I can’t write about Antler, because Idk. I invite anyone who has been through Antler, to collaborate on this section.
Throughout the program, there are many workshops and talks. These are your usual accelerator talk. Sometimes great, usually mediocre. IRL talks are not a good way to learn, but workshops definitely are. Make sure to attend workshops. Talks you can probably skip and just read. YC has great content. Reading EF materials carefully and deeply is also a great source of knowledge and thought.
This is a crucial month that EF haven’t told us anything about. Essentially, EF released the cohort list sometime early March, but did not tell you that’s when the programme starts. They claim it starts with Week 1 (two weeks after Kick-Off weekend). This is not true. As soon as the cohort lists are released, people start networking. This is a very important time because people are already chatting and gauging with whom to work.
We had some speed networking sessions, some dinners and drinks. It was an intense weekend and you had the opportunity to meet 50 people or so. Definitely a must-go.
The two weeks before the start of the programme and the kick-off weekend are crucial as well. People meet up for coffees and drinks and already start networking intensively.
Team formation time. It’s like love island, but for founders. People team up, split up, there is drama. They make you do weird posts on Slack where you compliment each other and give reasons for your break ups, then people react with weird emojis to them. It’s all a bit bizarre but seems to work.
A lot of people seem to be in a rush to co-found at this point. It’s a little bit of a last attempt at EF. It’s important not to get overwhelmed by FOMO.
Essentially, you pitch to the investment committee. They seem to judge you primarily on the data they gathered before the IC, on your progress etc. Keep in mind that they gather A LOT of data.
I am not qualified to talk about IC, because I dropped out before and found a co-founder outside of the program.
I can’t write about IC, because Idk. I invite anyone who has been through IC (both accepted/rejected), to collaborate on this section.