For 2018, Indonesian startups need to stop building vitamins and start building painkillers
Several development in the Indonesian startups community this year will affect how things are going next year
Left to right: M Cash CEO Martin Suharlie, Kata.ai Co-Founder and CMO Reynir Fauzan, Uber Southeast Asia General Manager Chan Park
There were several moments that are considered as the highlights of Indonesian startup community in the year 2017, but there is nothing like the IPO of two local startups in the Indonesia Stock Exchange.
The two startups, Kioson and M Cash, have made history as the first to go public on the platform, and this moment is believed to have opened up a new chapter for the Indonesian startup community.
But at the Jakarta Meetup 2017 event at Spacemob Gama on Wednesday, when asked about how the IPO has changed the company’s priorities, M Cash CEO Martin Suharlie stated that their priorities in providing innovation to the public remains the same.
“Because of the IPO, we are able execute our plans faster. And after that we can also build new technology because of the IPO,” he said.
At the event hosted by e27 and DailySocial, the panel discussion also includes Kata.ai co-founder and CMO Reynir Fauzan and Uber Southeast Asia General Manager Chan Park.
It revealed the points that Indonesian startups need to pay attention to next year —particularly from the points of view of investors and customers.
Also Read: Uber names its first president in the Indonesian market
“Show me the money!”
Has M Cash’s IPO led to more startups wanting to follow the same route?
In the case of Kata.ai, the answer depends on what the startup is aiming to do.
“As a matter of fact, when we moved from B2C to B2B, it was a matter of choosing our battles. People consider going to the B2B sector as the more safer options from business point of view, but it actually depends on how you see it. It’s like playing black jack,” Fauzan said.
Suharlie also stated that potential investors will begin to demand startups to “show them the money,” but Fauzan responded by saying startups will need more than just money.
“If you show them the money, investors will come, but if you can find an investor that will stick with you, they will help you to get through it all,” he said.
Vitamins and painkillers
Despite facing different kinds of customers, all three companies agreed that in 2018, businesses are going to become even more customer-centric as they begin to demand more from tech companies.
As a ride-hailing service which had to deal with different kinds of situations and possibilities everyday, the stakes are higher for Uber as the company grows bigger.
“As you grow your business, their expectation of what you do in [different] situations also grow,” said Park.
“We are investing in building new features on our platform to ensure security, such as a having drivers to take a selfie of themselves to ensure that the ones picking up the user is the very same as in the application, not a friend of their,” he added.
Also Read: Here are the new products launched by startups in Indonesia this week
As a company that works in the chatbot service, Kata.ai also believes that the mobile app era has come to an end. Customers do not want to download too many apps any more; this means startups need to work harder in convincing users to download their app.
“If you want to build an app, you need to think if your app will be really competitive,” Fauzan said.
“Stop building vitamins, and start building painkillers. So people can really see how your apps can kill the pain [points] that they have been experiencing,” he stressed.
For B2B companies like Kata.ai, even when they are not facing the general public directly, they have witnessed how far users are willing to go in using a chatbot service
“Customers will be more critical. They are keen to try something new, and they are willing to [even] abuse it,” Fauzan said, adding that users have even tried to have “dirty talks” with a chatbot.
What to do when cash is king
Another important note is related to high number of unbanked population in the Indonesian market.
The common statistic as provided by the World Bank stated that 70 per cent of Indonesians have no access to a bank account, but Suharlie believes that the number may actually be bigger than that.
“I had a discussion with the owner of the biggest minimarket [chain] in Indonesia; he said that the number [of unbanked population] is actually up to 90 per cent. Because there are non-active accounts,” he explained.
“People only use the bank account to receive their salary, then they withdraw it, and never use the account again,” he added.
This is the reason why M Cash had begun to introduce its digital kiosks on mom-and-pop stores in rural areas after years of operating in supermarket chains in big cities.
Responding to a question from the audience, Suharlie also explained that this is the reason why M Cash’s platform is not in the form of a mobile app.
“Can smartphone apps accept cash? Only people with bank accounts can pay using apps … That’s why [digital kiosk] box is a very important element in this ecosystem. Because kiosks allow users to receive physical money,” he said.
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