Every year, 10,000 aspiring entrepreneurs apply to the Antler founder residency in London. Each application is reviewed, screened and interviewed by the team. As a Partner, I then conduct a final interview to make the ultimate decision about whether they will join the next residency.
We are ramping up to start our next residency in the next few weeks so I am in the midst of that process. In the last 12 months, I have interviewed 200 founders. You quickly learn what to look for, and the red flags that you need to avoid.
And nothing sets alarm bells ringing than signs that I’m speaking to a founder tourist – someone who likes the idea of being their own boss and running their own startup, but who has wildly underestimated what it really takes to be a successful founder. ...