Gita Prihanto is the COO of Flip, an innovator and pioneer company in Indonesia’s P2P financial products space, with now more than 10 million users across the country and beyond doing all types of money transfers from remittances to invoices for micropreneurs. She goes on call with us to share how she has helped the company mature in its approach to organizational prioritization, product scaling, and committing to day-one values, with learnings for any entrepreneur or leader managing a growing organization.

Check out our previous call with Rafi Putra Arriyan, CEO and Co-Founder of Flip

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

Timestamps and Highlights

(01:19) Why Gita Became COO of Flip: Market Opportunity and Founder Mindset;

“When Ari approached me with the opportunity to become the COO, I decided to join because I was really excited with the potential future and the opportunities that Flip has…in many countries, for example, a lot of the leading financial technology companies started as P2P payment companies. Some examples are WeChat Pay in China, PhonePe in India, Cash in the US, Toss in Korea and so on. But interestingly in Indonesia, nobody has really cracked the P2P payment business until Flip. So with high user engagement as well as with network effects, there is so much more that Flip can do to serve more users and broader needs of the users in Indonesia.”

(04:38) 1 to 10, 0 to 1, and 1: Numbers to Describe the COO Role at Flip;

“The first set of numbers that describe my role is 1 to 10…my work is to help implement better governance and structure, to build organization and operations to scale and with higher financial discipline…The second set of numbers is 0 to 1…basically helping the founders and the company to repeat the success of the P2P payment to other solutions…the third set of numbers will be 1…part of my role is to, again, work with the founders to develop a high performing culture, [as the] bar is honestly set higher compared to where we were before we entered the growth stage.”

(08:11) Unpacking the Flip Ecosystem: Remittances, New Prime Segment, and Micropreneurs;

“The international remittance business is something that is big in Indonesia. It’s an 8.5 billion market with approximately 25% year-on-year growth…also there is no clear winner in the market, especially in the non-bank space…our largest segment is what we call the new prime segment, which is the younger audience, somewhere mid 20 to early forties. The ones who have a good job, good salary, or good income, but they still also care about their finances and their savings and their economics…The second segment is what I called earlier, the micropreneurs. These are people who either have home businesses or small businesses as the core income…”

(12:38) The Art of Organizational Prioritization;

“Unconsciously, when we are already verbally committed to something, [sometimes] we haven’t put enough effort to cascade it down to make sure that the execution actually aligns. We did not realize that we hadn’t put energy into actually shifting the right resources to the right priorities, resources meaning budget, talents, airtime in meetings, and so on and so forth. So this is where we actually also need to do and need to be more consistent to make sure that the company actually grows to the newer direction or to the right direction.”

(19:47) The Former-Grab exec, Flip COO Indonesian Angel Synergies;

“When you’re entering that growth stage, as I shared, and as you also point out, it’ll be important to put necessary governance and structure in place, right? But as I mentioned earlier, what founders tend to find difficult is actually managing the social aspect of it. With every action, there is definitely an implication. And sometimes when you apply changes, there will be pushback, right? Because just [inherently], humans don’t like changes. Really think through what you want to do, prioritize well what exactly the structure or the restriction that you want to impose, for example, or even the governance that you want to put in place. And be fully aware of the potential implication, and be ready for that.”

(27:46) The Time for Innovation in Monetization;

“Also in line with what we’ve seen right now with the economy, this year is going to be a definitive year where I’m excited to see how technology companies innovate to scale monetization, especially in the Indonesia consumer market, because the current economic and market conditions definitely put pressure to everyone and to all tech companies.”

(28:33) #MinuteMasterclass: Risk Management 101 for Fintechs;

“The third one, especially if you entering a growth stage, is to be more aware and be more disciplined in managing your legal and compliance risk, especially as a financial technology company…Practically, what we do is we basically manage to have our L&C or legal and compliance team involved in the early or in the beginning of every partnership discussion, every B2B customer acquisition, any business development discussion, even product development discussion, to make sure that we are within the framework that we would like to be…”

(31:43) #RapidFireRound;

About our guest

Gita Prihanto is the COO of Flip. She has had more than a decade career in tech consulting and all that. She started out in McKinsey, then went on to become Senior Director of Indonesia at Grab (Two-Wheel Transport), and then in 2021 she joined Flip. She’s also an angel investor, and part of the global XA network. 

Transcript

Why Gita Became COO of Flip: Market Opportunity and Founder Mindset

Paulo J: I just wanted to start first with how you actually joined Flip. You had already built a career by then. And I’m sure things were different than when you joined, so what convinced you to join? And maybe you can share a little bit lightheartedly, what the first day was like when you joined. 

Gita P: So I have known Ari for a long time, our CEO and co-founder. I have known him since before the inception of Flip. So I was already familiar with what Flip does in terms of a company and the idea of the business as well as how the company has grown over the years. 

So when Ari approached me with the opportunity to become the COO, I decided to join because I was really excited with the potential future and the opportunities that Flip has. I think it’s huge because in many countries, for example, a lot of the leading financial technology companies started as P2P payment companies. Some examples are WeChat Pay in China, PhonePe in India, Cash in the US, Toss in Korea and so on. 

But interestingly in Indonesia, nobody has really cracked the P2P payment business until Flip. So with high user engagement as well as with network effects, there is so much more that Flip can do to serve more users and broader needs of the users in Indonesia. That’s why I’m excited to get on board and be part of the journey to build one of the largest and fairest financial services in the country with Flip. 

And then the second thing is also because I really can’t relate to the hustle and humble culture that Flip has. And this is a culture that is apparent through my series of conversations and discussions with the founder. As you know Flip started with humble beginnings, with three University of Indonesia students trying to solve the problem of sending money to friends. And from that, to grow to wherever they were two years ago with limited capital and resources. 

This is possible because of the scrappy mentality that they have with patience and persistence to basically develop a product market fit for P2P payments. The sense of humility is strongly projected through the growth mindset that the founders have. They acknowledge what is lacking in the organization. They’re open to feedback, and they actually take real action toward it. This is something that a lot of people say, but only a few really execute it. 

Seeing that, I’m thinking, “You know what, this is my next journey.” I would love to be part of this team. So that was the story.

My first day was basically just like any other person joining a new company. It was a day full of learning. So my calendar is full with a lot of one-on-one sessions with my minus one, my minus twos. I asked a lot of questions. During those sessions and also during meetings I requested the key dashboard, and key graphs, doing analysis out of that, because my goal during those first days is to have a full understanding of where the company was before jumping and creating an action plan that is relevant.

“When Ari approached me with the opportunity to become the COO, I decided to join because I was really excited with the potential future and the opportunities that Flip has…in many countries, for example, a lot of the leading financial technology companies started as P2P payment companies. Some examples are WeChat Pay in China, PhonePe in India, Cash in the US, Toss in Korea and so on. But interestingly in Indonesia, nobody has really cracked the P2P payment business until Flip. So with high user engagement as well as with network effects, there is so much more that Flip can do to serve more users and broader needs of the users in Indonesia.”

1 to 10, 0 to 1, and 1: Numbers to Describe the COO Role at Flip

Paulo J: I really like what you mentioned about not just talking about the market opportunity but also looking at the values and the vision-mission of the founders. So for people to have a better idea of what you do at Flip as a leader, maybe you can describe that in three numbers. I think it should also be an interesting way to introduce what you do.

Gita P: So this is an interesting question, Paulo, and it’s not easy to answer. Let me try to answer with three sets of numbers, if that makes sense. 

The first set of numbers that describe my role is 1 to 10. Because my role here is to help Flip succeed in the growth stage. Flip has shown a strong product-market fit through their P2P payment products. Now they have to scale the product further to help more users. And my work is to help implement better governance and structure, to build organization and operations to scale and with higher financial discipline. So I think that’s my first role. 

The second set of numbers is 0 to 1. Why 0 to 1? Because our vision is to be the fairest end-to-end financial service company in Indonesia. So in order to realize this, we need to also develop more products on top of the P2P payment that we have. Because in order for us to be able to help the broader needs of our users, which is mostly the new prime and micropreneur segment, we need to be able to understand what they need and what the other solutions are that we can build on top of what we have. Hence, there is this 0 to 1 work that is attached to my role, basically helping the founders and the company to repeat the success of the P2P payment to other solutions. 

And the third set of numbers will be 1, number one, as in “day one”. After almost two years here at Flip, I realized one of the more important roles that I play here is to build that day-one culture within the broader organization, because we have new strategies and goals and we need to basically learn new standards, or sometimes even unlearn old habits or old practices in order to realize our new vision. So part of my role is to, again, work with the founders to develop a high-performing culture, [as the] bar is honestly set higher compared to where we were before we entered the growth stage.

Paulo J: I actually have a follow-up, because I’m really curious about that last set of numbers, the 1 that you mentioned. Maybe you could give a specific example of how you actually do that within the organization. You don’t have to name a specific kind of project or initiative, just in general like practices that you do to ensure that Flip keeps that day one values and culture and maintains a high performance as the bar obviously becomes higher as the company goes. 

Gita P: So for example, when we are developing a new product, the new product that we develop may not necessarily be similar to what we had earlier. And in order to make sure that we actually can repeat that success, we need to take a step back and really learn again what right now exactly the user needs, what is it that is available in the market, and what is still missing in terms of features or solutions and stuff. We really need to literally get on the whiteboard and draw again, have a discussion, and problem-solve what is exactly the new solution that caters towards a completely different set of, for example, products. And in order to do it, we cannot simply just copy what we did in our core product. 

“The first set of numbers that describe my role is 1 to 10…my work is to help implement better governance and structure, to build organization and operations to scale and with higher financial discipline…The second set of numbers is 0 to 1…basically helping the founders and the company to repeat the success of the P2P payment to other solutions…the third set of numbers will be 1…part of my role is to, again, work with the founders to develop a high performing culture, [as the] bar is honestly set higher compared to where we were before we entered the growth stage.”

Unpacking the Flip Ecosystem: Remittances, New Prime Segment, and Micropreneurs 

Paulo J: I was also curious to know, given that now Flip has, as I mentioned earlier, more than 10 million customers, both B2B and the original P2P B2C lines. And you know, even within the B2B segment, there’s also a lot of different types of users as well. So I would love for you to share what you see landscape-wise: how is spending behavior or transaction behavior on the platform going into 2023? Any trends that you’re seeing that could impact Flips operations for this year?

Gita P: So I think it’s too early to tell what are the changes in transaction behavior for 2023, because we haven’t even finished Q1. But as far as I can tell from the early data that we have, there is no negative trend or change. If at all, the user transaction value actually keeps growing. So I’m still hopeful for 2023.

Operationally, we will always strive to improve the quality of our product services to our users. And that doesn’t change in 2023. However, this year is the year of efficiency and sustainability. So what we do is [be] very transparent to our company-wide team about the need of being prudent. So together as a team, we actually improve our unit cost, quite significantly and be much more disciplined in our spending. We also hire only very selectively to make sure that we acquire the right talent that we really need, and we also implement a more rigorous monitoring system and procedure to increase customer satisfaction. So operationally, that’s basically what [are doing] entering 2023. 

Paulo J: There are two segments that I was actually curious about. And one is like Flip Globe, cuz I think that’s a really interesting product that Flip has in its ecosystem, really tapping into Indonesian transactions, even outside of the country. And being Filipino, I’m very familiar with remittances and the impact that has on the economy. Maybe you could talk a little bit about how that has panned out since it launched, and whether is it still going strong. Do you see it still going strong going into 2023? 

Gita P: That’s a good point. Flip Globe is something that we are investing in right now. The international remittance business is something that is big in Indonesia. It’s an 8.5 billion market with approximately 25% year-on-year growth. And this is a lucrative market because not only [is it] huge and growing, but also there is no clear winner in the market, especially in the non-bank space. And Flip actually has the advantage to [grow] into this segment and this business because we already have the technology. And having that technology, we decided to come in and basically help our users [with] their international needs. 

Paulo J: I think it’s very interesting. It definitely widens out the market opportunity that you guys are tapping into. The other segment that I was curious to hear from you more about is also the SME segment that you guys are tapping into, and especially rural Indonesia covered a lot on this show in recent episodes. We talked about it from the commerce angle and all of that stuff. So I wanted to know more about how adoption is in terms of SMEs, especially outside of tier-one cities like Jakarta, the greater Jakarta area and all that? 

Gita P: With our P2P payment product, our largest segment is what we call the new prime segment, which is the younger audience, somewhere mid 20 to early forties. The ones who have a good job, good salary or good income, but they still also care about their finances, their savings, and their economics. 

The second segment is what I called earlier, the micropreneurs. These are people who either have home businesses or small businesses as their core income or have another business on the side. And they like to use Flip to make payments to their suppliers and to their employees. Sometimes they ask their customers to send money through Flip. 

So these are the two core segments that we are serving right now. We definitely see the phases of growth that started from tier-one cities’ growth to tier-two cities and tier-three cities and so on. And that is something that we are very excited about because then we can also help in the vision of increasing financial literacy, also improving the micropreneurs’ growth and business, especially during this period of time. That is something that we are invested in. 

“The international remittance business is something that is big in Indonesia. It’s an 8.5 billion market with approximately 25% year-on-year growth…also there is no clear winner in the market, especially in the non-bank space…our largest segment is what we call the new prime segment, which is the younger audience, somewhere mid 20 to early forties. The ones who have a good job, good salary, or good income, but they still also care about their finances and their savings and their economics…The second segment is what I called earlier, the micropreneurs. These are people who either have home businesses or small businesses as the core income…”

The Art of Organizational Prioritization

Paulo J: Thanks for sharing more about that on Flip Globe and also, the segments outside of tier one cities in Indonesia. And I wanted to shift gears back again into your role as a leader within Flip and maybe talk about what you mentioned in the sets of numbers that one of the things that you focus on is helping Flip, you know, really scale its operations [and] put structure into things. And so maybe you can share with us, what is one of the scaling challenges that you helped Flip navigate in your time as COO?

Gita P: So one of the key challenges that I helped Flip navigate especially at a growth stage startup is prioritization. This is something that is especially critical, when we are entering this stage [where] tradeoffs are [part of] every decision that we make, right? And I’m helping the founders and the company to not lose focus on what really matters for the company at this stage. 

So the first step is definitely in deciding what are the North Star metrics that we are pursuing, and understanding where this company is going to grow. What are the metrics that we’re going to pursue in the next few years? 

And then the second step is to make sure that the organization is disciplined in making decisions based on North Star metrics. And this is actually harder in execution, because a lot of the time when we do this when we are doing this exercise, this implies changes, changes in organizational habits, changes in the way the team is actually looking for what good business is or what success means, changes that sometimes mean deprioritizing something that used to be front and center. So this definitely requires strong alignment efforts as well as strong leading by example to basically show that this is what matters.

And then the third step is to help the company consciously put efforts into the priorities…I said consciously, because unconsciously when we are already verbally committed to something, [sometimes] we haven’t put enough effort to cascade it down to make sure that the execution actually aligns. We did not realize that we hadn’t put energy into actually shifting the right resources to the right priorities, resources meaning budget, talents, airtime in meetings, and so on and so forth. 

So this is what we actually also need to do and need to be more consistent to make sure that the company actually grows to the newer direction or to the right direction. And that’s where we introduced a more robust, for example, financial forecast and budget. That is something that we introduced. 

We also manage the social system aspect out of these changes, which tends to be more difficult. By making sure that we have strong communication alignment and performance measures in place. 

So maybe I can share some practical things that we did in order to overcome this challenge. For example, we set up a chief’s office, basically a group of people who help with key projects and communication. We conduct more regular management gatherings and alignment for ownership towards strategies and initiatives. 

In Flip, we created what we call POTS. So POTS is a multifunctional and cross-division team with a focus to improve high stake metrics or a zero-to-one project. We also introduced centralized OKRs that cascade down from the CEO level to level three. 

And we also ensure transparency. So we conduct more regular town halls with all employees explaining where the company [shares] what the important initiatives are and what it means to everyone’s work. And all the chiefs actually also have a direct hotline. So we are open with anyone who actually wants to just book our calendar and have one-on-ones because I believe we believe that communication and transparency are very important. We choose to basically have everyone be on board with what we do.

So I think that is an example of one of the challenges that I help to navigate. Maybe another example is my role in raising funds, because being in a growth stage, it’s important to have access to capital to be able to grow. And not only that but to actually also have a group of investors and advisors who can help and have the experience or have the network of operators of experts who have actually successfully built strong and successful financial technology companies before. 

Paulo J: There’s definitely a lot to unpack, but thanks for sharing all that and especially the specific details and some practices that you actually do in Flip. I particularly appreciated the POTS, which I also think is a great way to actually groom employees in Flip to become leaders of the company down the line. I think it is very interesting that you guys do that. 

And specifically, I also find that a lot of your work involves dealing with the psychology of people, how people act, how people behave, and learning how to deal with all these things. So I’m curious to know, what is one thing that you’ve had to — obviously it must not have been easy to actually juggle all these things over the past few years, even Flip — so is there anything that you’ve had to unlearn or anything that you yourself have had to let go of as a leader in order to actually fully embrace your role? 

Gita P: Very good question. One of the things that I have had to unlearn is actually the way we approach product development. So I used to think when developing a product, the more complete the feature is or the more features, the more perfect the solution, [the] better for our user. But after I joined Flip, I realized that the approach that I mentioned earlier tends to overthink and cloud our [judgment]. 

And actually, a lot of the time what the user needs is just a much simpler proposition. We should just focus on getting that single or that one job to be executed well. That’s it. Just focus on that single job to be executed well, rather than trying to invent layers of solutions that might actually confuse the user and result in lower adoption. So thinking of product development and journey is something that I have had to unlearn.

Another thing that I unlearned coming from a later-stage company and more established institution is the way I measure acceptable burn because right now the sense of tolerance is just different. In Flip, as an earlier stage company, we definitely have more limited capital, compared to the big companies, and not only that, extenuated as well with the recent capital market appetite and directions. 

Right now at Flip, we are more disciplined and we are taking more calculative bets through experiments. So we do smaller experiments and calculative bets, and we are also being prudent and responsible in our growth spending. So I guess those are some of the examples that I have had to unlearn while I’m at Flip and throughout the years when I’m growing the company. 

“Unconsciously, when we are already verbally committed to something, [sometimes] we haven’t put enough effort to cascade it down to make sure that the execution actually aligns. We did not realize that we hadn’t put energy into actually shifting the right resources to the right priorities, resources meaning budget, talents, airtime in meetings, and so on and so forth. So this is where we actually also need to do and need to be more consistent to make sure that the company actually grows to the newer direction or to the right direction.”

The Former-Grab exec, Flip COO Indonesian Angel Synergies

Paulo J: I really appreciate what he said about coming from a growth stage company and you were more comfortable with a larger budget and then now in an early stage company when, at least when you first joined, it was definitely a different scenario. So definitely a lot of lessons here even for folks who are looking to perhaps join a growth stage company themselves, in the middle of their career looking for something new, a new challenge to take on. And thanks for sharing that. 

So I’d like to move on to another aspect of yourself, Gita as a person. I mentioned earlier that you’re an angel investor as well. So I wanted to talk a little bit about that on this call. So maybe you can share first how you decided to become an angel investor. And then through that also maybe walk us through what your own personal thesis, you can call it, or thought process when it comes to angel investing. 

Gita P: So I really believe in the power of dreams and hopeful spirits. I found that entrepreneurs exhibit this quality and they’re contagious. So meeting with a lot of entrepreneurs gives me energy and also gives me the opportunity and occasion to have a rigorous intellectual discussion that will keep me on my toes and push me to stay relevant, learn and contribute. And that’s what excites me, basically getting to know this entrepreneur and sharing ideas, and seeing where I can help. 

So when my husband and I started to be angel investors, at that time there were not a lot of angel investors in Indonesia with local tech company experience. And we understood that at the early stage, it could be tricky and challenging to find investors, and more so investors who can be your thought partners and who can be your advisors and friends at the same time.

So that’s why we decided to jump in, not only with giving access to capital but also experience and access to a network of talents as well as a network of later-stage investors that we know to help them to grow. So that was the reason why I jumped into angel investing.

Paulo J: So I’m curious to know, given that you wear these two hats, leading Flip and also angel investing, how have both affected each other? And especially since you also do fundraising for Flip, as you mentioned earlier. 

Gita P: So let’s start with my work at Flip and how it influenced my angel investments or angel investing activities. So my work at Flip actually influences the way I am selecting investment opportunities. Looking at Flip’s success story, I think now it’s important at least when I’m assessing opportunities, to have a founder or a set of founders who are product driven, those who can crystallize exactly what is the real and hopefully a large potential real pain points that they’re trying to address, as well as founders who are actually obsessed in finding what is the right product solutions. I think this is more and more important. 

And also the second one is also having a business that has good potential unit economics. That is also something that changed the way I think or the way I’m looking at investment opportunities after I’m in Flip.

On the Flip side, I think becoming an angel investor, I have the exposure and also an understanding of how investors and capital markets think. And I think that influenced my work in securing finance or fundraising for Flip, and also helping the founder think about the strategy going ahead. So that’s how the other way around has an impact. 

Paulo J: I think the synergies are great. And I really like what you mentioned about looking at the founders of Flip and then seeing in that sense they were way ahead of their time in terms of their own ethos and how they thought about life. 

So you also mentioned that at the time that you and your husband decided to start angel investing, there weren’t that many people with experience in big tech companies at the time. And so I would love to know what your biggest learning has been from your time at Grab, especially what has impacted your role now?

Gita P: So at Grab, I learned that in parallel with great strategy, having strong and tight execution really matters. So when I was at Grab the organization had a great governance and structure that when the company had a direction, everyone basically was working towards that in unison. So whether that goal was, for example, improving the safety of the driver and passengers, winning a certain market or country, or developing a zero to one product with a 60% category position.

Basically, whatever the direction was, every operational meeting from top to bottom and from left to right, any division would be geared towards that. And I think that is something that I’ve seen firsthand. And I think it’s possible to have a strong and consistent leadership message followed by intensive and high repetition across the company through many communication formats and channels, as well as performance measures. And that’s why I believe that when a company or when a group of people works towards the same goal, having the same commitment to achieving something, then strong execution can happen. And that’s what I aspire to do here.

Paulo J: I realize that actually ties into what you discussed earlier about what you do at Flip is making sure that the top-level decision-making actually gets executed across all levels of the organization. So it comes full circle there from your time at Grab.

You also mentioned your help, especially with angel investing, a lot of these earlier stage founders, based on the learnings that you’ve had at growth stage companies and now even Flip is a growth stage company. So I was curious to know what advice you would give especially for pre-series B startups in terms of what they need to prepare and be ready for as they scale, especially in anticipation of changes in terms of governance, being more financially mature, and all that?

Gita P: So I think when you have reached that stage, building organization and attracting the right talent becomes critical to prepare you for the next stage. My message would be to take time to really map what are the vital roles that are lacking in your organization. And then be bold in approaching the quality of talent that you want. Because sometimes when you’re just entering a certain stage of the company, you probably think, “If I hire this person from this big company, they might not want to join.” Don’t have that mindset. Just be bold in approaching the talents that you want. You would be surprised.

But I think also at the same time, don’t negotiate on the type of characters or the values or the culture that you want to have in your organization, because as founders that will be your job to make sure of the culture that you want to build in your company.

And then secondly, when you’re entering that growth stage, as I shared, and as you also point out, it’ll be important to put necessary governance and structure in place, right? But as I mentioned earlier, what founders tend to find difficult is actually managing the social aspect of it. With every action, there is definitely an implication. And sometimes when you apply changes, there will be pushback, right? Because just [inherently], humans don’t like changes. 

Really think through what you want to do, prioritize well what exactly the structure or the restriction that you want to impose, for example, or even the governance that you want to put in place. And be fully aware of the potential implication, and be ready for that, right? And I think that is something that everybody must have experienced when they were growing up. 

And I think also the most important thing is that when you already enter the growth stage, make sure that you have enough funding and you manage and prepare and plan the financing properly. You need to be able to have enough runway before your next milestone, especially if you’re not a default alive company. So make sure that you have that ability or have someone who has that ability to secure finance in your company.

“When you’re entering that growth stage, as I shared, and as you also point out, it’ll be important to put necessary governance and structure in place, right? But as I mentioned earlier, what founders tend to find difficult is actually managing the social aspect of it. With every action, there is definitely an implication. And sometimes when you apply changes, there will be pushback, right? Because just [inherently], humans don’t like changes. Really think through what you want to do, prioritize well what exactly the structure or the restriction that you want to impose, for example, or even the governance that you want to put in place. And be fully aware of the potential implication, and be ready for that.”

The Time for Innovation in Monetization

Paulo J: I wanted to wrap up this segment by — earlier you mentioned that you’re very optimistic about where Flip is headed through 2023, and in the media now it seems very much like do and gloom with the rare markets and all of that. We obviously want to shine a light on what are the exciting opportunities, right in Southeast Asia. So maybe you can share what your thoughts are on that or maybe even zoom into Indonesia. 

Gita P: So I’m actually excited to see innovations in monetization. Also in line with what we’ve seen right now with the economy, this year is going to be a definitive year where I’m excited to see how technology companies innovate to scale monetization, especially in the Indonesia consumer market, because the current economic and market conditions definitely put pressure on everyone and to all tech companies. And usually when you are put under pressure that’s when the innovation will shine through. That’s what I’m looking to see in the next one or two years in Southeast Asia.

“Also in line with what we’ve seen right now with the economy, this year is going to be a definitive year where I’m excited to see how technology companies innovate to scale monetization, especially in the Indonesia consumer market, because the current economic and market conditions definitely put pressure to everyone and to all tech companies.”

#MinuteMasterclass: Risk Management 101 for Fintechs

Paulo J: Well said. I think in the past few years you’ve seen innovations in user acquisition and driving adoption. Now it’s time for monetization. 

That leads me to my next corner, which is the #MinuteMasterclass we do. So I think for our #MinuteMasterclass corner, one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about is definitely risk management and how to manage that as the operations become more complex and there are more moving parts, and it’s easy to let things go by the radar and let things slip. What has been your approach, any practices or frameworks or anything like that, that you use to approach risk management as the company grows over time? 

Gita P: Especially as a financial institution, there is actually an eight-risk framework that clients in Indonesia follow. We can check that for more details, but I think I would like to share some of the practical and what I think are critical risk factors that I usually think about when we are thinking about business and operations, especially multiline operations, right? 

The first one is definitely a financial risk. So we need to ensure we have enough cash in the bank or enough runway for the company. So what we need to do is basically have more robust planning and discipline to follow budget allocation and achieve targets. This is something that is really important when you manage risk specifically regarding financials.

And the second one is operational risk. The answer or the key is prioritization, as I shared earlier. We need to ensure that our organization is focusing on the right thing. Follow what is on the OKRs. The OKR will need to be aligned with the priorities that you have agreed on and make sure that you also deprioritize consistently. Because when you work on your daily weekly work, you realize that things will come up. And you have to make that tradeoff decision every day. Make sure that you always deprioritize consistently whenever you realize that things are either not urgent or not adding to the future metrics that we need to develop.

The third one, especially if you are entering a growth stage, is to be more aware and be more disciplined in managing your legal and compliance risk, especially as a financial technology company. At Flip, we reintroduce our company value of integrity. And this value is there for a reason. We are committed to doing business within the legal and compliance framework. 

Practically, what we do is we basically manage to have our L&C or legal and compliance team involved in the early or in the beginning of every partnership discussion, every B2B customer acquisition, any business development discussion, even product development discussion, to make sure that we are within the framework that we would like to be, or within the legal reality that we want to be in.

And then the fourth thing that I also think about is the risk to customers. I want to make sure when we are pursuing growth when we are developing new products when we are scaling the organization, we should not be forgetting about our customers, the ones who brought us here. And I think we owe it to them to share and develop user satisfaction that is high and continues to improve all the time. So for us, we always put user satisfaction as one of the key OKRs, the company OKRs that we cascade down. And that is something that we are committed to.

“The third one, especially if you entering a growth stage, is to be more aware and be more disciplined in managing your legal and compliance risk, especially as a financial technology company…Practically, what we do is we basically manage to have our L&C or legal and compliance team involved in the early or in the beginning of every partnership discussion, every B2B customer acquisition, any business development discussion, even product development discussion, to make sure that we are within the framework that we would like to be…”

#RapidFireRound

What digital technology or innovation excites you the most today?

Gita P: Artificial intelligence and green energy, or sustainable technology. 

If you were invited to give a lecture at a prestigious university, what would be the title of your lecturer or the class? 

Gita P: Leading with critical thinking. 

Looking back now, what is a skill, could be a soft skill or hard skill, you think you should have learned back in your time as a student?

Gita P: So when I was in high school, I was actually really interested in coding and I was doing pretty well. I was leading in the class, but I decided not to pursue it at university. So I guess if I could turn back time, I did not plan to change my major, but I think I would’ve spent more time either on the side or course basically learning computer science so I have more or deeper understanding.

If there’s something that you could automate in your job just by wishing for it, what aspect of your role would that be? 

Gita P: I would love to have a technology or an automated technology whereby the books or the documents at work or the dashboard and the graphs are just translated automatically in my brain without me opening it or spending time reading it. And I think that will save a lot of time, when you wake up in the morning, start the day, and you already have to be understanding the latest understanding of the business.

What’s your favorite destination in Southeast Asia or what trip are you most looking forward to taking in the region? 

Gita P: It has always been Bali. I think it has always had a special place in my heart and I am always looking forward to going back. 

What’s your favorite activity to destress or maybe take care of your own mental health as a leader?

Gita P: I actually, in fact, recently picked up and learned meditation. I think that’s my favorite distressing activity at this point in time. 

In terms of picking up new things, is there anything new you read or any resource that you have come across recently that you’d like to recommend to our listeners?

Gita P: So I am rereading a book that I’ve read before. It’s called Barking Up to the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker. So it’s a book that reveals a myth about what makes a person successful, and I think that’s a great book that I would recommend people to read. 

Paulo J: Is there a particular myth that stuck with you? Or is there an aspect of that misconception that comes from the book? 

Gita P: Actually one thing that I remember, and especially as now I’m a mother, is that for somebody who is doing very well academically, it’s not a guarantee that they’ll become an outlier, or a very successful a person, because somebody who’s doing well academically, basically is somebody who can follow rules very well, while in the real world, sometimes there are no rules and sometimes there’s no SOP written. So that is one thing that I always remember right now, especially as I’m a mother. 

Paulo J: Learning how to, in your case also at Flip, make those rules and make sure that they’re followed. So on that note, thanks so much for that recommendation. This whole conversation has really been, I would say, almost a masterclass in terms of prioritization, and thanks for being really specific as well with some of the examples that you’ve shared and things that you do at Flip as well. I’m sure our listeners will definitely pick up a lot of things from that, even if they’re not working on a startup now. Maybe they’re part of a larger organization I’m sure there’s a lot to pick up there.