Kevin Mintaraga is one of the most successful startup founders in Indonesia. His journey started with a digital marketing agency that was acquired by WPP. He then went on to found a bridal business that was acquired by ecommerce giant, Tokopedia. There, as CMO, he guided the company to a successful IPO. Now, he's back at it, building, using AI to change the creator economy.
Kevin sits down to chat with Jesse about his journey, what he's building at bythen, lessons he's learned, and thoughts on the current Indonesian tech landscape.
Kevin's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmintaraga
bythen website: https://bythen.ai/
Mario Gaw is a YC alum and founder/CEO of Jutsoo. Jutsoo is AI-bookkeeping software, that's designed to save your team hours with its automated tasks, powered by artificial intelligence.
Jutsoo is a pivot from Bananas, a quick commerce, grocery delivery app. In this episode, Mario and I discuss his startup journey, building product, pivoting, and getting into YC.
Jutsoo: https://www.jutsoo.com/en
Mario's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariogaw/
I'm experimenting with a solo podcast today. No guest. Just me, Jesse Bouman, talking about my journey as a startup founder.
Earlier this year, Slice, my company, almost died. This is the story of how we turned it around, lessons I learned, and what you can do to avoid this stressful time with your company.
Reinis Simanovskis is a Latvian expat living in Jakarta, building Finfra. As their Chief Product Officer, Reinis is helping build lending infrastructure to help non-financial businesses offer financial services within their platforms. In our chat, we discuss Finfra's early days, how they got passed the chicken and egg phase, P2P troubles in Indonesia, long-term outlook as a founder, and building as a foreigner in Jakarta.
Finfra: https://www.finfra.io/
Reinis' Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simanovskis/
Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro joins the pod. He is currently a Partner at Antler and the former CEO of Warung Pintar. Agung and Jesse chat about his journey with Warung Pintar from ideation to exit. The Indonesian tech landscape and he's hoping to see from its growth in the future.
Antler: http://antler.co/indonesia
Agung’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agung-bezharie-hadinegoro/
Slice Group CEO and Sidedoor host Jesse Bouman (@jessebouman) is joined by David Nugroho, Founder and CEO of DCT Agency. DCT’s business is expanding but much of their success has come from TikTok and livestreaming with influencers. David shares how DCT came to fruition and what he’s learned building his agency. (This episode was recorded a year ago and things may have changed with David’s business).
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DCT Agency: https://dctagency.com/
David’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-nugroho-366b57247/
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Past Episodes You Might Like:
Widi Nugroho - Co-Founder & CCO, Kargo https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZnEzXcGPR0pDnRahOvEVZ
Dr. Timothy Astandu - Co-Founder & CEO, Populix https://open.spotify.com/episode/7HTWwNvNdApKyKgF1nlJNg
Thanks for listening. Feel free to drop me feedback or interview suggestions on IG, X, & Threads, @jessebouman.
Slice Group CEO and Sidedoor host Jesse Bouman (@jessebouman) is joined by Mulyono Xu, co-founder and CEO of Desty Page. Desty Page helps SME entrepreneurs with their digital products in Indonesia. A former VC, Mulyono shares his thoughts on building product and building a growing business. (This episode was recorded a year ago and things may have changed with Mulyono’s business).
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Desty Page: https://desty.page/
Mulyono’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mulyonoxu/
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Past Episodes You Might Like:
Tiger Fang - Co-Founder & CEO, Kargo https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zZPNn8fNGaIGacMgC6FyL?si=4d2e0723f9de4c7d
Jeth Soetoyo - Founder & CEO, Pintu https://open.spotify.com/episode/5C4C36dfqQS2TaAPvePg9G?si=814f363f602840cd
Thanks for listening. Feel free to drop me feedback or interview suggestions on IG, X, & Threads, @jessebouman.
After a hiatus from this pod to work on my startup, Sidedoor is back. I'm dusting off the microphone and interviewing more founders in SEA to tell the stories and learn from their journeys.
Slice Group CEO and Sidedoor host Jesse Bouman (@jessebouman) is joined by Daniel Cahyadi, co-founder and COO of Wahyoo. Wahyoo is a food and beverage enablement company. Daniel shares Wahyoo's origin story, how they pivoted the business three times, and how they have grown while keeping food quality standards consistent (and other lessons he's learned along the way).
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Wahyoo: https://www.wahyoo.com/
Daniel's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielcahyadi/
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This episode is brought to you by Slice. Slice is an integrated creator CRM that simplifies reporting, payments, and relationships for sponsored brand content.
Visit www.Slice.id and use Promo code “Sidedoor” for 50% off your first three months.
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Past Episodes You Might Like:
Nipun Mehra - Co-Founder & CEO Ula https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aSuZRySxMd94eLvZuKv0L?si=5dab24d13b5c4632
Tiger Fang - Co-Founder & CEO, Kargo https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zZPNn8fNGaIGacMgC6FyL?si=4d2e0723f9de4c7d
Jeth Soetoyo - Founder & CEO, Pintu https://open.spotify.com/episode/5C4C36dfqQS2TaAPvePg9G?si=814f363f602840cd
Thanks for listening. Feel free to drop me feedback or interview suggestions on X & Threads, @jessebouman.
Slice Group CEO and Sidedoor host Jesse Bouman (@jessebouman) is joined by Irzan Raditya, co-founder and CEO of Kata.ai. Kata.ai has been around for more than eight years, longer than most Sidedoor guests. He's experienced his fair share of ups and downs, including laying off 90% of his staff. However, he managed to pivot the company and create a product around conversational chatbots and AI, before AI became the hot industry. -- Kata.ai: https://kata.ai/ Irzan's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irzanraditya/ -- This episode is brought to you by Slice. Slice is a creator CRM that helps brands and agencies better manage their influencer relationships. Slice’s integrated platform simplifies reporting, payments, and relationships for sponsored brand content. Visit www.Slice.id and use Promo code “Sidedoor” for 50% off your first three months. — Past Episodes You Might Like:
Nipun Mehra - Co-Founder & CEO Ula, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aSuZRySxMd94eLvZuKv0L?si=5dab24d13b5c4632 Tiger Fang - Co-Founder & CEO, Kargo https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zZPNn8fNGaIGacMgC6FyL?si=4d2e0723f9de4c7d Jeth Soetoyo - Founder & CEO, Pintu https://open.spotify.com/episode/5C4C36dfqQS2TaAPvePg9G?si=814f363f602840cd
Slice Group CEO and Sidedoor host Jesse Bouman (@jessebouman) is joined by Fresh Factory’s co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Widi Nugroho. In a past life, they were colleagues at Mindshare, now they’re both tech entrepreneurs. Widi explains what Fresh Factory does and how they reached product market fit so quickly. He shares the story of getting into YCombinator and some lessons he learned during the accelerator. The episode finishes with a discussion about lessons for older professionals and first time entrepreneurs.
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Fresh Factory: https://freshfactory.id/
Widi’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/widijastoro-nugroho-7b686b/
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This episode is brought to you by Slice. Slice is a creator CRM that helps brands and agencies better manage their influencer relationships. Slice’s integrated platform simplifies reporting, payments, and relationships for sponsored brand content.
Visit www.Slice.id and use Promo code “Sidedoor” for 50% off your first three months.
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Show Notes:
(3:47) - Intro to Widi & Fresh Factory
(12:59) - Understanding Fresh Factory
(34:57) - The YC Experience
(50:10) - Advice for Older Professionals
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Past Episodes You Might Like:
Nipun Mehra - Co-Founder & CEO Ula
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aSuZRySxMd94eLvZuKv0L?si=77b449f41e03438e
Gita Sjahir - Co-Founder, R Fitness
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Xqawzir01MeiBvgbQ2WvB?si=f1502535caaa44bd
Tiger Fang - Co-Founder & CEO, Kargo
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zZPNn8fNGaIGacMgC6FyL?si=150381acff02402d
Jeth Soetoyo - Founder & CEO, Pintu
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5C4C36dfqQS2TaAPvePg9G?si=c081c2e085474115
Sidedoor host and Slice Group CEO Jesse Bouman (www.twitter.com/jessebouman) chats with Jeth Soetoyo, CEO of Pintu to discuss how Pintu earns users' trust and champions a growing crypto industry in Indonesia.
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Links:
Sign up for Pintu: https://pintu.co.id/
Check out Presenting Sponsor Slice: https://slice.id/
Listen to the Sidedoor Podcast on Spotify: www.sidedoor.xyz
Watch the episode on YouTube: www.sidedoor.video
Sidedoor host and Slice Group CEO Jesse Bouman (www.twitter.com/jessebouman) chats with Dr. Timothy Astandu, CEO of Populix to discuss how Populix helps companies of all sizes with market research.
Links:
Sign up for Populix: https://info.populix.co/
Check out Presenting Sponsor Slice: https://slice.id/
Indonesia is in the midst of a technical renaissance. Within the past ten years, Indonesia has gone from a country confused by tech startups, to a booming industry with multiple billion dollar companies. But as the excitement around tech startups has grown, the strain on the country's technical talent has increased. Supply cannot keep up with demand. Giants like Gojek and Tokopedia bought up all the talent with large compensation packages, leaving smaller startups desperate for talent.
Enter Hacktiv8. Ron Ishak is the co-founder and CEO of Hacktiv8, a developer bootcamp in Indonesia. They are focused on closing this gap between Indonesia’s demand for developers and the home grown supply.
I talk to Ron about Hacktiv8 is developing classes that provide enough rigor to adequately prepare students in just three months for a job in tech and how Hacktiv8’s business model is introducing income share agreements to a market that doesn’t have student loans.
Samira Shihab is the co-founder and CEO of Tinkerlust, a secondhand fashion marketplace in Indonesia. Shihab spent much of her youth in Pennsylvania and then moved to Silicon Valley to get her MBA. After moving back to Indonesia, she started her first company and learned that taking a western concept and applying it to Indonesia isn’t as easy as cut and paste.
After living in Indonesia a few more years, she got the inspiration to start Tinkerlust. She and her co-founder bootstrapped the company until they started growing to the point they needed outside capital. In my discussion with Samira I learn how she bootstrapped Tinkerlust, balanced growth and marketing between their fast fashion and luxury items, and how the business has transitioned into a venture backed startup.
https://www.instagram.com/tinkerlustid/
Roughly 2% of all Indonesians have insurance. While fintech gets a lot of the headlines, insurance has an equally large opportunity in Indonesia. Cleo Randing is the founder and CEO of PasarPolis, an insurance startup using tech to simplify the process of buying insurance in Indonesia.
In this episode we discuss why Cleo decided to pursue an insurance startup, how PasarPolis has grown despite so few people having or understanding insurance, and how he has been able to scale his skillset as the company has scaled beyond just a few employees.
Today's guest is TaniHub Group co-founder and president, Pamitra Wineka, otherwise known as Eka. TaniHub is on a mission to help Indonesian farmers get more reliable and higher income from each of their harvests. They do this through three core business units: TaniHub marketplace, TaniFund P2P lending, and TaniSupply logistics.
In a short amount of time, TaniHub has demonstrated that the farming industry can be streamlined and become more fruitful for the hard working farmers of Indonesia.
For Eka, entrepreneurship wasn’t a life goal or ambition. To him, starting a company seemed like the most logical step to solve a problem he discovered working at the World Bank.
Today’s guest is Nipun Mehra, co-founder and CEO of Ula. Ula is on a mission to help offline retail shops with their wholesale purchasing. It’s hard getting reliable products at wholesale prices and there are many different people and companies to buy products from, making operations fragmented for these small, low-tech businesses.
Ula is developing a marketplace to make the purchasing of products significantly easier and more reliable for offline retailers. Nipun and I discuss why Indonesia, how they solve problems for low-tech retailers, and how he approached building out his founding team and raising capital.
Hiro Kiga is the co-founder and COO of Wallex, a B2B fintech company. His career started as a developer at a bank and moved into venture capital before getting the itch to build something.
We’ve heard entrepreneur stories here and last week we got a glimpse of VC life last week. But Hiro is the first founder we’ve had who has had experience on both sides of the table. He has early experience with the Indonesian tech ecosystem, as he was one of the investors in Bukalapak’s Series A round at $3.2 million post money valuation. Bukalapak is now a billion dollar ecommerce company in Indonesia.
Hiro and I talk about how his startup, Wallex, which helps businesses transfer money across borders, got started without a license, how they built trust with customers as an early fintech company, and lessons he learned as a founder that he wasn’t aware of as a VC.
Venture capital is both over glorified and misunderstood. VCs are an important part of the tech ecosystem. You need capital to build a business and venture capitalists will invest in highly risky, early stage startups when traditional banks will not. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Twitter, are all examples of companies that accepted venture capital to grow. But many people, including entrepreneurs, don’t really understand how the business of venture capital works.
Today’s guest is Sidedoor’s first venture capitalist. Shiyan Koh is a general partner at Hustle Fund, an early stage venture capital fund that’s located in San Francisco and Singapore. Shiyan gives us a first hand look at how VCs think. We discuss the opportunities in SE Asia, how Hustle Fund operates, and what she looks for in startups.