15 months in, here’s what we know about Skystar Ventures in Indonesia

Skystar Ventures is a startup incubator and co-working space in Tangerang, a city south of Jakarta. Skystar Capital is its venture capital arm. So far, it has invested in three Indonesian tech companies: Bridestory, Hijup, and Adskom.

Skystar is closely affiliated with the Kompas Gramedia Group, an Indonesian conglomerate that dates back to 1965 when Jakob Oetama founded the daily newspaper Kompas. Today, it includes the Gramedia publishing house, bookstores, and the Santika hotel chain, along with many other ventures in the archipelago.

Skystar’s incubator and co-working space are part of Multimedia Nusantara University (UMN), which also belongs to Kompas Gramedia. The firm sits at the top of an egg-shaped building on the spacious and futuristic looking university campus. The construction is energy efficient and has an indoor-outdoor feeling. Coming from downtown Jakarta, the university and its surroundings somewhat resemble Elysium – the utopian space city from the 2013 scifi film. Skystar has a spectacular location, and it can draw resources from Kompas Gramedia’s network. So what has been happening there since its launch in December 2013?

Work takes place inside the pod-shaped offices, the surrounding area has natural climate-control

What Skystar’s incubator program offers

Geraldine Oetama is the executive director of Skystar’s incubator program and co-working space. She’s also partner at Skystar Capital and a member of Kompas Gramedia’s founding family. The incubator just admitted its second batch of startups, and five of six teams currently under the tutelage of the program also happen to be students of UMN. Oetama says the number of startups coming from within its own house is intentional.
“Though it is not exclusive to UMN students, most startups in the incubator program are or have been students of the university. This close relationship with the university is what makes Skystar’s program unique,” explains Oetama.

Geraldine Oetama, executive director, and Abraham Ryan, community coordinator of Skystar Ventures

See: Indonesia’s Telkom partners with VC to launch Indigo Fenox incubator

From the start, UMN’s goal was to equip its students with an entrepreneurial mindset, says Oetama. In fact, all students take a class called technopreneurship, which starts in their third term. The course is interdisciplinary, and brings together UMN students from all faculties. The Skystar incubator program then acts as an extension of this course, designed for students who are ready to commit to entrepreneurship.

Skystar’s program lasts roughly six months and only one batch of startups is taken in per year. During the rest of the time, the space is used for other purposes, explains Oetama. With Skystar’s model, the startups do not receive investment, and Skystar does not take equity. What the program offers is access to its facilities, workshops, and an intense mentorship program.