Rocket Internet ‘graduates’ bare all: what to learn – or not – from the internet giant (#StartupAsia preview)

Credit: Flickr user Steve Jurvetson

Rocket Internet’s presence has been a revelation in Southeast Asia. Clone factory or not, the company has created several ecommerce giants like Lazada and Zalora, and grabbed attention from investors worldwide about what’s happening in the region.

Arguably, one of Rocket Internet’s positive contributions to the ecosystem is in human resources. By paying decent salaries, Rocket was able to convince executives to jump on the entrepreneurial path, leaving their steady jobs to kickstart ecommerce ventures instead. Some of these executives would then eventually leave the company to try managing their own businesses.

When it comes to success by the numbers, these Rocket Internet grads have been able to attract and raise decent investment rounds from VCs. Having Rocket Internet on your portfolio can be a good way to build up your credibility, as there are many things people can learn during their time there.

See: 5 reasons why Rocket Internet graduates make good entrepreneurs

Kevin Aluwi, former Zalora Indonesia head of business intelligence, describes his time there as a “world-class education” in ecommerce. Rocket Internet – the US$8 billion empire – has been described as a good place to learn how to be data-driven and how to execute.

At Startup Asia Jakarta 2014, we will bring together four Rocket Internet grads on stage, who will share what exactly made Rocket such a big internet company. Of course, with such a low retention rate even among the co-founders of Rocket ventures, there are some things startups may need to pay attention to about what not to do when running a business.

Speaking on stage on November 27 are Steven Kim (co-founder and former managing director of OfficeFab SEA), Juan Chene (former managing director of FoodPanda Indonesia), and Fung Fuk Lestario (co-founder and former managing director of Lazada Indonesia). They will find a familiar face onstage with Kevin Aluwi moderating the session.

Startup Asia Jakarta is less than one week away! It’s on November 26 and 27. Grab your tickets now before you miss the biggest tech startup conference in Indonesia! Register here.

Stay updated with what Startup Asia Jakarta 2014 will bring to the table. See all the preview articles here.