BLOCK71 Yogyakarta X Exabytes – Interview with CEO & Indonesia’s Country Manager

21 June 2019, Friday

In the first episode of our monthly Founder’s Interview series, we have invited Exabyte’s CEO, Chan Kee Siak, and Country Manager, Indra, from one of the largest web hosting companies in South East Asia, to join us for an interview session. Chan happened to be in Yogyakarta to visit the team residing in BLOCK71, to ensure the functionality of operations and to also reaffirm the direction of the team.

In this series, we will be focusing on two important driving points of entrepreneurship, which Chan puts forth succinctly. Having almost two decades worth of experience as a successful entrepreneur, Chan has much to share with us. He stresses that focus and purpose are two very important elements that every entrepreneur need to excel in their various endeavours. But right before we dwell into the elaborate aspects of entrepreneurship, we got Chan to share with us how he started Exabyte.

Meet Kee Siak

Starting humbly as a helper at his father’s hawker store in Penang, Chan enrolled into a local college at 18 years old, selling PC hardware on a part time basis to earn his tuition fees. One day, he discovered the potential of web hosting while building a website for his customer. Coupled with the knowledge that there was a lack of web hosting providers in Malaysia’s market, he decided to set up his first web hosting reseller business that was 100% online based. He realised his business was performing well, and at the age of 19, he decided to drop out of college and founded Exabytes, in 2001.

Having a purpose

What one can learn from this is the fact that problems are everywhere, it is just a matter of whether you have the courage to try and seize the right opportunity. As the pilot of Exabytes, Chan stresses that purpose is paramount and relatable to almost anybody, be it a start-up or an individual. Purpose creates a sense of direction and envisions future goals, which may in turn help prevent unnecessary confusion and misalignment between departments. He also stresses that budding entrepreneurs should not start a company just because they have friends who are doing so as well. It is important to understand what the problem is and why they are trying to solve it, before they dive deep into a start-up.

Focusing on objectives

Focusing isn’t as easy as it sounds, as we are often affected by distractions and procrastinations. An entrepreneur must be self-motivated, clear minded and ready to face challenges. Chan puts in subtly that running a business has its own perks, such as being able to travel and being able to work from home and seeing his business grow. But not being able to pick yourself up after failing is ultimately the most common reason why start-ups fail as well. He speaks of this from experience.

Learning from failure

As an experienced web developer, Chan spent his first 7 years in Exabytes growing the front end and unknowingly neglected the backend of his business, where they failed to establish a proper management of accounts. Although they managed to grasp the interests of investors over their business offering and success, they still lost the investment opportunity as they didn’t comply to a proper accounting standard. As an accounting major, I agree with Chan’s statement of “without proper accounting, a company has no proper management”.  Ever since he decided to pick himself up and implement a proper accounting system, his company has been extremely successful. Under the leadership of Chan, today the Exabytes Group consists of 12 subsidiaries, with businesses ranging from web hosting to eCommerce and e-Deliveries, serving over 200,000 customers in 121 countries.

Fun facts

To summarise, there should be a purpose for starting a company, and it should always serve as a guiding star should there be any doubts on the direction of the company. Once purpose has been established and agreed upon, can one then choose to focus their energy on working for the company.

Some fun facts:

1. Chan has only been to Yogyakarta twice and he likes the freshness of the air, the abundance of young and talented people as well as the culture rich vibes.
2. Chan says that Yogyakarta is quite like Penang, and he prefers to term the city as “work life balance”.

Find out more about our Exabytes team here in BLOCK71 Yogyakarta!

BLOCK71 Yogyakarta X Legalku – Interview with CEO

1 July 2019, Monday

On this episode of the Founder’s Interview series, we will be featuring the CEO of Legalku, Muhammad Philosophi. For the past 2 days, Philosophi was our resident speaker for 2 events, where he spoke within the realms of his expertise and conducted business law workshops involving the food and digital industry.

First Impressions

We gathered the impression after attending the workshops, that he was an individual that was strongly motivated and charismatic. As we interviewed him, he proved our assumptions right as he stood out as somebody with a very strong vision, courage and dedication for both himself as well as for Legalku. Both his personal and business objectives resonated well with aspiring entrepreneur like myself, and therefore I felt that the contents of this interview might be worth a read.

Meet Philosophi

Philosophi was once a corporate lawyer who worked in property patenting and had the experience working in boutique law firms. During his time as a corporate lawyer, he realized he might have a greater calling after noticing how starting a business in Indonesia and getting a license was both slow and expensive. To breach this gap, he decided to leave his successful career behind and venture into his new business, in hope of solving these long and expensive bureaucratic processes in Indonesia.

His day to day role is more education centric where he hopes to educate businesses in business law, which fits in well in a developing country like Indonesia, where it is mostly saturated with Small and Medium Enterprises that are the main driving forces of economic growth in Indonesia. He is currently focusing on developing his platform’s offering to reduce the time taken for entrepreneurs to register their business(es) and hopes to expand his circle of network with the government, community leaders and incubator representatives.

Hustle & Adapt

Philosophi admits that as a startup, being willing to hustle, to adapt as well as to learn is an important trait any entrepreneur would require to sustain themselves in their pursuit of success. As a law professional, he may not be an expert in technology. However, he started learning the technology aspects first before he began to focus on building his startup. He did so to be on a strong competitive advantage with his close competitors in the industry. He admits that law can be quite hard to grasp by newbies that are trying to learn it, and there were also times when customers reject his legal certification even though the consultation was for free. However, if an entrepreneur has the persistence as well as the ability to adapt and accommodate to the needs of the market, there will always be a way to capture anybody’s attention and communicate your intention.

Drive & overcoming rejection

Being an entrepreneur is not easy, and as cliché as it sounds, Philosophi admitted that it requires real blood, sweat and tears. What drives him forward everyday is his vision for the company, the courage to provide for his family as well as his own determination to be successful. He would often face unwanted comments on how he decided to leave his secure job and start his own business. Philosophi takes this in a positive stride and says that entrepreneurship is all about persistence, endurance and vision. An entrepreneur has to believe in his own purpose, endure and persist through all the negativity and be forward looking.

Fun facts

This enlightening conversation with Phiolosophi, may have just proved that having all these qualities of persistence and endurance is not just a hearsay, but a must have for an entrepreneur. Having the mindset to be able to be flexible in one’s learning experience is also as important.

Some fun facts:

1. His current Chief Financial Officer and Founder was once his rival in a basketball league. It was through this sport where they found a common vision and executed it to start Legalku.

Philosophi’s impression during the events in Yogyakarta:

1. Yogyakarta is a very productive city that produces a lot of entrepreneurs who are humble but lack the ambition to grow big. However, he states that this is inconclusive especially because of his short stay in Yogyakarta.
2. He is appreciative of BLOCK71’s efforts in creating a collaborative effort between the startup ecosystem here in Yogyakarta.

In the month of July, we are pleased to have hosted 4 additional events in the order of the Blockchain Meetup Event, Apple Developer Roadshow X Binus, Qwords Wordpress workshop and NOC $100 pitch challenge, on top of our signature and monthly Kopi Chat events.

On the 5th July, we featured our resident start-up, Tokocrypto, a blockchain exchange company that focuses on providing consumers with an easy and simple, instant and secure platform to confidently make their transactions. Aside from striving to be the most secure platform for all consumers to transact their digital assets, Tokocrypto also aims to simultaneously educate the masses about the benefits of blockchain, and at the same time allow for the sharing of knowledge and technical expertise to champion new ideas in this industry. Our Blockchain meetup event hosted on the 5th July, was well received by a large audience, which goes to show how interesting the topic of blockchain might be and its potential application to any industry. 

On the 11th of July, BLOCK71 Yogyakarta collaborated with Apple Developer Academy @ BINUS to host an information session that introduced the Apple Developer Academy which focuses on IOS application development. Successful candidates will have the privilege to attend a 9-month program at the Apple Developer Academy @ BINUS, which aims to equip participants with new skills that will help them build careers in the technology industry. Check out their Instagram to find out more : @AppleDeveloperAcademyBinus.

Taking into consideration the fact that Yogyakarta is home to the best universities and the youngest, brightest minds in Indonesia, BLOCK71 Yogyakarta collaborated with web hosting company Qwords and hosted a free workshop on website creation on the 17th of July, with the aim to educate the younger generation and to spark and stimulate the spirit of technology, internet-savviness and entrepreneurship, and make the start-up ecosystem more vibrant with the help of web. In alignment to this, we also featured Kreature, a startup founded by some of our very own NUS Overseas College (NOC) students, who have received mentorship and guidance under Qwords previously, and it allowed for a more insightful and inspiring sharing of how having the knowledge of website creation can be beneficial to aspiring entrepreneurs. 

On the very same day, we were humbled to have been able to invite the CEOs and founders of Indmira, Qwords, Agradaya as well as the programme manager of NOC Southeast Asia to be a part of the panel of judges that assessed the pitching session by two of our NOC start-ups.  Both start-ups, Kreature and BR3W received invaluable feedback from the judges who advised them on what to do moving forward. 

On the 27th July, we featured our signature Kopi Chat Deep Dive Series, where we invited speakers from UGM, Communication and information DIY as well as Kotakita foundation to discuss about the effectiveness of smart city. 

Our monthly community gathering, held on the 31st July, was organised with an aim to encourage cross interaction between start-ups and foster better relationships within the BLOCK71 community. It was also a platform for BLOCK71 to update the residents on administrative things ranging from our own programmes to new residents joining our BLOCK71 community. 

Moving on in the first day of August, BLOCK71 will be having a founder’s circle meetup, inviting the founders of each start-up to join in a circle of discussion with the programme director of NUS enterprise, Mr Sazali Johari. Each month, we will have a start-up review where we will gauge the performance trajectory of a start-up and work hand in hand with them to help them discover the opportunities that may help them grow and expand their business. 

On the 2nd Aug, we will be featuring Tokocrypto again, but this time it will be under our signature Kopi Chat series and the speaker will be Pang Xue Kai, the CEO and Founder of Tokocrypto. We are expecting a very interesting and inspiring engagement as the topic of discussion for this upcoming Kopi Chat series will revolve around the story of how the company was founded: From identifying the problem, to choosing, and validating the market. Stay tuned for more updates!

In celebrating their sixth Excursion of Information System, students from Information System of Universitas Brawijaya visited BLOCK71 Yogyakarta on August 23, 2019. With the introduction by the representatives from BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, they finally know what and who is BLOCK71 as an ecosystem builders and global connecter. They also got the chance to see the working atmosphere in BLOCK71 Yogyakarta and met three of the residents; SocioTraveler, Goop, and Wonder through sharing session.

BLOCK71 is indeed a home of creative people who express their ideas through the help of technology. One of these people is SocioTraveler. The speaker encouraged the attendees that everything can be started from a hobby. Through the hobby as an avid traveler, the founder wanted to influence the customer that traveling should be impactful to the society. The team reside to BLOCK71 Yogyakarta because they believe they can expand their wings to international market, and they are able to always connect with the wanderlusts.

As they are still active students, we invited one of our residents, Goop. They were pleased to know that there is a platform to connect university through discussion, information, and community in one application.

Their visit was not merely a company visit. Our team from Wonder kindly shared the tips and tricks to boost up CV for fresh graduates or those who have not arranged any CV. There are three ways to make your CV noticeable:

1. Start with the latest achievement.

Always start from the newest experiences/achievements and end up with the latest ones.

2. Improve your English skills.

As long as your English is on Good level, keep going on! There is always time to improve your English.

3. Put the strongest skills you have on the top.

Are you good at HTML, UI/UX, Time Management, or so on? Just write them down so the employees know a bit of what you can contribute to the company.

The celebration of our first anniversary had officially been triumphant.

Friday, November 1st, 2019, marked the first year of BLOCK71 Yogyakarta as an ecosystem builder and global connector in Yogyakarta. In this one-year anniversary party, our purpose is not only to celebrate, but also to be reminded of our core goals and reasons for why we were here in the first place. Together with the representatives of respected universities in Yogyakarta, as well as government agencies and officials, communities, and our partners, we took a good look back on the past year through a series of sessions.

First was exclusive to our in-house partners; Founder’s Circle, where we shared insights and some secret keys on the chances a startup will get fundings with a key speaker from Gobi Ventures, Nadia Ivonny. The next session is the Open House - Anniversary BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, where over 100 people came together to celebrate with us. We were more than happy to see how enthusiastic the guests were, looking at how crowded our building was. Together, we went through a recap of this past one year and the future plans and prospects of BLOCK71 Yogyakarta. In this past year, we have connected 23 startups from Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. We have partnered with Yogyakarta’s most famous universities, such as UGM, UII, UKDW, and AMIKOM, as well as communities and companies like Sadasa, UXiD, Facebook Developer Circle, Indofood, and many more. 

With the representatives of respected universities, government agencies and officials, and communities in Yogyakarta present, we took this party as a chance to let them know more about BLOCK71 Yogyakarta. Led by Sazali Johari, the Program Director of BLOCK71 South-East Asia, the open discussion was about the potential collaboration audience and BLOCK71 Yogyakarta served to delegate future collaborations. The discussion included BLOCK71’s programs and facilities that aimed to further boost the startups that have partnered with us and help them grow globally.

The celebration ended with our signature event; KopiChat: Deep Dive Series. In this session, we delve deeper into the startup ecosystem in Yogyakarta with key speakers the Head of Aditif, Saga Iqranegara; CEO of Gamatechno, Aditya Arief Nugraha; CEO of Wideboard & Co-Founder of Srawoeng, Gisneo Pratala; and Managing Partner of G45 Ventures, Arie Liyono and moderated by our General Manager of BLOCK71 Indonesia, Agustin Marjanti. To read more about Kopi Chat: Deep Dive Series click here.

To keep updated on similar events, tech-savvy related events, or a fan of BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, make sure to follow our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram.

In this month Kopi Chat: Deep Dive Series, we aims to unravel the growth of startup ecosystem in Yogyakarta. Together with the key speakers the Head of Aditif, Saga Iqranegara; CEO of Gamatechno, Aditya Arief Nugraha; CEO of Wideboard & Co-Founder of Srawoeng, Gisneo Pratala; and Managing Partner of G45 Ventures, Arie Liyono and Agustin Marjanti, the General Manager of BLOCK71 Indonesia, as the moderator, we delve deeper into the issues behind the startup ecosystem’s growth, how it was before, what factors supply its growth, and what could we do to compete globally in the startup market.

The discussion was opened with a bit of a biographical question on how these experts ‘dived’ into the industry. Although they started differently, there are some things and values that they agree upon. Before, the startup line-up could only take references from big corporates like Apple, Microsoft, and so on. Therefore, building a startup from scratch is not an easy task, especially when forums, incubators, and even more ecosystem builders, did not exist.

According to the explanation that has been given by all the speakers, compared to before, the startup ecosystem in Yogyakarta has taken a major turn. With Yogyakartans’ nature that is open to changes, the startup ecosystem positively develops towards a more technology-based startup. Liyono highlights how the existence of forums and ecosystem builders, such as Kopi Chat and BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, helps boost the startup ecosystem and market further. He had realised that the future of startup is digital. Another factor that boosts the growth of startup ecosystem in Yogyakarta is the opening of the branch office of startup from Jakarta since Yogyakarta is seen as a place with high productivity and high quality talents. Nonetheless, the people in Yogyakarta tend to be too lenient and easily offended, hence they oftentimes cannot handle harsh feedback that is meant for their progress.

However, the speakers also highlight that It is also important to realise that there has been a change going on in Yogyakarta. Although the culture of ‘baperan’ (lenient) is still thriving and inhibiting the advancement and the development of startup market in Yogyakarta, the people of Yogyakarta are now braver, especially the young generation, to explore many things. These things include themselves and their passion. Pratala also adds that being persistence is the key. He tells us that he was once, like any other college student, was in the wrong major. However, he was passionate about business and technology and his mechanical engineering major could not stop him from pursuing the world where he feels he belongs to, the digital startup. The CEO of Gamatechno, Nugraha, also emphasised the same thing. As he’s been in the industry for 17 years, he thinks that the key is persistence and commitment.

After recognizing these factors that encourage the growth of startup ecosystem, the next step is to consider fixing the things that need to be fixed so that local startup can join the global competition. The first is to upgrade the quality of human resources, whether it is soft skills or hard skills. No matter how advanced the technology has and will become, the human touch is still needed. The aforementioned human touch needs to be on-par with the technology, so that the desired development and expansion of the startup market will reach satisfaction. One thing that is sure to be useful in any field is English skill. It is a must to be literate in English as the competition right now is no longer between cities but the neighbouring countries.

Another thing is to counter-attack the Yogyakartans’ nature to be too lenient and soft-hearted. The speakers know that it is one of the uniquenesses of Yogyakarta, however, they do believe that in doing business, or in a professional situation, being too lenient and soft-hearted will only hinder the progress of a startup and startup market. Hence, it needs to be noted that they are not asking the people of Yogyakarta to lose their uniqueness but to employ it accordingly.

For more information about the next Kopi Chat, don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list and make sure to follow BLOCK71 Yogyakarta’s social media on Facebook and Instagram.

The first week of November had been wholesome for BLOCK71 Yogyakarta.

Not only did we successfully hold the celebration of our first anniversary on Friday, November 1st, but also we arranged the biggest startup conference in Yogyakarta, Jogja Startup Day, on November 2nd and 3rd. Together with Amikom Business Park (ABP) and Amikom Computer Club (AMCC), we brought forward Jogja Startup Day hoping to provide the platform for startups, investors, and like us, incubators and ecosystem builders to connect with each other.

In Jogja Startup Day, more than 900 attendees got the chance to have a closer look into the startup ecosystem through the exhibition, talk shows, investor speed dating, gala dinner networking night, and startup pitching competition. As more than 30 startups joining the excitement, the exhibition managed to present diverse startup focuses to the audiences. Six of them are from our residents here in BLOCK71 Yogyakarta; Chapter W, Bountie, Tokocrypto, Delokal, Exabytes, and Goop.  

With the same philosophy in mind, Jogja Startup Day arranged the talk shows with diverse topics. Featuring the President of Bukalapak, Fajrin Rasyid, the first talk show explored on “How to Start a Billion Dollar “Unicorn” Startup”. The second talk show delved into “Why Investors Won’t Invest on Your Startup”, where the Portfolio Manager of Salim Group, Edmund Caruli, became one of the key speakers. The rest of the talk shows also feature prominent figures of BLOCK71; Sazali Johari, the Program Director of BLOCK71 South-East Asia on “Startup Opportunity in South-East Asia,” and Danang Jeffry, Hub Manager BLOCK71 Bandung on “Reasons Why There’s no Unicorn in Jogja.” The first day went without a hitch.

There were not only startup related events, but there was also a game competition to spice up Jogja Startup Day. On the second day, Mobile Legends Jogja Startup Day Tournament 2019 took place, where one of our residents, Bountie, participated as an official partner of the tournament. This was their first collaboration and as their host, we were proud to see the enthusiasm. 

Did you visit our booth? If not, make sure to subscribe to our mailing list and don’t forget to follow BLOCK71 Yogyakarta’s social media on Facebook and Instagram to keep updated.

November is over, but we still cannot move on from Jogja Startup Day 2019!

As one of the organisers of the biggest startup conference in Yogyakarta, we went through many things that were indeed unforgettable. One of those is that Bountie, one of the residents here in BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, held their first tournament at Jogja Startup Day 2019. As their partner and also one of the organiser, we experienced the thrill and the excitement alongside Bountie.

In our latest interview with Bountie for our Startup Feature (have you checked it? Click here and drop a heart so we know you do!), Romi, head of Bountie in Yogyakarta, reminisced at how restless they were that week. He stated that their team initially did not have a plan to hold an event in Jogja Startup Day 2019, and it was not until 4 days before the event that they started to make preparation. “I asked Reni, the community manager of BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, to help boost Bountie’s presence in Yogyakarta a few days before we knew about Jogja Startup Day,” said Romi. Fortunately, Jogja Startup Day was around the corner and it happened just like that!

Well, not really; the committee of Jogja Startup Day 2019 was very enthusiastic about the tournament when they heard it from us, but the problem was, it was due in 4 days and so, the preparation was done in a hurry. After the preparation, they started to be even more restless. He said, “What should we do? Isn’t it too rushed? Will there be any people joining it? Those are basically the questions we have in mind.”

As the tournament was Bountie’s first event in Indonesia, it was normal that they were worried that no one would show up or join the tournament, or other things that spelt catastrophe. Even the poster was done in hours, so it could be seen how rushed things were. As their partner, we also dreaded more or less the same things. So, what we did at that time was to maximize the publication of the event and let the rest took it own course.

Contrary to our worries, the participants exceeded our expectation. With over ten groups joining the tournament, Bountie successfully added new exciting segment to Jogja Startup Day, and hence established themselves as the first E-sports match platform in Yogyakarta.

Once again, we want to say congratulations to Bountie for going strong in their first tournament in Indonesia!

Interested in finding out more about what happened in Jogja Startup Day 2019? Click here!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list and follow BLOCK71 Yogyakarta on Instagram and Facebook.

A founder, a writer, a lecturer, and above all a humanitarian, Fairoz Ahmad is someone who doesn’t hesitate to do more to contribute to society. His work ethics have always been centered around making the world a better place even when he was still studying Sociology at the National University of Singapore. He was an alumnus of the ACE Capstone Leadership Program for Non-Profit of Singapore and an alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) for NGO Management by the US Department of State. Because of his effort and contribution, the National University of Singapore's Outstanding Young Alumni award was presented to him in 2017. “I just want to do something meaningful to society” He said matter-of-factly, when we asked him about it. 

Appeared as a man of few words, Fairoz also works as a lecturer, regularly teaching the students of Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore on research methods, community development, and sociology. Besides lecturing, he also writes in his free time, and has published a book titled Interpreter of Winds in 2019. The book is described as “a brief collection—fewer than ninety pages—yet is vividly representative of how Islam has blossomed into its own rich form across the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia.” by Ethos Books Singapore. 

However, most of all, Fairoz is a humanitarian who is especially compassionate to the people of Indonesia. In his early 20s, he was once a volunteer in Indonesia after the Aceh Tsunami in 2004. It was at that time that he believed to be one of the causes of his deep compassion towards the people of Indonesia. Through Chapter W, a social enterprise which focuses on empowering women through technology and create better job opportunities in Indonesia, he wants to accomplish his mission in making Indonesia a better place for everyone. 

The first step in completing the mission was through Ibu Rumah Terang (Mothers Light Up) which has helped women become entrepreneurs selling solar lamps in rural areas of Indonesia. With more than 24.000 people that have accessed Ibu Rumah Terang, Fairoz decided that it was time to start a new challenge. In November 2019, Chapter W launched PatunganYuk! a platform where content creators and influencers can get a sustainable support throughout the month from their fans. It is apparent that PatunganYuk! appeals more to the younger generations. We tried to pry as to why, influencers and content creators who are supposedly get paid a lot from adsense and endorsement need this kind of platform. 

Fairoz recalled that the philosophy behind PatunganYuk! itself was that everyone who has the talent, vision, and cause should be able to get sustainable support as regular support is very important. We also wanted to know what kind of influencers and content creators they have in mind, Fairoz quickly said that it needs to be someone who wants to contribute to the society.

This new challenge also originated from Fairoz’s and his team’s objective to focus more on tech for the next year to come. Among other things, content creators and influencers exist everywhere, so we asked him, why the name is very Indonesian, a slang at that. “The approach was designed for Indonesian’s market, so it had to be easily recognized by the people of Indonesia, ” He said, “But, in the future it could be both, in Indonesia and overseas.”

As a person, Fairoz is very inspiring. Hence, our-curious-selves could not help but asked what his go-to mantra, and he answered: “Everybody needs to grow into your tomorrow. What gets you here today doesn’t mean it will get you through tomorrow. So, keep improving yourself.” Well said!

BTS is our way to explore the person Behind The Startup. Watch out for more BTS stories like this by subscribing to our mailing list!

To be featured, click here to apply and become part of BLOCK71 Yogyakarta's community. Check us out on our social media here and here! 

Thursday, 6 February 2020 --  Madam Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, paid a visit to BLOCK71 Yogyakarta this morning. She was also accompanied by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth; Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development; Member of Parliament Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Ang Wei Neng and Mr Saktiandi Bin Supaat; Mr Anil Kumar Nayar, Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia; and Mr Ngurah Swajaya, Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore.

This was part of a 4-day State Visit to Indonesia to strengthen bilateral ties and areas of potential business collaborations between the two countries.

The delegation was hosted at BLOCK71 Yogyakarta by Ms Dawn Ng, Director of Ecosystem Development (Incubation) at NUS Enterprise and Mr Axton Salim, Executive Director of Salim Group.

Three BLOCK71-supported Founders also presented their technology solutions impacting Indonesia:

1. Mr Fairoz Ahmad of Chapter W, an organisation running a tech platform focusing on promoting greater financial inclusion for Indonesians via joint purchases and group savings. Fairoz is also a National University of Singapore alumni.

2. Ms Lintang Wuriantari of Matchamu, a manufacturer of healthier instant powdered drinks in Indonesia.

3. Mr Aryo Wiryawan of Indmira, a technology based company conducting research and development on agrocomplex (agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries) and environmental rehabilitation.

The President was also hosted for a guided tour around the facility to meet with other incubated technology start-ups.

1.  Amalan restructures and refinances consumer loans for borrowers that find it difficult to pay their monthly installments. Amalan helps people who can no longer afford to fulfill monthly payments to their banks. Amalan works for the borrower with their lenders to find a solution that is affordable to the borrower and acceptable to all parties involved. 

2. Wideboard is a productivity app in the form of a team messenger that helps people to connect and unifies team communications, making collaboration a lot simpler and better. Wideboard seeks to minimise time use and maximise productivity of the user. It is designed to bring teams together and facilitate collaboration through sharing of ideas and discussions.

3. Delokal is a booking platform to get tourism activities packages in villages. Not only as a platform that ease the tourist to find the tourism activities, Delokal also provides a management system for village tourism boards to manage the development of the tourist area by using community based ecotourism principle. 

4. Bukasuara is a community-based perspectives media startup which aims to deliver people's thoughts to provide a wide-range of knowledge, insights, and ideas. Bukasuara as media has wide-range of topics since it is media perspective and utilizes micro-influencers to generate content. Bukasuara is also a consulting company that has numerous people with quite impressive capacity. Also, Bukasuara has the tech as a catalyst to solving this kind of problem.

5. Kandang.in is a sharia compliant crowdfunding platform in the livestock industry that helps small medium farmers connect to investors in big cities. Their vision is to create a social impact fintech platform that really helps farmers find halal capital and provide sharia investment option to investors. Currently, Kandang.in is also developing an IoT system to automate and integrate livestock management.

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About BLOCK71 Yogyakarta

BLOCK71 Yogyakarta, a tech ecosystem builder and global connector by NUS Enterprise and Indonesian conglomerate Salim Group, was launched on 25 October 2018 (the same day as BLOCK71 Bandung) by Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. BLOCK71 Yogyakarta is the gateway to a 300,000+ strong city of students from four state universities and 16 private universities.

Since its launch, BLOCK71 Yogyakarta has incubated almost 28 start-ups from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, collaborated with 5 universities and partnered with various corporates and local government agencies for our programmes in the Yogyakarta area.

In building the tech ecosystem in Yogyakarta, BLOCK71 Yogyakarta has also organised and hosted over 100 tech events and visits to its space; and served as the hub for other local and regional ecosystem players such as university start-up incubators for engagement to bolster the Yogyakarta start-up scene.

On 7-12 of May 2020, BLOCK71 Yogyakarta and Aliansi Komunitas Startup Yogyakarta had worked together to raise funds to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 through a week-long online session entitled #DiRumahAjaTalks Talk for Charity. Through this event, we would like to encourage our community to learn together, as well as foster a sense of empathy for others affected by the COVID-19 case more productively. The event aims to provide a platform where participants could gain knowledge and insight by raising awareness of our surroundings.

Within a week, there are 6 online class sessions on various topics, which includes:

On the first session is started by discussing the topic of content creation entitled “The Future of Creative Industry” featuring Rond Weasley, Youtuber, and Abraham Kevin, the Top 10 of Indonesian Idol 2018. The second day featured Ahmad Faiz Sahupala, Co-Founder and CEO of Eduka System, discussing the topic of education with a session titled “How Technology is Shaping The Future of Education”. Then on Saturday, the third topic is to discuss financial management, with a session titled “Start Investing in your 20’s”. On the next day, the session discussed the topic of entrepreneurship, entitled Managing your Startup through Crisis” featuring Achmad Zaky, Founder of Bukalapak and Init-6 as the speaker. On Monday, 11th of May, we discussed personal development with a session titled “The Importance of Self-Understanding” featuring the Co-Founder and Advisor of Pijar Psikologi, Reno Prasasto, as the speaker. And finally, on the last day, we discussed the topic of the creative industry with a session titled “The Future of Media” featuring Kamal Shahab, Founder of Urbanasia.com as the speaker.

During the whole session of #DiRumahAjaTalks for Charity have gathered 477 participants and gained donations totaling Rp 2.938.846, and 100% of the funds collected will be allocated to distributing essential needs for the lower-middle-class communities in Yogyakarta, through @bantutetangga, a platform initiated by Keluarga Alumni Mahasiswa FISIPOL UGM to help the low-income family in Yogyakarta affected by the stagnation of economy due to COVID-19. The live report on the distribution on the donation can be accessed through https://instagram.com/bantutetangga

On 15th May, BLOCK71 in collaboration with Amikom Business Park held an online sharing session with the topic of IoT in Agriculture and Aquaculture. IoT (Internet of Things) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical, and digital machines provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. 

Our featured speakers, Herawan Caraka, CEO of Unafeed, a startup that helped Unagi Eel cultivation to increase their profit and be sustainable through IoT and M. Ramadhani, Co-Founder of PT JMI with its product Simonkori, a tool that is used to monitor hydroponic gardens with effective and efficient management to improve yields both in quality and quantity, shared their journey to build a startup in the field where it mainly focused on manual labor. 

In this session, our featured speakers shared several points about their experience of using IoT in sectors that are not familiar with the technology. Caraka pointed out that Unagi eel breeders have a significant difference after being introduced to the system. Unafeed provides an easier way for the breeder to establish a better quality product that can be exported. Proving to the breeders about the result of the outcome is a way to convince them to use their products. 

Caraka and Dhani both agreed that gaining investors is not the goal, rather than a consequence of having a good startup, as long as our product is useful and therefore solves the problem that is available in the field of interest.

To conclude, IoT is used to simplify the process and boost the productivity of the clients, and will not replace manual labor, it’s about how well we can utilize the technology and help those who are in need to be more productive and effectively use their resources.

BLOCK71 GOES to Series

Kopi Chat X Ngobrol Bareng Startup (NGOBRAS) IBISMA UII

Talent Solutions for Startup

On Friday, 19 June 2020, BLOCK71 is partnering with IBISMA UII to conduct Kopi Chat x NGOBRAS, we discuss the founder’s entrepreneurship journey in creating talent solutions for a startup, and the importance of it. Talent Solution has been successfully redefining the whole recruitment process for a company and LinkedIn Talent Solutions has pioneered this movement by providing an easy to use products for recruiters and leveraging its connections database, and it has been continuously growing ever since. The event is co-organized by BLOCK71 Yogyakarata and IBISMA UII, with 255 total participant.

About Pijarcareer and Waktukita.com

Pijarcareer is a startup that bridges vocational schools to recruiters. The idea comes in 2017 when he reads that the unemployment rate for vocational school students is among the highest in our country. Bayu felt like it was his calling to solve this problem because he is also an alumnus of vocational school. On the other hand, Waktukita.com focuses on skill development and career builder for college students and graduates around the topic of tech and education. Dhimas points out although the overall unemployment rate in Indonesia is decreasing when in reality, the rate is increasing for university graduates.

Using Talent Solutions for Recruitment

Dhimas said that it's a service that saves a lot of time and can simplify the process. Waktukita’s service can help HR departments in companies save up to 2 weeks to recruit. Bayu said that the process should benefit both employers and talent. Startups that have a database can be used by employers and saves them more money. Talents can utilize it to develop themselves and to have a look at other portfolios, basically like ‘social media’ for talents. He also added that for fresh graduates, working at a startup can kickstart your career to apply to bigger companies. 

Upscaling a Startup

When being asked about how to upscale a startup that has been built effectively and efficiently, being consistent with your vision is the key to building a startup, according to Bayu. He also added that you have to start first, then you will know the problems that may arise, and further, not giving up. Dhimas also agreed and added that nowadays, the ongoing trend in the industry is to collaborate. Internally, a business should develop a lot of plans that could also help. Further, he advised startup founders to meet as many people as possible. Go to events and enter competitions to promote your startup to have a lot of connections. 

Words of Advice to Build a Startup

Lastly, they have several words of advice to anyone who wants to start building a startup. Bayu advised that having an idea comes first. You have to start with a strong team, and then you will have the outcome from the idea. When you start to develop them, you need to market it to the right target, then you will receive a buyer. Dhimas agrees, then adds that you have to choose the right. You should differentiate between friendship and business, and they have to share the same vision as you. 

BLOCK71 Yogyakarta successfully held BLOCK71 Goes to Unair, on Monday, 14th September 2020. The event was supposed to be conducted offline, however, due  the pandemic, we utilized zoom webinar as the platform for sharing sessions and discussion. Though the discussion is conducted online, it was still very reflective of the current situation. With CEO of Alinamed, Riswanda Noorisa, and CMO & CO-Founder of Feedloop, Muhammad Ajie, we discussed Funding Strategies for Startup in Pandemic.

Alinamed Indonesia is a homecare startup that supports public health as a realization of the 2030 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). This Startup provides online consultation services for the patients to the professional medical practitioner, and if necessary also brings in the medical practitioner directly to the patient’s house. Additionally, they also provide the medicine delivery through their app. Alinamed’s services are considered very helpful, considering the current condition of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Feedloop  is a startup that provides a suite of digital tools for marketing staff in creating an interactive marketing campaign, in form of a survey, quiz, and also stories that could be shared in media social or to be shown on application and website. Considering that customers nowadays prefer to have a two-way dialogue with the brand, Feedloop is trying to bring up the solution with their brilliant ideas.

During the session, the CEO of Alinamed and the CMO of Feedloop shared about their journey in raising the fund for their startup, and especially in this current condition. It’s indeed not easy for startups during this COVID-19 situation to gain any investment from Venture Capital, however, there are some tips that might be helpful for startup founders to get investments. Here’s the recap of funding strategies from the speakers: 

- Practice your pitching skills! 

Doing pitching in front of investors is a crucial thing. This is the basic stage when you can convince investors that you are actually doing very well and would bring profit to them. You absolutely do not want to perform a messy presentation, or create a boring pitch deck that investors might be not putting attention to. Let’s take a look at some tips from our speakers below:  

1. Try five or ten minutes pitching with different people. It’s because every investor has a different persona, so you have to attract the investor with various preferences.

2. Make a beautiful pitch deck, create a structural one, and learn the flow of the pitch.

3. Start with the idea, and explain to them how worthy your startup is and what makes it that way. Don’t forget to deliver the proves, it’s not about how flowery your words are.

4. Tell them that your business is profitable, assure them that there’s an adequate market and the business flow is healthy.

5. Last but not least, Build an impactful yet memorable narrative, it could bring to a stronger branding and increase the awareness from the society too.

- Get attention from VCs!

What factors would support VC decisions to invest in your startup at the end of the day? According to the speakers, here are the tips that you can apply to get the attention from the investors: 

1. Build your personal branding. Investors are putting their eyes on your resilience, consistency, originality, and also impacts you could bring to the table. 

2. Your business has to be focused on the track, by setting a clear planning, and not easily distracted by other factors.

3. Show them that your startup is though, that it could be standing still on every condition it may take.

4. Make sure that the business idea that you build, is a great answer and could possibly become a problem solver to the current urgency. So, it’s suitable for people's essential needs nowadays. 

There are the two main points of Funding Strategies in Pandemic as the recap of the event. As Riswanda Noorisa, CEO of Alinamed said that “It’s a good time to try,” you could train your mental strength in the startup industry by seeking opportunities during this pandemic. Dare yourself to secure funding for your startup! Good luck!

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BLOCK71 Yogyakarta was having a great discussion with Kartika Akbaria, Vice President, Human Capital & Corporate Affairs at Ruangguru with the topic “Employer Branding For Startup” on Tuesday, October 15, 2020. With more than ten years of experience in Human Capital fields, she shared insightful knowledge about Employer Branding Strategies in practice.

Kartika defined Employer Branding as a “Unique Scent” meaning that it’s not only something that we can see but beyond that, it is something genuine that we could feel about. The ability of a company to create the culture, values, and how the leaders or top management treat the employers. Thus, it builds the character of the company at the end of the day.

How important is employer branding? Precisely because of this pandemic, and the recruitment process is slowing down, it’s the best time to invest in employer branding. Employer branding is crucial to attracting top candidates. There are so many top candidates out there, but the company which is trying to attract them is also escalating twice as much as before.

As employer branding could make candidates see that the company has a unique character and genuine, also paying attention to the employers, it will remain on their mindset and could drive their decision making to apply to the company. Employer branding also secures long term hiring needs, by making sure that employers stay longer in the company, meaning that it could cut off the hiring cost and potential cost that is needed for hiring new candidates.

The process of building employer branding simply could be explained in three steps. First, create a talent framework. The Company has to discuss with the whole management about the company focus including vision, mission, meaning, values, and long-term target. Also the criteria of the talents they want to hire. Second, validate the talent framework. It could be done by doing mini research to the internal and external stakeholders, whether the criteria support the development of the company. Last, fully embed the talent framework into the business. The plan of people strategy has to be balanced with the business strategy or business result, and it should be measured by the metrics.

Who is the one who should build the employer branding? It is the executive level, supported by human resources for the internal, and communication team for the external.

Most importantly, happy employers reflect the employer branding done by the company.

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