From Dreamer to Entrepreneur: My Experience With the Antler Startup Program

Hi. I’m Mikhail Sidakov and I’ve got a pretty diverse business background that can really help you build yours. I’ve worked in large corporations. I’ve worked in startups, one succeeded really well and one failed. And I’ve worked in VCs. I am now a venture partner at Republic and we’re currently looking for promising startups in seed and series A stages (minimum 10-15k MRR). Reach out to me on Intch if you’re there. But first, I’d like to share my own experience of joining a startup program as a founder. I believe these takeaways of mine from my time with Antler in Amsterdam will prove key to your own success.

Firstly, let me elaborate on how I got here. After launching two startups with a local market focus and closing my second startup due to its bad metrics, I wanted to find a co-founder, raise investment and build a startup with a global ambition. That is when I decided to join Antler in Amsterdam.

I first heard about Antler from my ex-colleagues at BCG, who had already joined Antler as founders before. Hearing what they had to say initially gave me the idea of joining Antler. By writing this I intend to bring the same value to someone who wants to build their next company — whether you are a solo founder looking to find co-founders or already have a complete team, with or without an idea or prior investment.

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Bye corporate life, hello startup journey!

Despite having a great corporate experience at BCG, I felt that I wanted to create something on my own and actually see the value I am creating. That is why I launched my first food startup together with a classmate. We were quite successful with it, increasing our team from two people to up to 12+ (incl. outsourced), raising investment from an angel investor as well as entering regional networks, online marketplaces and duty-free stores at airports.

However, after five years I realized that a non-IT business is very difficult to scale up and that it is extremely heavy on an operational level. I found myself wanting to gain new skills in the IT space so I made a partial exit from the food startup and launched my second project: a social entertainment app for GenZ-ers. The startup failed, although I was a finalist in the local corporate accelerator and participated in Snap’s Bootcamp and Accelerator program. I unfortunately did not become the winner there but I did leave with positive feedback and raised money with one venture builder. Despite everything, the experience was extremely useful, both in terms of IT skills and in terms of self-development.

A warm welcome to Antler Netherlands

My first impression of the Antler cohort reminded me of my golden times at the BCG with a similar smart, diverse and international environment. It is in such environments that you start learning even during informal moments like coffee talks. It is also in these moments when you realize that there are no boundaries between countries and people. None of that matters when you speak the same language of innovation.

During the first weeks it was interesting to listen to experienced guest speakers who were sharing their knowledge and insights about building unicorns. I liked the presentations and I was further impressed by the story and targeted problem of one of Antler’s portfolio companies: Pal, founded by Nara and Azi, who transform palliative care, enabling millions of people to deliver better quality of care for a loved one with a life-limiting illness. And when I look back, of course it would be impossible not to bring up the Program Manager Rosa’s fabulous jokes and rocket energy. In general, the whole Antler team was very supportive, friendly and engaging.

I had a good network and knowledge of the venture market in my country, but I had neither knowledge nor a network that was as substantial as I would have liked it to be in the European venture market. It took me seven full years to acquire all essential expertise whilst with Antler it took me 2.5 months. And thanks to Antler, I was also able to receive a startup visa and with that the opportunity to build a European business.

In the beginning I focused on finding a co-founder with complementary skills and similar values. I took the advice from previous participants into account by talking and getting acquainted online with all the members before the cohort kicked off in person. So did I end up finding a co-founder? I did! And a great one on top. His name is Noel and once I realized from conversations we had that we shared similar values, the same energy and that he had a great idea I could see myself working on, I didn’t hesitate. I suggested to partner up and to help him with his project.

Ups & downs

Antler will forever stay one of my most valuable experiences. If you join Antler, the first two weeks are super intense with lots of keynote speakers, expert sessions, team building activities, networking and design sprints in which you can see for yourself how it is working with other potential co-founders in the cohort. Then come the weeks in between. Now it comes down to finding a co-founder and actually working on the startup. Build traction, validate the idea further. And at the end of those nine to ten weeks, there is the Investment Committee, the IC. This is when Antler, together with external partners in the VC sphere, decides whether they will invest or not. Even though we did not secure the investment, I am glad that we reached the IC. As I do have previous startup experiences, I understand that building a startup is not about easy idea testing, preparing an MVP and quick fund-raising.

It is about embracing all the ups and downs. You realize that you have an entrepreneurial spirit, not when you raise investment, but when you fall, stand up, draw the right conclusions and move forward.

What’s next? Camerry is!

Due to the “crypto winter”, which basically means that prices have dropped a long way and then stayed low for weeks or months, we decided to freeze the Web3 project with Noel and Daniel and instead I explored working together with a participant from a cohort prior to the one I took part in. Together with this founder and with CTO Vladimir Sinytsyn I am building Camerry. Camerry allows guests at any event, whether that is a wedding, conference, at a club, a concert or sports event, to receive photos taken by professional photographers directly and privately in an app if your face is on it. It works by uploading a selfie after which face recognition technology will be able to filter out all the photos you are on and will send them to you in an instant. We already acquired first clients, found great advisors and are raising capital now.

One tip, if you want to make the most of it, get acquainted and talk with other participants even before the program starts. And if you feel that someone is a perfect match for you, do not be afraid to make the first move. Many people say that it reminds them of dating or making a proposal and it’s true. Do not be discouraged, otherwise you might lose a chance.

A thank you note

Based on my previous experience from participation in accelerators, incubators and bootcamps, I really can’t imagine what could have been done better. Great team, exciting environment, impressive guest speakers, smart and diverse participants — that’s an ideal recipe for startup building.

Thanks to Antler I was able to quickly join the Dutch startup ecosystem and find new partners and friends.

I am very thankful to the Antler team for supporting me on each step along the way when I was leaving my country and for creating such a friendly, warm and exciting environment.

Good luck to you with your own Antler experience! And do feel free to ask me if you’ve still got questions.

In the end, we all realize at one point this path from dreamer to entrepreneur is riddled with sharp turns and difficult crossings. What all successful people agree on is the need to talk, consult and listen to others on that path. Join a real community of professionals that do just that on Intch. Through business talks and requests, thousands of professionals from all over the world support each other professionally by doing favors and introducing people relevant to their requests.