Anthill Athena - Anthill Athena

anthill athena will invest in and partner with courageous women entrepreneurs to build companies of the future.

anthill athena will invest in and partner with courageous women entrepreneurs to build companies of the future.

VISION—GENDER AS A MOAT

There are hidden gems in the startup ecosystem – women led companies that can generate tremendous value, yet are off the radar of the venture capital world. We would like to unearth these gems, give them the resources that they need to Scale with Speed and make it impossible to overlook this segment. Value creation alongside Speed Scaling support will ensure higher participation of women and women-led startups in the current VC funded startup ecosystem.

VISION—GENDER AS A MOAT

SCALE WITH SPEED>>SCALE WITH SPEED>>SCALE WITH SPEED>>SCALE WITH SPEED>>SCALE WITH SPEED>>SCALE WITH SPEED

our offerings

UPFRONT CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Before the program...

begins, we will invest $75k to $125k in your startup. Depending on your funding requirements we may help syndicate the rest too. Upon program completion & hitting targets, chance to receive $1M to $5M in follow-on capital.

HANDS ON SPEED SCALING

You will be assigned...

to a Speed Scaler. This would be a successful entrepreneur who’s been there, done that. They would dedicate time weekly to work with you on your goals, challenges and vision.

PERSONALISED COACHING ADDRESSING SKILL GAPS

Deep dive coaching &...

support by industry experts for pre-existing skill gaps as defined by women entrepreneurs as well as other functional areas such as Supply Chain,
Fundraising, Brand Marketing, Leadership, People Management etc.

MARKET ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT

Partnerships, POCs, industry...

deep dives and access to relevant retailers, distributors, third party e-commerce players, international sales channels, celebrities, influencers and emerging sales channels such as social commerce and data driven modern retail partners. Direct access to R&D and product formulation facilities.

MARKETING AND GROWTH SUPPORT

Our internal marketing team...

of brand and performance marketers will closely work with you on your marketing and growth goals. This will also include personalised direct access to partners such as Amazon, Facebook and Google.

INFRASTRUCTURE CREDITS WORTH $500K

INFRASTRUCTURE CREDITS WORTH $500k

We have curated 50+...

partners specifically for consumer startups such as Hubspot, Clevertap, Mixpanel, Shiprocket, Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc where our portfolio companies are able to secure credits not available through any other channels.

timeline

aug 31

APPLICATIONS CLOSE

july 23

sept 15

COHORT ANNOUNCED

APPLICATIONS CLOSE

sept 15

july 30

COHORT ANNOUNCED

4 day

SCALING BOOTCAMP

This will be a condensed version of the content and subject areas we will cover over the 6 month engagement. The intent of this bootcamp is to gain experience from the speakers/ entrepreneurs across different phases of the startup journey that you will encounter. At the end of the bootcamp we will identify our goals and targets across revenue, fundraising, product expansion, CAC reduction and so on.

6 month scale up

4 day

SCALING BOOTCAMP

The six-month scale up period will be used to focus on two areas:

Functional training in critical subject matters used alongside recent case studies.

Hands-on support assisted by our inhouse team, speed scalers, and partners in helping you achieve your predefined goals.

The six-month scale up period will be used to focus on two areas:

Functional training in critical subject matters used alongside recent case studies.

Hands-on support assisted by our inhouse team, speed scalers, and partners in helping you achieve your predefined goals.

6 month scale up

feb

DEMO DAY & FUNDRAISING SHOWCASE

The program will culminate in a day-long session where the founders showcase their startups and the progress they have made over the six month period. This will be followed by networking and pitch sessions to curated investors interested in your startup. Of course as investors, Anthill will continue to support your startup through its lifecycle.

feb

4 day

SCALING BOOTCAMP

DEMO DAY AND FUND RAISING SHOWCASE

eligibility criteria

Pre-seed to Pre-Series A early stage startups in the consumer space operating in Indian markets with either majority of women in founding teams or more than 30% equity held by woman-founder.

apply now

Pre-seed to Pre-Series A early stage startups in the consumer space operating in Indian markets with either majority of women in founding teams or more than 30% equity held by woman-founder.

apply now

consumer brands

consumer internet

consumer enablement

women founders from our portfolio

chitra gurnani daga

CO-FOUNDER

ranjana, saanchi & aardra

CO-FOUNDERS

rinka banerjee

CO-FOUNDER

debjani deb

CO-FOUNDER

jyoti kakatkar

CO-FOUNDER

deepti alapati

CO-FOUNDER

julia dujmovits

CO-FOUNDER

preeti vyas

CO-FOUNDER

mansi gandhi

CO-FOUNDER

astha almast

CO-FOUNDER | THE NEW SHOP

anthill ventures portfolio company

Anthill team first became our friends and then our investors. They bring an incredible network and knowledge that early stage startups need to scale. They are as passionate to help great ideas turn to reality as the Founders they work with, making them the best business partners one could ask for! And above all, they are valiant enough to support the craziest of ideas.

mehak sagar

CO-FOUNDER | WED ME GOOD

anthill ventures portfolio company

Women have an innate ability to multi-task, take calculated risks and understand their audience deeply- All traits of a natural entrepreneur. With Athena, I hope they get the fuel they need to truly scale their business, along with mentorship that is invaluable to young business leaders.

partners speak

arati menon gupta

PROGRAM MENTOR | ANTHILL ATHENA

I have seen that given equal opportunities, women businesses perform at par with men-led enterprises. In a patriarchal society like India, there is significant untapped potential for promoting women entrepreneurship. Anthill Athena’s determination to create this ecosystem are multifold: with robust mentorship of women, affirmative action that will enable them to execute a scalable business plan, and funding, will all help remove the barriers that are holding the women entrepreneurs back.

kabir kochhar

PARTNER | ANTHILL VENTURES

Anthill is proud to extend its #SpeedScaling support to women-led startups with the introduction of the Anthill Athena scaling program. Some of the most exciting companies in Anthill’s existing portfolio are already women-led. Yet, we see a significant under representation in the overall startup ecosystem. After much research and long conversations with many women entrepreneurs, we have built the Anthill Athena program to help founders navigate challenges that are amplified due to their gender. We maintain our sharp focus on consumer and media startups and direct out energies on bringing hands-on Speed Scaling support to the most exciting early-stage women led startups through capital, mentorship, marketing, distribution and much more.

about anthill

Anthill Ventures is a globally operating venture capital and speed scaling ecosystem that invests in, and enables early stage startups to scale through Market Access and Market entry. It has funds across India and Singapore focused on four key verticals – consumer, media, healthcare and urban tech. Till date, Anthill has invested in more than 50 startups in India and across the globe and have already marked 4 successful exits in a short span of time.

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