Bukalapak’s president on its IPO’s ‘sheer luck’ and why he’s not worried over stock prices

This article is based on a fireside chat at Tech in Asia Conference 2023. Watch the full video of the session above.

Teddy Oetomo, president of Bukalapak, took an unconventional path to the leadership of the Indonesia Stock Exchange-listed ecommerce platform.

He started his career as an academic, spending five years lecturing at the University of Sydney where he obtained a Ph.D. in economics. He still speaks with a faint Australian accent.

After eight years in investment banking – “I got burned out,” he said – and a stint in asset management, Bukalapak’s shareholders approached him in 2018 to join the company as its chief strategy officer. He was then appointed president in 2020.

See also: Bukalapak seizes ‘great opportunity’ in Mitra as rivals like GoTo exit

At the Tech in Asia Conference in Jakarta last week, Oetomo shared what he’s learned after joining the company.

1. Bukalapak listing needed a heavy dose of luck

Oetomo said it was “sheer luck” that Bukalapak listed in August 2021 – just a couple of months before Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell took a hawkish turn on interest rates – and that things would have been harder had it listed a little later.

Of course, what was beneficial for the company’s pre-IPO shareholders proved to be less so for retail investors who went in at the listing price of 850 rupiah (US$0.05). As of last Friday, they are sitting on losses of around 76%.

Yet Bukalapak wouldn’t have gotten lucky had it not been ready to pull the trigger.

When Oetomo first joined the company, he shared that it was not ready to list – it didn’t even have a virtual data room in place.

Photo credit: Bukalapak

This is one of the basic housekeeping rules that companies planning to go public should observe, in addition to having good financial controls in place, audited financial statements, and the right incorporation structure.

2. Founders don’t need to finish the race

Running a public company, or even a later-stage startup, requires a unique skill set. Often, these are not the same ones that startup founders possess. Not everyone grows into their role.

3. Doubling down on gaming and mitra businesses

4. Why Bukalapak ignores GMV

5. Not freaking out over stock prices