Startup Founder | Marketing, Sales, Growth Hacking(Tokyo / September 29th,2025 Start）

Are you an experienced growth hacker in marketing and sales, eager to build a new tech venture from the ground up? This is your perfect chance to start now!

At Antler, we are looking for globally minded, entrepreneurially driven individuals. Japan is currently in the midst of a “second chapter” for startups, with the government, corporations, and society as a whole rallying to support entrepreneurship. Backed by world-class technology, a unique culture, pressing societal challenges, and a growing support ecosystem, Japan is becoming a prime launchpad for game-changing ventures. We are looking for founders who are truly committed to building businesses that can change the world—starting right here in Japan.

▶▶For our September 2025 Residency, we're looking for someone with:

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in digital marketing
• Deep domain expertise and a strong track record of executing strategy and delivering results
• Experience in dynamic industries with growth strategy, go-to-market planning, and competitive positioning
• A strong understanding of customer pain points and industry structure, with domain knowledge in a specific vertical
• Outstanding problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to break down complex issues and approach them structurally

▶▶What you get:

• Pool of potential Co-Founders
• Access to a global network of startup advisors and experts in their fields
• Antler provides founders with a grant during the 10-week Residency.
• Access to Funding: Secure up to 60 million yen in early-stage capital.

Note: This is not a job ad but an opportunity to build your VC-backed startup.

Program details:

Start date: September 29th,2025

Duration: 10weeks

Location:Tokyo

Requirements: You will need to have a valid VISA in order to qualify

Structure: The in-person program is structured in two phases and runs full-time:

Antler Residency in Japan - Batch 5 - Program Overview

Timeline:

• In early summer, 2025: Selectionbegins! Applications will be reviewed upon receipt, and results will be notified on a rolling basis to those who pass the initial screening.
• August 15, 2025: Final application deadline
• September 29, 2025: Antler Residency in Japan - Batch 5-begins

*Please note that the selection schedule is subject to slight changes. Thank you for your understanding.

Phase I ：Antler Japan Residency（10 weeks program）

Phase 1 runs for 10 weeks and is focused on venture development and testing a startup hypothesis. Here we surround you with everything you need to build at lightning speed: a community of diverse founders so that you can find the right co-founder, coaching from our team of proven founders and advisors, perks from hundreds of partners and a global network. At the end of this phase, your team will pitch to our Investment Committee. Successful teams will receive pre-seed funding from Antler Japan and move to Phase 2.

• Week 1 to Week 2:Co-founder MatchingMasterclasses by Leading Entrepreneurs and Industry Experts
• Week 4 to Week 9:Ideation and Validation Hands-on Support from Antler Team
• Week 10:Final Pitch at Antler Investment Committee

Phase II ：After Residency

During Phase 2, which runs for ~3.5 months, you will receive personalized coaching from our partners and global network of advisors to help you scale and hire your core team. It culminates with Demo Day, where you will get the opportunity to pitch to local and international investors

• Week 11 onwards: Business Building Phase Product Development Customer Acquisition
• GTM strategy
• Demo Day:Holistic Support for Fundraising and PR & Media Exposure

You enter Phase 3 once you have left stealth mode and your startup is live. Antler becomes a long term partner for your startup and our global network continues supporting you while scaling and growing your startup. We provide capital up to Series C with our Global Access Fund. You also become part of a strong global network of founders who exchange best practices and learn from each other.

Antler Highlights:

Here you can find some examples of successful companies that were built during the Antler Residency, received pre-seed investment from Antler, and have gone on to raise substantial investment afterwards:

• Airalo - The world’s first eSIM subscription and top-up store
• Xailient - World’s fastest Computer Vision
• AIhomebase - Making home ownership accessiblereebelo - circular economy for e-devices
• Vamstar - Data science powered B2B healthcare marketplace platform.