Meet East Ventures’ 24 Inspiring Entrepreneurs Listed on Asia Tatler’s Gen.T List
3 July 2019
Gen.T is a set of lists issued annually by Asia Tatler, part of Edipresse Group. Since 2016, it recognized 400 extraordinary young individuals in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mainland China, Taiwan, and Thailand, with the potential to become the leaders of tomorrow, every year.
In 2019, 13 East Ventures backed founders were listed in Gen.T List: Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro of Warung Pintar; William Utomo of IDN Media; Chrisanti Indiana of Sociolla; Muhammad Iman Usman of Ruangguru; Edy Sulistyo of Loket; Robin Boe of Otten Coffee & Fore Coffee; Darius Cheung of 99.co; Jeff Budiman of The Fit Company; Kevin Mintaraga of Bridestory; Korawad Chearavanont of Eko; Gita Sjahrir of Ride Jakarta; Metha Trisnawati of Sayurbox; and Jonathan Weins of dahmakan.
2018: Anthony Tan of Grab; Jason Lamuda of Berrybenka; and Andreas Senjaya of iGrow.
2017: William Tanuwijaya of Tokopedia; Ferry Unardi of Traveloka; Tan Hooi Ling and Brian Cu of Grab; Henry Chan and Joel Leong of ShopBack; David Soong of SweetEscape; and Cynthia Tenggara of Berrykitchen.
The Gen.T List 2019
Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro (Warung Pintar)
After witnessing the rise and fall of Indonesia’s warungs, or small food stalls, Agung and his colleagues Harya Putra and Sofian Hadiwijaya founded Warung Pintar in 2017. The startup aims to help these small businesses compete with larger operators by providing facilities and services from Wi-Fi to helping them build an online presence. This year Warung Pintar raised US$27.5m in Series B funding.
William Utomo (IDN Media)
William has high hopes for his multi-platform news and entertainment media company IDN Media, which he co-founded with his brother Winston. The company operates digital titles IDN Times, Popbela.com, Popmama.com and Yummy; and agencies IDN Creative, IDN Event and IDN Creator Network. The self-styled voice of millennials and Gen Z, IDN Times recently secured Series C funding.
Chrisanti Indiana (Sociolla)
Rising Indonesian e-commerce company Sociolla gained US$12 million in Series C funding last year. The company, which Chrisanti founded with her two partners, sells coveted cosmetics from more than 140 brands, with 3,000 products available. She has also launched an online journal packed with useful guides to beauty and lifestyle.
Muhammad Iman Usman (Ruangguru)
Iman is the co-founder and Chief of Product and Partnership of Ruangguru, an award-winning, tech-enabled education provider that matches students and tutors across Indonesia, with more than 12 million users nationwide. Before establishing Ruangguru, he was a key opinion leader in youth development, and is also the youngest board member of youth charity Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa Foundation.
Edy Sulistyo (Loket)
Before Go-Jek acquired the company last year, Edy had built Loket.com into Indonesia’s number one event management software company. Loket’s technology enables event organisers to monitor crew, allow cashless payments and gather information about attendee behaviour. Edy now spends his time developing both Loket.com and entertainment ticket service Go-Tix.
Robin Boe (Otten Coffee & Fore Coffee)
After establishing Otten Coffee in 2012, coffee connoisseur Robin built an e-commerce presence in 2014 and has been selling coffee-making products online since, all the while crunching the data to gradually refine his offer. In 2018 Robin expanded his business by co-founding the highly coveted Fore Coffee, which aims to open 100 outlets by mid-2019.
Darius Cheung (99.co)
In a bid to eradicate the inefficiencies of the local property market, which he had personally faced as both a buyer and a landlord, Darius founded 99.co in 2014. The website enables individuals to rent, buy and sell properties, and get important information such as land title and surrounding property transactions.
Jeff Budiman (The Fit Company)
Jeff is the co-founder of wellness tech startup The FIT Company, which takes a holistic approach to wellness, with a range of brands under its umbrella including fitness tech distributor Kredoaum, gym operators 20FIT and FITSTOP, and healthy food companies FIT Lokal and FITmee. He aims to build a supportive ecosystem to promote health and wellness in an otherwise fast-paced urban environment.
Kevin Mintaraga (Bridestory)
The hassle Kevin experienced when planning his destination wedding led him to leave his digital agency, Magnivate, and enter the bridal business in 2014. Bridestory is a global marketplace spanning more than 60 countries that connects vendors and engaged couples. Widely tipped to become a unicorn, Bridestory has expanded to Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Korawad Chearavanont (Eko)
Korawad has been making his own way as founder of Eko, a communications and operations platform designed to improve staff engagement and allow businesses to work more efficiently. In 2018 the company raised US$20 million in Series B funding, taking its total to US$28.7 million.
Gita Sjahrir (Ride Jakarta)
The co-founder of Ride Jakarta, the first boutique indoor cycling studio in Indonesia, Gita became a convert to the fitness regime after it helped her with the severe rheumatoid arthritis she first developed in 2004. With two Jakarta branches already established, in Plaza Indonesia and Colony Kemang, she plans to open more across the city.
Metha Trisnawati (Sayurbox)
Metha co-founded Sayurbox in 2016 with Amanda Susanti. A platform that allows customers to order fresh produce directly from farmers, producers and suppliers, Sayurbox aims to shorten the supply chain, eliminate waste and help farmers earn higher wages. Before establishing Sayurbox, Metha had stints in multinational companies including IBM and Unilever Indonesia.
Jonathan Weins (dahmakan)
Dahmakan CEO Jonathan aims to empower a team of talented chefs in Malaysia through technology. The company uses algorithms to source ingredients at better prices, then guides its chefs to cook in efficient ways to provide the highest value to customers. Last year the company crossed the one million delivered orders mark. It was also the first Malaysian startup to take part in Silicon Valley seed accelerator Y Combinator.
The Gen.T List 2018
Anthony Tan (Grab)
Having taken over Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia during the first half of this year, the founder and CEO of Grab is set firmly on the path towards success. Constantly innovating new ways in which to serve the community, with better transportation, financial and payment options, Grab has broadened its services and reach within Southeast Asia, since its inception in 2012. Alongside his co-founder, Hooi Ling, they have grown the business model to include GrabPay, a mobile payments service and GrabFood, a food delivery service.
Jason Lamuda (Berrybenka)
In 2012, Jason took over Berrybenka, which was founded by his wife Claudia Widjaja and her friend Yenti Elizabeth on Facebook. The website launched in 2013 and has grown to be an “affordable, good-quality and stylish fashion destination”. It currently offers more than 1000 local and international brands, and they handle more than a million orders per month.
Andreas Senjaya (iGrow)
To connect farmers, landowners, buyers, and investors locally and globally, Andreas Senjaya and his two partners created iGrow. The goal of this organic venture extends beyond empowering farmers to include utilizing unused land and revitalizing local produce and products.
The Gen.T List 2017
William Tanuwijaya (Tokopedia)
Launched in 2009, William’s e-commerce platform, Tokopedia.com, empowers millions of merchants and users across the marketplace, logistics, payments and financial technology. As Indonesia’s first online shopping hub, it has now become the country’s leading online buying and selling application and the most visited website.
Ferry Unardi (Traveloka)
Ferry Unardi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Traveloka, the region’s leading flight and hotel booking website. Founded in 2012, the website quickly rose to prominence by tackling customers’ pain points, and is now partnered with more than 100 local and international airlines, along with a large accommodation inventory. The website registers more than 10million users monthly, and received nearly US$500 million investment.
Tan Hooi Ling and Brian Cu (Grab)
With a desire to create social change, Tan Hooi Ling, got an MBA from Harvard, before returning home to Malaysia and co-founding Grab with Anthony Tan. The Uber of Southeast Asia, Grab has not only taken on an industry titan but surpassed it as well; operating in 225 cities over 8 countries with over 100 million downloads. Valued at over US $10 billion, Grab has morphed itself into the most Southeast Asian tech startup.
While Brian Cu is the Country Head for Grab Philippines. From a small start up, Brian has seen Grab mushroom into a multi-transportation platform giant. He ushered in a new era of transportation for the masses with the latest introduction of GrabTricycle and commenced an OpenTraffic partnership, democratising transport data and jumpstarting projects that help nation building.
Henry Chan and Joel Leong (ShopBack)
Constantly pushing for the winning formula, Henry Chan, Joel Leong, and their friends proved that the strategy for long-term success is to keep trying until you get it right with their company ShopBack. An e-commerce rewards platform, ShopBack gives shoppers cashback on purchases made from any of its more than 1,500 partner merchants, including the likes of ASOS, Taobao, Singapore Airlines, to name a few. In the past four years, the start-up has saved more than $25 million for its six million users across Asia-Pacific. It now handles over 24,000 transactions a day and doesn’t show signs of slowing down.
David Soong (SweetEscape)
David decided to build SweetEscape, launched in 2015, which intertwines technology and photography. As of now, SweetEscape is available in 400 cities with over 2000 registered photographers. David, who requires photographers to undergo strict vetting, created SweetEscape so that tourists could have photos of their trips taken by friendly professionals who speak their language. A mobile application was launched in late 2016.
Cynthia Tenggara (Berrykitchen)
BerryKitchen, the first and only online catering service in Indonesia, started small in 2012 with four employees preparing fewer than 50 ready-to-eat meals. Today, the business employs at least 100 people who help pump out roughly 2,000 boxed food units daily, including bentos and snacks.