Indonesian human resources platform Talenta gets funding from East Ventures

From left: Grace Tahir of Mayapada Group, Joshua Kevin of Talenta, Willson Cuaca of East Ventures.

Jakarta-based SaaS human resources platform Talenta announced today it raised funding of an undisclosed amount from East Ventures with participation from angel investor Grace Tahir of Mayapada Group (East Ventures also invests in Tech in Asia. See our ethics page.).

22-year-old founder Joshua Kevin claims the company’s original concept was to provide various services for local startups including public relations, community outreach, and events organization. But Talenta has since pivoted its concept, and will utilize the new funds for its human resources management service only. Talenta is not a recruitment platform, the team says, but rather a system to help companies track and manage the workers they already have. It will enable employers to more efficiently monitor payroll and keep tabs on issues like salary increases, employee attendance, taxes, company benefits, and bonuses.

Kevin has been active in Jakarta’s startup scene since 2011. The former East Ventures and StartupLokal associate also served as a writer at Tech in Asia before taking a job as Indonesia’s community manager for Kakao Talk mobile messenger. In October 2013, he founded Bridge Inc, a company that helps foreign startups set up shop in Indonesia. Talenta falls under the Bridge Inc umbrella, and Kevin describes it as a comprehensive service for human resources management focused on SMEs.

“At first, I wanted to help Indonesian startups. But those who are not getting funded don’t really see the value of PR,” explains Kevin. “We had a couple of clients, and the money was good, but every company I met with seemed to face the same problem, which was human resources.”

See: From zero to hire in 10 days, here’s how this startup is radically improving recruitment

According to Kevin, Talenta has no direct competitors. He claims that other firms simply sell and install software for companies at a price tag of roughly US$10,000, but they don’t provide a network or service. “There are companies like Oracle, SAP, DataOn, and SunFish HR […] So I wouldn’t say that we are the first in this space. But we are the only local company offering software as a service for HR.”

Kevin claims HR is a billion-dollar industry globally with room for growth. He has not yet launched Talenta, and therefore is not yet sharing how much he plans to charge for its services. He does say, however, that Talenta’s business model is still “flexible” at this stage. “We’re not ready to say how much, but we’re going to find the sweet spot. We will probably charge companies something like US$3 per employee per month.” In order to better serve SMEs and micro businesses, Kevin says Talenta may end up providing its services for free to companies with less than ten employees.

Having sealed the deal with Cuaca last month at the Startup Asia Tokyo conference, Kevin says Talenta chose to partner with East Ventures because of the firm’s extensive resources and deep network in Southeast Asia. He says, “Their expertise and knowledge will add to our company. I’m still young and inexperienced. Willson can help me grow this company to something larger that solves a huge problem.”

Cuaca says, “Human resource management is one of the areas that is really important in building businesses. Business owners often overlook this when starting or running the company. […] Joshua and his team recognize this problem and are trying to solve [it].”

Kevin says Talenta will launch before the end of this year, but that in another year’s time he will be looking to fundraise once again. He also claims that Talenta should be able to reach US$1 million in revenue within three to five years. “We believe HR management should be made locally,” he says. “We understand the local culture, law, and taxes.”

Editing by J.T. Quigley