From Serial Entrepreneur to Investing with Antler: Why Jonathan Doerr Says "Your Passion Is Your Pitch"

Last week on The Perfect Pitch Podcast, we shook things up. Jonathan Doerr, Entrepreneur-turned-Investor, and recently minted Partner at Antler sat down with our host Erika Masako Welch for a convo that was part startup therapy, part founder bootcamp, and 100% real talk.

If you’ve ever questioned your path as a founder, or thought “wait, am I even allowed to pivot this hard?”—this episode will hit home.

From E-commerce Power Plays to Teledentistry… Wait, What? 

Jonathan’s been in the startup trenches across four continents. His early career was full-on Rocket Internet energy—high risk, high hustle. He helped scale:

• Jumia Nigeria: AKA “The Amazon of Africa,” now NYSE-listed.
• Daraz: Dominated South Asia’s e-comm space and got scooped by Alibaba.

But the plot twist? He left the Rocket train to start something weirdly wonderful in the Middle East: Smileneo, a D2C teledentistry startup for clear dental aligners. Think Invisalign, but made for MENA, fully remote, and licensed as the first of its kind in the region.

The kicker? Smileneo landed a $2M seed round, scaled across the GCC, and exited via acquisition by India’s MakeO in 2023. Not bad for a guy who once said, “I had zero dental experience. I just loved the model.”

Lesson: You don’t need a PhD in a field to build something meaningful in it—you just need obsession, clarity, and the right first backer.

Podcast Highlights We’re Still Thinking About

What makes a founder stand out to investors?

Jonathan doesn’t sugarcoat it: “If you don’t know why you want to build this company—you’re not ready.”

Founders, take note: Your why isn’t just part of your story—it is your story. Investors buy into your conviction before they buy into your pitch deck.

Why Dubai?

As a Partner at Antler, Jonathan sees thousands of applications from founders across 35+ nationalities. But not everyone makes the cut.

“I’ve interviewed founders who couldn’t explain why they wanted to launch in Dubai, or why they picked a certain market. That’s a huge red flag.” He continued, “We don’t accept people just because they want to be in Dubai. We look for founders who’ve really thought through why this is the right market.”

Whether it’s untapped consumer behavior, ease of doing business, or cross-border potential—make sure your reason for building in MENA goes beyond palm trees and good hummus.

How important is the co-founder match?

Very. Antler doesn’t invest in solo founders, only founding teams. That’s why, at Antler, Jonathan helps pair up strangers who will (hopefully) become business soulmates. And it seems to be working.

“We’ve had people go from meeting in week one to building something with global traction by week eight.”

But even the best idea won’t survive bad founder chemistry. The secret? Shared ambition, complementary skills, and that “you get me” energy.

 

TL;DR: What You’ll Learn in This Episode 

• How to fundraise smarter by knowing exactly who to pitch—and when. 

• What investors look for in founder-market fit. 

• Why the best founders are obsessed with solving problems they personally care about. 

• How Jonathan went from tech bro to teeth guy—and why it worked. 

Stream the full episode now on: 

• Spotify 

• Apple Podcasts 

• YouTube 

• or right here on LucidityInsights.com/podcasts