Alex Wright, CPA, CA’s Post

People are often asking, what is the deadline for me to apply to the next Antler residency? The answer - we do not have a deadline. 📘 True story time 📕 Last cohort, we received an application for a strong, business founder on Friday, March 22, 2024 (the cohort start date was Monday, March 25th)... just 3 days later. The truth is tech-layoffs happen and this individual thought... maybe there is enough time to see this as a positive and become a tech-founder. We met him over the weekend and we made a quick decision, he was driven, had great business acumen, and an idea with founder-market-fit. We offered him a spot just 36 hours after applying - over a weekend. He accepted and showed up ready to go on Monday. Fast-forward to today and this is a CEO of an Antler Portfolio company. It is not too late to apply to Antler's next residency (SEPTEMBER 30th). Learn more at our FINAL INFORMATION SESSION ON THURSDAY - Link in comments.

We have processed over 3,000 applications for our September 30th residency and have over 50 interviews scheduled for this week alone! Time is running out to join so we are trying something NEW! Join the Antler Canada team this Thursday, September 12th, for an exclusive opportunity to meet with us and fast-track the interview process - you will go through the interview process that usually takes 1-2 weeks, in just 4-6 hours. Perfect for founders (soon-to-be founders) that need to provide 2 weeks notice before joining the Residency! So if you are ALL IN or... almost there on being a founder - this is the push you have been looking for. More information and link to join in comments.

For our Antler portfolio companies, one of our key platform offerings is being a funding strategist. What does it mean to be a funding strategist? 🎶 You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and; 🎶 🎶Know when to raise $ 🎶 🎶Know how much $ to raise 🎶 🎶Know who to raise from $ from 🎶 📅 When? You do not want to raise money too early… and you definitely do not want to raise money too late. It is most likely that you should raise money after achieving a set of significant milestones that help you build proof points behind your story. These milestones can be: 👉 traction driven like converting pilots to paid customers,  👉 product development driven like you have an MVP ready to be tested by more users The other key here is to start raising money AT LEAST 6 months before you need it. Hitting the bottom of your cash reserves could mean the investor holds the bargaining power. 💵 How much? Is there ever such a thing as raising too much money from investors… YES. Likely the biggest risk is diluting too much, too early. You need to maintain control of your company until post-Series A. As a rule of thumb, Seed Rounds range from 10-20% equity and Series A rounds average 15-30% equity. This means you should never give up more than 15-20% of your company’s equity in pre-seed. You should raise based on business needs to achieve the next set of milestones. Perhaps $500K allows you to hire on a Lead Software Developer and a Business Development team to expand key technical features and increase user base, respectively. Keep in mind that average time from Pre-Seed to Seed is 12-18 months and Seed to Series A is 24 months. In a full financing round, you will normally want to align those milestones with these timelines. 👩💻 Who? I have gathered that sometimes it matters who is signing the cheque and sometimes it does not. But if your hopes are that you are onboarding a strategic investor, you must ALWAYS do reference checks. Ask to speak to other members of their portfolio - do they show up, are they active, do they really have the connections they promise? Your investor is doing due diligence on you, you should return the favour. This will become a long-term relationship that is very difficult to get rid of. Since this is a private investor, it is nothing like buying and selling shares on a stock market.   _____________________________________________________________ If you are not currently working with a good funding strategist, I recommend finding one. This could be an investor, advisor or best of all, a founder who has been through this before.

💵🔥🚒 What to do if you are burning too much money? 💵🔥🚒 You know your business better than anyone… you have forecasted, recasted, upcasted, and downcasted. You originally planned for 12 months of runway but 6 months in, you look at the bank account and do not see another 6 months ahead. Revenues are delayed, costs are higher than anticipated, and only one thing is certain - you have to act fast. Here are a few things you can do to self-correct so that you have the runway you need to make it to the next milestone and raise your next round. 👩🚒 Unburn cash. There is a reason that the cash flow statement is a completely separate statements on the financials. It is entirely possible to be cash flow positive with a net loss on the income statement. Can you negotiate longer accounts payable cycles and shorter accounts receivable cycles? Talk to your customers, talk to your suppliers, landlords, and partners - a little flexibility from them could mean the difference in your survival. 🚣♂️ Find and patch the leaks. Where is overspend happening? Travel? public transit > uber. Marketing? in-house > paid. Payroll? fractional > full-time. We set budgets to guide our spending; we should follow them closely and have a strict process for investments outside of budget. Get rid of any plans for discretionary spending. 🛋 Look under the couch cushions. Not literally. But where can you find cash? In Canada, we have SR&ED credits and grants. HST credits? Sponsorship opportunities (or as I often say, budget offsets)? Sell illiquid assets? I have seen founders call up some old consulting clients willing to pay for an afternoon of good advice. 🤷♂️ Be humble and kind. Have candid conversations with your investors, employees, co-founders, and mentors - everyone wants to be part of the solution regardless of the source of the problem. But no one can help if they do not know. Don’t point fingers (including at yourself) and move onward with the consensus best possible next step. Let me know how else you have extinguished the flames on your cash reserves!

🚀 Celebrating 2 Years at Antler Canada! 🚀 I consider myself lucky to get to do what I do. Career-wise, I never wanted to be “Alex from Accounting” and I am successfully pushing beyond the Excel workbook and playing a small but existent role in propelling founders and ideas forward. Once my balance sheets are balanced, taxes are remitted and limited partners are reported to, I get to be a key part of the Antler Engine: ➕ Attract thousands of applicants 🎤 Interview hundreds of founders 👷♂️ Work with the top 2%* 💸 Invest in the top 0.5%* 🚛 Support those investments for the long haul Thank you to the Antler Canada team and all of the amazing founders I have the pleasure of working with - because of you, I jump out of bed every morning. *Unaudited approximations #Founders #VentureCapital #Startups #Innovation #workmilestone

I am very proud to work with Shambhavi Mishra; it is great to see her recognized in Disruption Magazine Canada (link in comments). I recently said to her, and I mean it, she does not have an inauthentic bone in her body! I am privileged to be in the rooms when Shambhavi speaks to founders and here are a few things that I have witnessed set her apart: 1. She says “I do not know”. 🤷♂️ I have seen her do this but it is what she does next that makes her incredible - in the next 24-48 hours, you can bet she is going to listen to a relevant podcast, do deep independent research, and poll her network of industry experts. When she says “I do not know”, she will know soon enough. 2. She says the unpopular thing and is willing to swim against the stream. 🐟 Like the time she told BetaKit, “I sometimes feel like Canada needs to up [its] risk-taking ability.” She said this in the Summer of 2023, almost a year before you are hearing this sentiment echoed by founders and investors across the country. 3. She has true radical candor. 🤺 This means she says what she means and means what she says, but ALWAYS is doing so from a space of genuine care. If you are a founder, she may tell you that you need to work on your storytelling, or your idea will never work, or that she is not convinced with your “traction”. If you hear this, you should know that as much as she pokes holes - she will work with you tooth and nail to be part of the solution. 4. She walks the walk. 🚶♀️ Some people say they care about being an advocate for underrepresented founders - I have witnessed Shambhavi go above and beyond for female founders, BIPOC founders and LGBTQ+ founders. We are busy at Antler but she finds the time to be a loyal event attendee / speaker for underrepresented founders and will spend hours mentoring, advocating and connecting people that face inequitable headwinds.

I wanted to write quickly about the advantages and disadvantages of non-dilutive grants and tax credits for start-ups... then I have a small ask. Advantages: 💵 Improve cash flow for expenses and maximize re-investment in growth 💹 Decrease amount required to be raised by selling equity in your business ⚙ Retain control of your company for longer Disadvantages: ⌛ Researching, filtering, applying, receiving, and complying all take TIME! The ASK: I work with many early-stage founders who I know could benefit from these grants and tax credits, but time and time again, I hear there is not enough time in the day to: 1. Research - Where is the one-stop shop to find grants, tax credits, and other sources of non-dilutive funding? 2. Filter - Okay, I found a list of grants, how do I know if I qualify? 3. Apply - If I am going to take hours out of growing my business, how do I ensure my application is not rejected? 4. Comply - Are there tools to keep me onside with my use of funds?

Some amazing insights, problem spaces and ideas from some of Canada's top investors, founders and eco-system thinkers! No surprise that ideas leverage Generative AI and AI safety had the most contributors. Ideas in this space came from Raph Brassard, Alexander Barclay, Vitalii Dodonov, David Porter, Karim Gillani, and Amin Gheibi.

I do my best to attend 1 event within the VC and / or founder ecosystems each week. When we all attend events; we are there for a reason. These events are golden opportunities to build meaningful connections, but standing out can be a challenge. Here are some strategies that, at least for me, have proven useful to make the most out of every event: 👁 Be Visible, Be Memorable Stand out with a unique touch that sparks conversation. Whether it’s a brand logo (for me an Antler hoodie always works), or an accessory that tells a story, make sure it represents you and invites people to ask questions. Last week, an Antler hoodie scored me 20+ connections to early-stage founders at a TorontoStarts event - thank you Craig! 📢 Perfect Your Pitch Your elevator pitch is your not-so-secret weapon. It’s a concise, compelling introduction to your startup, your personal brand, or your ideas. Practice it until it’s seamless and engaging. Every event has countless opportunities to make first impressions. ❓ Have a Clear Ask, like I said, we are there for a reason Every interaction is an opportunity, but knowing what you want out of it is crucial. Your ask doesn’t need to be financial; it could be as simple as seeking introductions to industry influencers or brainstorming over a cup of coffee. I personally lead with “Antler is always looking for introductions to strong founders". Once people know this, I get real time introductions within the room and people consider their personal networks for introductions. What are your event tips and tricks? Let me know in the comments 

What is the real reason that you do what you do? For me, I love being part of a machine that supports founders, builds a community of founders, and truly invests time and money in innovation at the earliest stages. And it means more to me than anything that I get to do this in CANADA, for CANADA. It is my view that *one of* the most important things you can do for this country is to be a founder - build big and global with a long-term mindset. Create jobs people want, pay some taxes, rent office space, and invest back into your communities; this is the stuff that improves economies and makes this country a better place to live for everyone in it.  I am not a founder. But maybe this is the next best thing? Because Antler exists, people with very high-potential have the confidence to quit their job, bet on themselves and take a leap of faith into becoming a founder. If you are looking to become a founder, do it for yourself, or your family, or this country and all the people in it; and if Antler can help - reach out! We are still taking applications to the next cohort starting March 25, 2024 (application link in comments). #canada #startups #purpose