Looking for Early Stage Funding? This is the list of the most active VCs throughout 2023

Equity funding for Indonesian startups is starting to show signs of recovery compared to the previous year (although not completely). According to reports Indonesia's Startup Handbook which was collected DSInnovate, in Q3 2023, published startup funding reached 38 transactions worth $501,6 million. The value of this investment better than two quarters previously, namely $376,7 million in Q1 and $330,2 million in Q2. This increase provides a positive indicator, especially considering the sharp decline that occurred in the first half of this year.

Early stage investment still dominates overall Indonesian startup funding. This indicates investors maintain significant confidence in the prospects of the new generation of founders, even in the face of current challenges.

East Ventures is the most active early stage investor investing in Southeast Asia. Throughout the past 10 months, the VC has invested in 29 startups, the majority in Indonesia, which have received funding. The largest initial stage funding was provided to MAKA Motors.

In a previous interview, Co-founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures Willson Cuaca said that his party would not stop investing no matter what the weather was like. According to him, startup valuations are currently cheap, but the founder's job is now more "hard."

“But not only that, now founder's level of knowledge much higher because the ecosystem has started mature. Many [founders] have worked all over the place. "So [the condition] is still good, from our side we are still active [investing]," said Willson.

Antler's Day Zero program attracts new Founders

Antler Indonesia Partner Great Bezharie On a separate occasion, he said that with current conditions, it is increasingly easy to see the quality of startup founders. What's good and what's not? “There are many founders who are good and not opportunistic. Very passionate about finishing problem," he said.

The founders he refers to are participants who registered or were directly recruited by the Antler team to build a new startup. Most of these prospective founders have one common thread, they have had professional careers in a number of good companies enterprise or startups, and are interested in becoming a startup founder.

"Even in the current [5th] cohort, the average founder here has been working for 13 years."

A total of 60-70 people per cohort join the Antler Residency program for 10 weeks to build a new startup. The concept is slightly different from most accelerator programs because those who register can be on their own without a team. There are those who register themselves on the Antler site or on-scout Antler team.

During the residency, participants can take part in intensive bootcamp sessions, discuss with the team and other fellow entrepreneurs to gain peer learning, exchange of ideas, as well as constructive feedback. This collaborative session encourages participants to sharpen their business concepts and strategies.

This residency also offers sessions one on one with a team of experienced mentors at Antler, helping founders to overcome challenges, get specific guidance, and consult with experts to perfect their business strategy.

During the first five weeks of residency, founders can also actively look for potential co-founders who are in line with the company's vision, mission, and have the required skills. Designed as a collaborative platform, the Antler residency also opens up access to a wider network, making it an ideal platform for budding founders to find partner co-founders.

Twice a week, they will make presentations pitching idea to the Antler team to get feedback. Whether the concept is interesting or not to continue, the arguments are supported by complementary data from third parties. If not, they need to reorganize, even replace potential co-founders until they are all deemed to be successful.

Antler also has a global database, so participants can learn from fellow founders in various sectors and countries who have successfully launched their businesses. This comprehensive approach is designed so that participants can be better prepared to turn their startup concept into a successful and promising business operation.

"Antler wants to accelerate the learning process [to build a startup]. This is not something that can be learned at school because there has to be a process trials and errors and do it yourself. In 4-5 weeks you can pivot many times, you will be told which parts need attention so you don't need to spend years."

To prove the participation commitment of the participants, Antler requires them to be physically present during the program. There is no element of coercion to resign from the company if the participant is still working as an employee.

"Someone took it unpaid leave, there are those who are willing to resign. We do require them to meet in person for the first 4-5 weeks to see Attendance-his."

Within a year, Antler holds three cohorts to launch new startups. Since first appearing in Indonesia in mid-2022, Antler is now holding its 5th Antler Residency. This cohort is still ongoing and is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

Not all startups that run this program can participate demo day on his last day. Also, not all startups will definitely get early stage investment from Antler. However, the investment disbursed by Antler per startup starts from $125 thousand (almost IDR 2 trillion).

“It doesn't mean that not being invested means that the startup is not good. But we do have several preferences [in investing]. We can connect them to investors outside of us for investment opportunities.”

So far this year, Antler has invested in at least 19 startups. Some of them are MatchMade, Kora, and Eten Technologies. In total, Antler has provided investment for 44 startups. Antler's portfolio includes CareNow, Healthpro, BASE, Brick, Matchmade, TruClimate, and Kora.

To support its portfolio journey, Antler created a new managed fund specifically for advanced stage funding, named Antler Elevate, with assets under management of $285 million.

"Usually we always follow-on, the nominal amount can't be much, so a special fund is created. "We want to be friends with startups throughout their journey from start to finish," concluded Agung.