18 tips for foreign entrepreneurs and corporations in Indonesia

This evening marks the start of our Startup Asia Jakarta 2013 conference at Gedung Indosat, where startup founders and investors come together to network and have a little fun before our actual conference held at Plaza Bapindo tomorrow.

Indonesia is a pretty exciting country with tremendous opportunities presented for locals as well as foreigners. We all know how important it is to understand and localize your product before it is able to reach out to the masses, and we’re honored to have these speakers at our pre-event night to talk about 10 tips for foreigners and corporations interested to tread in the Indonesian waters (left to right):

• Enricko Lukman, Blogger at Tech in Asia (moderator)
• Remco Lupker, Co-founder of Tokobagus (exited) and Ambient Digital Indonesia
• Paul Leishman, Co-founder at Coda Payments
• Magnus Ekbom , Co-founder at Lazada

1. Pack your bags and move here. This applies to any country an entrepreneur is looking to expand into. Leishman said it’s important to base yourself in Indonesia instead of flying in and out of the country once every three weeks. Lupker echoes his sentiments and urges foreign entrepreneurs to move to Indonesia, localize with the people here, and network a lot. He adds that the local peeps here are more than willing to help. This will be your new home if you want to do business here, so be serious about it.

2. Budget more time during your execution plan. Leishman also noted that things don’t usually go according to plan here in Indonesia, hence it is always good to add in buffer and budget more time. He recalls a case in which he found it difficult to find the right person to speak with when he was trying to persuade telcos to work with them. And yes, the jam here in Indonesia is bad, too.

3. Take your accounting and legal stuff seriously. It’s important to know what you are not good at. Accounting and legal matters are serious stuff, and it’s going to hurt a lot if these are not taken seriously right from the start, says Leishman.

4. Businesses are mostly driven by partnerships. Ekbom reveals the reasons why he enjoys working with Indonesians: their spontaneity and how they come together to work things out. There is a lot of synergy going on here – You see retailers working with telcos, and telcos working with banks.

5. Make sure you talk to the right person. It is difficult to know whether you’re talking to the right person, but Lupker emphasizes that it is extremely important. Work your network, especially your investors. They have a lot of relevant contacts. He attributes his current success to his own investors.

6. Mobile space has the most untapped potential. Ekbom thinks mobile is the most obvious market that presents huge untapped potential, which is completely unexplored.

7. Don’t assume it’s the same here as it is in other countries. Yes, basic rules apply, but Lupker advises that you have to open your eyes really quickly to tune to the local business culture. There are still differences between countries – be it working, communicating, and executing. Leishman adds that you should get your hands dirty as quickly as possible. Ekbom says it helps to hire Indonesians to work with you. He shares his experience wherein his teammate helped in localize their product.

8. It’s best to learn the local language. Lupker stresses that one should learn the local language, if not you will feel left out when people start conversing in their native language. You will be attending a lot of meetings, and you will want to know what they are talking about when they turn to each other and start talking.

9. Localizing is less expensive than educating the whole population. Having exited Tokobagus, Lupker says entrepreneurs should always ask the local people and listen to them. Localizing is about the local people. “Don’t make it too complicated,” says Ekbom. “Get on the streets to get the ultimate answer.” I mean, there’s a reason why you’re based here in Indonesia, right? If you’re not going to localize, what’s the point of being here?

10. Indonesians are a lovely lot. Ekbom also added that people here are extremely helpful, less selfish, and less judgemental. They see more benefit in helping another, and are mostly spontaneous with no hidden agenda.

11. Have a good mix of international and local teammates. Locals might find it fun to have a good mix of local and international teammates. You will never know what the different cultures might bring into the mix.

12. Let people grow into their roles. Ekbom proudly tells the audience that his staff turnover rate is 3 percent. People will never stay for money. You need to make people grow. Promote them, give them responsibilities even if they are not ready and they will grow into their roles. They will enjoy and do the real stuff for you. Always remember it is important to surround yourself with smart people and allow them to show their talent. Don’t control them. Lupker adds that the company culture should have an element of fun, and that is a big factor that contributes to company loyalty.

13. Don’t be too dependent on one investor. Ekbom tells the entrepreneurs in the audience to get smart with investors. There’s abundance of capital – everyone who has the money wants to go into online. But wanting and actually putting in money are two matters altogether. You also need to know what they can bring to the table, other than the cash. There is definitely an upside getting investors who are extremely plugged in as it opens a lot more doors. They are the ones who have a lot of connections in the region, and might get you the marketing and business partnerships.

14. Often, foreign investors are more willing to take risks and put in the money. Lupker adds that hopefully this will change as more success stories and big exits coming out of Indonesia. Foreign investors have seen how it is like overseas, which makes them more inclined to take the leap of faith.

15. Pit yourself against others. Because you will know where the benchmark is, and you will keep striving for the better.

16. Persevere, baby, persevere. You’re going to fuck it up in ways you don’t expect to happen. So it’s really all about doing and pushing it forward. Quoting Ekbom, “It’s all about trying, deploying, and coming up with better versions as you go along.”

17. For the local entrepreneurs, be more aggressive. Lupker says that foreign companies tend to be more aggressive in their advertising spend. It is not usually the case where foreign companies are any brighter than the local ones, but the lack in aggression causes them to be at the losing end.

18. Get a local boyfriend or girlfriend. What’s a better way to understanding, localizing, and loving the country with 247 million people? Look at Lupker – he has an Indonesian wife and exited his company. It works.

(Editing by Josh Horwitz and Terence Lee)

This is a part of our coverage of Startup Asia Jakarta 2013, our event running on November 21 and 22. For the rest of our Startup Arena pitches, see here. You can follow along on Twitter at @TechinAsia, and on our Facebook page.