Get founder perspectives at Indonesia PE-VC Summit

By Team DealStreetAsia

November 25, 2022

Join the fourth edition of the Indonesia PE-VC Summit in Jakarta on January 12, 2023, to hear from five founders who are at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving tech startup growth story in SE Asia’s most significant market.

Meet Marsela Limesa, a former Grab and Sequoia investment executive, who is the co-founder and president of the Indonesian beauty company Somethinc. Started as BeautyHaul in 2014, the e-commerce site works with local and international beauty brands. The firm launched its first beauty brand, Somethinc, in 2019, which quickly rose to fame among local consumers due to its quality ingredients at affordable prices. Indonesian beauty company Somethinc-BeautyHaul raised Series B funding from Sequoia Capital India and Prosus Ventures.

In her previous role at Sequoia Capital, Marsela was engaged in deal sourcing, investment evaluation, and portfolio management for seed to series B companies in SEA, including Kopi Kenangan, Lemonilo, BukuKas, Hangry, Co-learn and others. Hear from her on the growing demand for local beauty brands in the backdrop of a boom in online shopping and social media consumption. 

Our next entrepreneur Dayu Dara Permata co-founded the Indonesian property platform Pinhome, which recently raised its Series B round from Goodwater Capital, Intudo Ventures, Ribbit Capital and others. Pinhome, founded in 2019 by former Gojek executives Dayu Dara Permata and Ahmed Aljunied, connects potential buyers and renters with property owners and agents, making the process of buying, selling, and renting property easier.

As senior vice president at Gojek and head of the lifestyle and commerce product group, Dayu Dara was responsible for Gojek’s expansion across Indonesia. She co-founded new businesses in Gojek from ideation, validation, pilot, to scaling up and expansion. We will quiz her about how the property platform is looking to capture values across the homebuying/renting journey.

Meet Edward Tirtanata, co-founder and CEO of the Indonesian grab-and-go coffee chain Kopi Kenangan. Established in 2017, Kopi Kenangan entered the unicorn club last year after it raised $96 million in Series C funding from investors including Tybourne Capital Management, Falcon Edge (now Alpha Wave Global), and B Capital Group. The company is also backed by Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC, and Horizons Ventures. Kopi Kenangan currently has 850 stores in 64 cities in Indonesia. Co-founder Edward Tirtanata realised the importance of online delivery, affordability and technology in the F&B business back in 2015 when he started Lewis & Carroll tea, one of the largest premium tea house chains in Indonesia. That experience triggered him to start Kopi Kenangan. We will hear more about his journey of making Kopi Kenangan one of the largest coffee chains in Indonesia.

We will also have another entrepreneur perspective from eFishery founder and CEO Gibran Huzaifah. As a fish farmer-turned-agriculture tech entrepreneur, the eFishery founder is revolutionising the relatively untapped $9.4-billion Indonesian aquaculture market. eFishery provides end-to-end solutions for fish and shrimp farmers in Indonesia from smart farming technology, input, and access to financing, to the B2B market. In January 2022, eFishery raised $90 million in its Series C round co-led by Singapore state investor Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Sequoia Capital India. We will hear more from Gibran Huzaifah on what it takes to disintermediate one of the most traditional sectors through technology.

At the summit, we will also feature Irwan Tjahaja, founder and CEO of Swap Energi, a startup that offers battery-swapping solutions for electric vehicles. In 2021, Swap launched its electric motorcycle brand called Smoot. Tjahaja is a seasoned entrepreneur with 15+ experience in the battery production business. Swap Energi, which raised its pre-Series A found in March, aims to solve the battery life problem – a key pain point for EV users – by building the infrastructure for two-wheeled EVs. “Millions of Indonesians depend on motorbikes for their daily activities. The biggest anxiety for EVs is the mileage capacity which relies on battery life,” CEO Irwan Tjahaja feels. We will quiz him about the challenges to EV adoption in Indonesia and the road ahead.

Block your seat now to take away some vital insights from their operational experience and expertise across diverse sectors. Register now for just $499.

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW