How Gojek and Bukalapak found the initial spark that turned them into giants

Product validation is an important step in knowing whether a startup idea can succeed.

Here, we’ll look back in time at how some startups found the initial spark that allowed them to build popular services that people take for granted today. We’ll also check out a startup that didn’t cross the threshold.

Love from cyclists

Bukalapak is now one of Indonesia’s unicorns, but it started out small. In 2010, Achmad Zaky began building this ecommerce platform from a bedroom in Cisitu, Bandung.

Back then, the idea of an online marketplace was still very novel for Indonesians. Zaky went from mall to mall to invite retailers there to join Bukalapak. However, most of them refused because they doubted the benefits and safety of his ecommerce business.

When Zaky was dealing with potential investors, most of them hesitated to support him because there was no example of an internet-based business that had grown successfully in Indonesia.

“They thought that businesses had to be tangible,” recalled Zaky during a public webinar. “I understood why they thought that way.”

Bukalapak’s original interface / Image credit: Achmad Zaky

Shunned by retailers and investors, Zaky tried another strategy. Instead of working directly with well-known brands, he sought validation through communities. His next target? Cyclists.

Zaky saw that members of this group often bought and sold spare parts or other bicycle equipment. He then used his marketing budget to target this segment, making and distributing stickers at community events.

He found the marketing costs of this strategy to be low. At the same time, not only did the Bukalapak name become more popular, but Zaky could also interact directly with his users. He understood what features they liked and what features they needed but weren’t available yet.

From that point, the number of users and transactions on Bukalapak started to increase slowly but consistently. When Zaky began fundraising in 2011, his team introduced themselves to investors as the biggest bicycle marketplace in Indonesia.

This experience became a lesson for Zaky. He believes that no business can grow by targeting the entire market at once from the get-go. Instead, the ideal segment to start with is the one that’s most profitable.

After targeting bike enthusiasts, Zaky expanded to categories like photography and automobiles. Without this approach, he believes the company wouldn’t have become what it is today.

From call center to decacorn

Today, lots of people book various Gojek services through a smartphone app. What many forget is that this app was only launched in 2015, or around five years after Gojek was founded.

A failed online bus ticketing platform