Axione, Decoded, Gin Lane, GYK Antler, and The Engine is Red, think that they are better poised than others to take their own DTC brands to market.Decoded came out with yoga equipment brand <a href="https://42birds.com/">42 Birds</a> last November and GYK Antler's founder Travis York runs DTC athletic footwear company York Athletics, while Gin Lane recently launched Pattern, a holding company of DTC brands, with cookware company Equal Parts as its flagship brand. Axione's athletic intimate wear brand in collaboration with The Coveteur cofounder Stephanie Mark is set to roll out later this year, while The Engine is Red has developed a CBD-infused sparkling water."Until now, agencies have never really been responsible for the outcome," Matt Rednor, founder and CEO at Decoded and cofounder at 42Birds, told Business Insider. "Launching 42Birds has allowed us to be more invested in our clients and combine the breadth of an ad agency with the depth of an in-house marketer. We have learned how to build a business, rather than just market one."Launching its own DTC brand enabled the agency to move faster, said Chris Denny, founder and president of The Engine is Red, allowing it to test quickly, and iterate faster based on real-time customer feedback. It has also meant that agencies can expand their revenue streams to go beyond providing services and gain an understanding of not only digital media, e-commerce, and performance marketing, but also pricing, packaging, shipping, storage, and supply chain management, said Chris Sojka, cofounder and chief creative officer at Madwell. "We didn't need to jump on the DTC bandwagon just because it's hot - direct-to-consumer is a channel mechanism, not a value proposition in itself," said David Eisanmen, cofounder and CEO at Madwell, which initially envisioned its ricotta snack cups Rif Raf as a DTC product, but decided to go straight to retailers upon realizing the limitations of a perishable DTC product. "Our biggest lesson was that it's about the value the product is ultimately providing."<h2>But not everyone is on board with the idea that agencies should develop their own DTC brands</h2>Agencies building their own DTC brands is still nascent, and the jury is still out on whether agencies can develop successful products. But some are seeing initial success.Pattern, the DTC umbrella company launched by what was formerly Gin Lane, has raised $14 million in funding from investors including RRE Ventures, Primary Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins. And the CBD-infused sparkling water developed by The Engine is Red not only sold out its initial test inventory in 45 days, but was also ultimately sold to a PE firm before its official launch this April, according to Denny. (He declined to name the brand due to the terms of the deal).Not everyone, however, is convinced that ad agencies can create viable and long-lasting direct-to-consumer companies. Mike Cassidy, the former CEO of ad tech company Undertone, who now runs his own DTC and e-commerce focused agency BVAccel said that his agency didn't see the need to develop its own products as it has vast experience spanning more than 150 DTC brands. Plus, running an agency is time-consuming."Being an agency is hard work: long hours, high demands and lots of complex external relationships to manage," he said. "Some of the agencies don't want to be agencies anymore and are looking for a way out. But we are doubling down with acquisitions and other investments, and our goal is to keep training our teams, and finding new ways to help DTC companies sell more and drive profitability."The skillsets that agencies bring to the table are also different than those pertinent to building DTC brands, such as figuring out logistics, or making sure a subscription box gets shipped, said Mohan Ramaswamy, founding partner at digital product agency Work + Co."Where we've been able to succeed in supporting these companies is their experience - helping streamline customer acquisition to actual conversion or making sure that their digital fulfillment forms are easy and simple to use," he said.Steve Parker, cofounder and CEO at agency Levelwing, as well as founder of seed-stage venture capital firm, Third <keyword id="46801" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="prime">Prime</keyword>, agreed."Models whereby an agency is attempting to create a brand from scratch or ones in which they take equity for work are not smart, because agencies are service businesses and because most brands ultimately fail," he said. "From a VC perspective, we have a few DTC brands, and they take immense focus and dedication and funding." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cmos-how-brands-should-participate-in-social-political-issues-2019-8">Brands can no longer stay away from social and political issues. We asked some of the biggest names in the industry how to do it right.</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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I'm a VC in the world's fastest-growing economy. I look for 5 traits in first-time founders.

Shubhangi Goel

Global VC fund Antler, with tech investments in 160 cos, sets up India specific fund – to invest in 40 Indian startups in its first year

Sanchita Dash

Seeking nominations for women startup founders in the creator economy. Nominate yourself or someone you know.

Marta Biino

OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal announces ESOPs worth ₹130 crore for furloughed employees

Sanchita Dash

Ad agencies are building brands around everything from yoga equipment and cookware to CBD-infused drinks to the crack direct-to-consumer market

Tanya Dua

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