Rocketindo looks beyond bootstrapping to propel expansion dreams

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.

Hi readers,

If you’re a founder considering market expansion, here’s a friendly reminder: Industry expertise alone isn’t enough to succeed. You need to understand the specific context and environment of the market you want to go into.

This was the exact issue Daniel Liu encountered in 2013 when he ventured into Indonesia’s ecommerce scene. Before founding Rocketindo in 2016, the Taiwanese entrepreneur had three failed attempts at starting a venture, losing US$463,000 over three years.

However, he eventually found his footing with ecommerce enabler Rocketindo, which he currently manages with his twin brother, Jerry Liu. The firm has seen notable success, including an over 300% GMV growth between 2021 and 2023.

For eight years, Rocketindo has been bootstrapped, working with Taiwanese beauty brands to break into Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia. However, in an interview with Tech in Asia, Jerry – who is the company’s COO – revealed that the business is now seeking outside funding to expand its offline presence and develop more private brands.

In Indonesia, Rocketindo faces tough competition from other ecommerce enablers like Sirclo, which supports 1,000 enterprise-level brands. Focusing on beauty products and positioning its partners as providers of “premium” goods are some of the ways Rocketindo tries to differentiate itself.

— Gabriel Budi Sutrisno, journalist at Tech in Asia

Top stories this week

Image credit: Timmy Loen

1️. Ecommerce enabler Rocketindo bootstraps its way to 300% growth, profitability
Founded in 2016, the company distributes midrange to high-end Taiwanese beauty products in Indonesia.

2. Indonesia seeks to surpass Thailand as electric ‘Detroit of SEA’
Nickel riches or automotive know-how? Indonesia and Thailand compete to attract foreign manufacturers of electric vehicles.

3. Mapping Singapore’s leading D2C brands
For Singapore’s D2C brands, the next choice for expansion doesn’t seem to be other Southeast Asian countries but more developed markets like the US.

4. Ex-Foodpanda CEO speaks out after abrupt exit from firm
Moving forward after the blunder that cost him his job, Jakob Angele discusses the industry’s future and the perks of focusing on one thing: food.

5. Patsnap invested ‘7 digits’ to develop an LLM. Will it pay off?
The patent database firm is not charging customers who use Hiro, a proprietary AI assistant powered by an industry-specific large language model.

Take the first step toward revolutionizing the Indonesian banking scene