From running a small fisheries SME to founding a startup to enable an entire US$60 billion+ industry. From enabling B2B cold chain transactions to building the operating software for Indonesian fisheries. From working in an industry facing the threats of supply chain and labor sustainability to leading the way for a powerful industry of value and job creation to emerge. Join us on our call with FishLog CEO and co-founder Bayu Anggara as he talks about all these and more.

S04 Call #15: Fishlog CEO Bayu Anggara on growing from SME entrepreneur to SME enabler startup founder, from B2B cold chain platform to OS for fisheries, from fragmentation to sustainability

From running a small fisheries SME to founding a startup to enable an entire US$60 billion+ industry. From enabling B2B cold chain transactions to building the operating software for Indonesian fisheries. From working in an industry facing the threats of supply chain and labor sustainability to leading the way for a powerful industry of value and job creation to emerge. Join us on our call with FishLog CEO and co-founder Bayu Anggara as he talks about all these and more.

From running a small fisheries SME to founding a startup to enable an entire US$14 billion+ industry. From enabling B2B cold chain transactions to building the operating software for Indonesian fisheries. From working in an industry facing the threats of supply chain and labor sustainability to leading the way for a powerful industry of value and job creation to emerge. Join us on our call with FishLog CEO and co-founder Bayu Anggara as he talks about all these and more. Join Fishlog here.

Highlights and Timetamps

  1. (00:57) Paulo introduces Bayu;
  2. (01:37) Diving into Indonesia’s Fisheries: From Building an SME to Enabling SMEs; “Before Fishlog, we were just an SME. And now we are focusing on the technology side, because I believe that one [area where] young people like us can add value in the industry is by [providing] a technology platform…the breakthrough way to scale more and to engage with the more partners as [fast] as possible.”
  3. (06:10) Indonesia’s Fisheries Industry 101; “Fisheries contributes around 3 to 4% of the GDP of Indonesia…if you talk about seafood, because we do a lot of export, we do more than US$6 billion in exports, and we have US$14 billion in captured fish and aquaculture combined…And I think we have the third or fourth biggest fish production across the globe…Our [fisheries industry] is very endemic and we have a lot of diversity across the space.” 
  4. (10:07) From B2B Cold Chain Platform to OS for Fisheries; “The goal is actually how we can have the information of the supply or we have supply itself. If we talk about having the supply, we need to purchase the stock, but if we just have the information of the supplier, we need to invite fishermen, we need to invite the aggregator to put their fish in our cold storage warehouses, and then we can list them in our B2B marketplace. We can help them with financing as well.”
  5. (17:39) Long-term food sustainability and labor sustainability for fisheries; “The first [goal] is I want to make this industry as a powerful industry for Indonesia, because this is what we have for seafood security, for the food, how we can supply [the needs] of the world…I’m afraid it’s not just about the sustainability, but it’s about the fishermen as well. No one wants to become a fisherman anymore. That’s the stigma that we want to change for the first time. Everyone must see that fisherman is one of the jobs that has a future value.”
  6. (23:23) Rapid Fire Round;

About our guest

Bayu Anggara is the CEO and co-founder of Indonesian B2B fisheries cold chain platform FishLog. Prior to FishLog, he was in the seafood products and trading food business and has had years of experience in the local fisheries industry. He graduated from Bogor Agricultural University with a Bachelors’ in Fisheries and Marine Technology.

Transcript

Diving into Indonesia’s Fisheries: From Building an SME to Enabling SMEs

Paulo: I’d like to dial back, even before you, started Fishlog actually, because I’m quite interested to know why did you decide the study Fisheries and Marine technology when you were in university?

Bayu: I have a quite strong background in the industry that I am starting [Fishlog] for. Since high school, I was interested in agriculture and fisheries. I loved math. I loved physics, but I don’t think I wanted to study those [subjects] more deeply in the university.

So I was looking to fill that [depth], where I think I can share my [vision], and I can extend my technical skill and others, so I chose agriculture and fisheries. Fisheries was my second option, before agriculture. 

Why? Because I think Indonesia has lot of resources that we can capture and we are a maritime country. So I think [this industry] is very important for us. And actually my village, my hometown is [close to] the sea. It’s around 30 minutes from the sea.

So I’ve engaged with a lot of fishermen since I was born and saw how they have been struggling, but [also that] they have a lot of potential to [grow]. So I think that was a field [where] I wanted to take my career or maybe I get the learnings and I can go from [there] to another area. But here we are; we are still on the fisheries industry, and I would like to focus on this. 

“…Indonesia has lot of resources that we can capture and we are a maritime country. So I think [this industry] is very important for us. And actually my village, my hometown is [close to] the sea. It’s around 30 minutes from the sea. So I’ve engaged with a lot of fisherman since I was born and saw how they have been struggling, but [also that] they have a lot of potential to [grow].”

Paulo: Obviously as Steve Jobs famously said, “Looking backward, you can connect all the dots.” And I think definitely all the dots that seem to connect [here with], I mean, where you grew up and what you were interested in university. So I’m curious to know, coming out of that university with all these learnings, in terms of the industry, what was the fisheries industry like back then in 2017 leading up to when you and co-founders, decided to come together to start Fishlog?

Bayu: So, after I graduated, me and my co-founders, we had [that] idealism to work in the fisheries industry. 

Paulo: They were also in the same university as you? 

Bayu: Yes, same university, but [in] different years. [My co-founder’s] older by three years. So we worked in the same industry and in the same company, and we shared [many] thoughts together.

We believed that if we want to focus on and grow this industry, we can’t use an existing model, which is a very conventional model. We had a lot of mentors who helped us to know the industry and all of them are already rich. So if you [follow] their way, you need like 10 or 20 years, and you don’t know if you still have the grit like them or not, but we needed to explore more creative ways. 

That’s why I [looked at startups]. In the beginning, there were a lot of agriculture startups and we learned from those approaches. We learn from those models. And at the end, we built Fishlog, as our initial company that we’re building as a startup. 

Paulo: So how did you decide — because you were doing another business before doing Fishlog right? And you were doing that business with your current co-founders or it was a different thing? 

Bayu: Yeah, it was with my current co-founders as well.

“We believed that if we want to focus on and grow this industry, we can’t use an existing model…In the beginning, there were a lot of agriculture startups and we learned from those approaches.”

Paulo: So how did you decide that — “Okay. We don’t want to do this model. We want to do something that’s more of a tech company, very scalable, platform-based”?

Bayu: Platform-based, that’s right. So before building a platform-based company, before Fishlog, we built like a small business. It’s like an SME. So we built a small business. We had an angel investor help us to grow our business. It was like a meatball and sausage factory and a very small farm fish as well.

And then, as we were growing, we faced a lot of problems, like obtaining a license and [figuring out] how we can distribute and how we can sell our product as well. The second [challenge was] when we [looked at] the trajectory of the growth, I [couldn’t] see like, how we can grow this [business] faster, and how we can invite more investors. There aren’t any investors who are interested in this model. 

So that’s why [when] I saw that a lot of agriculture startups were growing, like Sayurbox, like Tanihub, and I thought we can implement those approaches and we can use a different way to grow in this industry. That’s why we pivoted to a platform-based model. 

So we changed our business into Fishlog. Before Fishlog, we were just an SME. And now we are focusing on the technology side because I believe that one [area where] young people like us can add value in the industry is by [providing] a technology platform because you don’t have [as much] knowledge, experience, or a lot of connections. So the one you can bring is the technology: the breakthrough way to scale more and to engage with the more partners as [fast] as possible. 

“Before Fishlog, we were just an SME. And now we are focusing on the technology side, because I believe that one [area where] young people like us can add value in the industry is by [providing] a technology platform…the breakthrough way to scale more and to engage with the more partners as [fast] as possible.”

Indonesia’s Fisheries Industry 101

Paulo: I think it’s really interesting that you became like, from an SME, now you’re an SME enabler and you went through the life of [your] customers actually, so you’re very familiar the pain points and what they’re going through, having done it yourself with your co-founders as well, which makes it very interesting that you’re now doing this with Fishlog.

And before we get into Fishlog’s whole model and what you guys are doing in the market, I would love to paint a picture of why Indonesia’s fisheries industry is very compelling for a digital solution, right? So maybe you can start first by sharing with us, how much of a dent does the country’s fisheries industry make on the overall Indonesian economy?

Bayu: So fisheries contribute around 3 to 4% of the GDP of Indonesia. I think it’s small if you are comparing it to the commerce, but if you compare to the food industry, [fisheries] has a good contribution. Livestock is not more than 2%, but if you talk about seafood, because we do a lot of export, we do more than US$6 billion in exports, and we have US$14 billion in captured fish and aquaculture combined. 

So I think it’s a very big [industry], to feed the world. And I think we have the third or fourth biggest fish production across the globe. So everyone from the US market, to China and Europe are seeing, Indonesia seafood as a specialty food because we are a tropical [country]. Our [fisheries industry] is very endemic and we have a lot of diversity across the space. So I think that’s the [opportunity] that we can tap into, for the commodity and for the industry. 

“Fisheries contributes around 3 to 4% of the GDP of Indonesia…if you talk about seafood, because we do a lot of export, we do more than US$6 billion in exports, and we have US$14 billion in captured fish and aquaculture combined…And I think we have the third or fourth biggest fish production across the globe…Our [fisheries industry] is very endemic and we have a lot of diversity across the space.” 

Paulo: The industry is already seen as a very significant industry, and I suppose there’s a lot of exports involved, so can you describe for us, where are the pain points, where’s the fragmentation, or where are the inefficiencies the sector? And why is it important for a digital solution like one coming from Fishlog to be in place to upgrade this industry?

Bayu: So if we are looking at the seafood industry, if you compare it to the FMCG industry, the seafood industry from both sides, from the supply side, from the demand side, both are fragmented, right? With supply, of course, there are a lot of big companies, but there are also more like small-scale fishermen. We have almost 2 billion small scale fishermen. So we need to aggregate all of the fish coming together from the supply end.

And then the second one from the demand. There is a B2B market. There is a wet market. There is a modern market. But mostly it’s coming from the wet market because fish is a very cheap protein source if you compare it to meat or chicken. So there is the “bottom of the pyramid” of people who are able to purchase fish better than meat. So that’s why both sides have very fragmented if we talk about the supply chain. 

If we talk about seasonality, fish is the most difficult to capture for the inventory. Sometimes, in some area, there’s a lot of fish because it is the [right] season. In another time when [it’s] off-season, the fish [supply] is low and the price [goes] up. It happens almost on a weekly basis or a monthly basis. It happen all the time.

When you purchase fish from everywhere across Indonesia, everywhere can be a source [of supply]. Everywhere can be supply side, because food is coming from everywhere, with fish coming from every coastal [town]. Also every coastal [town] can become a demand center. So it is very fragmented. 

It is not like a double-sided marketplace [where] you have the supply side and the demand side. It is like a multi-sided marketplace. Suppliers can do transaction with other suppliers. Demand can do a transaction with other demand if they have their inventory and if they can hold their own inventory.

So the goal [for us] is how we can unlock the stock, unlock the inventory, wherever it is, whatever the price, whatever the volume. So when we know the stock at this moment, and then we can deliver to the market that [have] a good price, that’s [builds] sustainability, and then we can capture all of the potential [of the industry]. So that’s why we are starting from the cold storage warehouses because we want to connect the distribution itself.

“It is not like a double-sided marketplace [where] you have the supply side and the demand side. It is like a multi-sided marketplace…So the goal [for us] is how we can unlock the stock, unlock the inventory, wherever it is, whatever the price, whatever the volume…”

From B2B Cold Chain Platform to OS for Fisheries

Paulo: So it’s really creating that connectivity across all these different nodes, and this whole industry, as you said, is multi-sided, which leads to what Fishlog is doing right. And then your go to market, is really cold chain commercial trading, and that speaks to this aspect as well, where you said, you need to have a way where you can store fish to be able to deliver them at the right time, and in the right quantity as well.

Maybe you can share with us first why you decided to focus on cold chain and how that compares to say like other fisheries startups, because it’s an emerging sector, and how, given that you’ve been doing it for a year already or so, what have you gained thus far from this go to market that you think will be key to unlocking growth this year and beyond.

Bayu: If we talk about Indonesian fisheries, there’s a lot of species, a lot of commodities, even a lot of different species with different handling. There is a $1 fish. There is a $10 fish. There is a hundred dollar fish. It’s a different game with different handling. There is a fresh chain. There is a live chain, there is a frozen chain and others.

You can’t build a single solution for all of their problems. You need to focus because you need to [be strict with] the allocation of your resources, of your time, and of your team. So why did we pick cold chain? Because I believe this is more scalable than any other chain. 

And then the second one is a we live in an archipelagic country. When a fisherman captures fish, there are two options [to sell]. The first one is they can sell locally, which is a very limited market, of course, where they have fish, they can sell locally fresh. 

And then the second way is they can process it. They can store [fish] on the cost storage or the cold chain, and then they can sell on another time on the local market, or they can sell on another time or on even within the same [period], in a different area. Those are the options, so in Indonesia, I believe if we talk about cold chain and if you talk about the export market, I believe 90 plus percent fish is delivered by cold chain, because we can deliver across the globe.

If we talk about a local market, more than 60% will deliver fish by cold chain. So that’s why there is a lot of people who develop cold chain [businesses], become as a distributor, or become as an aggregator in their region. That’s why we think that the most scalable part [where] we want to enter the industry.

When we have the distribution, when we have the cold chain, and when we have the partner who runs the cold chain, we can deliver anything and we can sell anything. We can even sell fresh fish, because cold fish actually you can store for at least one year, and then you can sell fresh as well. So that’s why it’s very important to do cold chain as our [go to market].

“So in Indonesia, I believe if we talk about cold chain and if you talk about export market, I believe 90 plus percent fish is delivered by cold chain, because we can deliver across the globe. If we talk about a local market, more than 60% will deliver fish by cold chain…When we have the distribution, when we have the cold chain, and when we have the partner who runs the cold chain, we can deliver anything and we can sell anything.”

Paulo: I think our listeners would be curious to know where does technology fit into this? Maybe you can share a little bit about how technology plays into this equation and how you use that to really connect all these different fragmented players.

Bayu: Now what we built is more like an internal technology, how we can operate well, how we can connect teams, from west Indonesia to east Indonesia, so they know price real time, and then they can decide whatever they want to buy or they want to sell the fish in their markets. So we built a warehouse management system to help cold storage [companies] to run their [cold chain management] so they don’t lose any inventory. They know that there is some inventory that is slow-moving and then they can prioritize selling those at the first time. 

And then the second one we built is a B2B marketplace. It is a smartphone-based marketplace because it is ready to use. Everyone can see where is the stock, they can see how much is the price. 

That’s what we are focusing on now. And then for the inventory model, we do both. We do light inventory. We do heavy inventory as well. Because the goal is actually how we can have the information of the supply or we have supply itself. If we talk about having the supply, we need to purchase the stock, but if we just have the information of the supplier, we need to invite fishermen, we need to invite the aggregator to put their fish in our cold storage warehouses, and then we can list them in our B2B marketplace. 

We can help them with financing as well because some of them don’t want to sell, immediately. They just want to hold [stock] for one month or two months until they find a better price, but they need to go fishing again. So they need more working capital so they can store their fish. We can do financing at 70% of the value. We can do financing while they are waiting for a better price. 

So we have set some strategies to acquire the supply, whether it is just a fulfillment or it is financing, or it becomes our own inventory. 

“The goal is actually how we can have the information of the supply or we have supply itself. If we talk about having the supply, we need to purchase the stock, but if we just have the information of the supplier, we need to invite fishermen, we need to invite the aggregator to put their fish in our cold storage warehouses, and then we can list them in our B2B marketplace. We can help them with financing as well.”

Paulo: So it’s really a flexible model. So would love to know how has this trajectory been panning out for Fishlog thus far? Maybe you can share the bit about how this growth has been, how this cold chian trajectory has been for Fishlog, and maybe you can share also some stories maybe, since you’ve been talking a lot about very high level processes and maybe you can share some stories of fishermen lives that were impacted or maybe traders or SMEs that were impacted by this solution that you brought into the market.

Bayu: So, as an enabler, what we do is say we serve, everyone who has enough value to join to the industry, right? So it can be a fisherman, it can be an aggregator, it can be a processor, it can be B2B buyers as well, or it can be a logistic provider. So what we do now is 20 to 30% per month growth mostly still based on the inventory model.

We want to get the volume first before we help more with the enablement model. So that’s what we do. Some of the stakeholders that we are helping are small-scale fishermen. Just like I said before, sometimes they don’t want to sell their fish. They just want to store the fish because they know that in the next month, the price is going high, so they can store it in our warehouses. 

We can lock in our inventory and then they don’t buy it because they have their existing market. But if we can find a better buyer for them, if we can find in the other city a better buyer, with a better price, they can sell through us so they can find the better buyers through Fishlog’s platform while they have their existing market to serve.

“We want to get the volume first before we help more with the enablement model…sometimes they don’t want to sell their fish. They just want to store the fish because they know that in the next month, the price is going high…they can sell through us so they can find the better buyers through Fishlog’s platform while they have their existing market to serve.”

Paulo: We’re seeing a lot of SME enablers on this operating software for X trajectory, who are building this “OS for X” trajectory. So how would that operating software like for the Indonesia fisheries industry from Fishlog’s perspective?

Bayu: We believe in the operating system model. So, as a startup, I think it’s not perfect that we want to disrupt the industry by tapping all of the players and then connecting the supply and the demand side. It’s like a single solution, and I just don’t want to follow those model.

For us founders, we believe in the enablement model, in how we can build a operating system, not only for the technology, but for the SMEs, how we can approach them, how we can do transaction with them, how we can brand their brands. So we believe in those.

Ideally what we build is actually like an operating system for fisheries in Indonesia that are starting from the cold storage again, because cold storage has very, easy infrastructure to tap in. At least we got the inventory first, and after that, we build a hyper-local ecosystem, so everyone can connect with the local cold storage, which we call the Fishlog quality center. 

So every fisherman can put their fish there and then we can do local market. We can do another island market as well. When you act as an “OS”, you invite everyone to the value chain who has the credibility to do transactions.

Going forward, the number of the fishermen will decrease because [no one] wants to become a fisherman anymore. I want to this industry more open where everyone can be a fisherman. Everyone can be a seller of fisheries commodities. So it is open for anyone, but we need to build a strong operating system [that can be used] by everyone. 

“Ideally what we build is actually like an operating system for fisheries in Indonesia that are starting from the cold storage, again because cold storage is very, easy infrastructure to tap in. At least we got the inventory first, and after that we build a hyper-local ecosystem…”

Long-term food sustainability and labor sustainability for fisheries

Paulo: So [it’s really for] a future Bayu who just graduated from a fisheries university and wants to start their own SME, and they’re able to tap into Fishlog’s OS and network as well. And you mentioned in an article that you wrote previously that in the same way that Airbnb sort of created all of these like livelihood and redefine sort of the hotel and what that means, you’re also sort of doing the same thing, right. Being a fisherman is not necessarily a very lucrative kind of job. But I think if you’re able to make it more lucrative and get more people to join the industry there’s huge potential there as well.

Speaking of cold chain, you also mentioned in the article in Insignia Business Review, which we’ll link in the podcast description for those who are interested in reading that there are also potential implications, even for non-fisheries sort of transactions or SKUs as well that you could accommodate, because you already have these quality centers that you mentioned. So what do you think of this kind of opportunity and how would this fit into Fishlog’s growth trajectory?

Bayu: Because I am coming from the fisheries like I love seafood, whatever it is, I love the smell. I love fish. But if you talk about the business opportunity, of course, a lot of successful examples, whether it is coming from SMEs, whether it’s coming from startups, there are a lot of startups in India, in China, all of them mostly coming from seafood.

And then after they build their strong distribution for seafood, then they can deliver every [other type of SKU]. Even in Indonesia, there are a lot of SMEs, local players, and conventional companies doing multiple categories that are strong in seafood. There is one such partner in Maluku [Island]. They supply seafood to Jakarta and then they bring chickens from Jakarta to Maluku as well. So it is like a double logistics [situation], and then that is a very, very efficient way. 

So I think there is an opportunity. There is a room there, depending on our decision, depending on our appetite, depending on our growth as well. So I think there is an option that we can explore, but I think in the next several years, I want to focus on seafood. I want to focus on enabling the operating system of the seafood and let’s take a look what our resource can get to. If it is easily low-hanging fruit for the other commodities, then it is very possible.

“If you talk about the business opportunity, of course, a lot of successful examples, whether it is coming from SME, whether it’s coming from startup, there are a lot of startup in India, in China, all of them mostly coming from seafood…but in the next several years, I want to focus on seafood. I want to focus on enabling the operating system of the seafood…”

Paulo: There are so many trajectories that you can go to, which just speaks to how good of a go to market strategy you guys have implemented in terms of tackling cold chain first, and of enabling storage and transactions digitally through that.

And of course doing all of these trajectories that we’ve just talked about, you need a team, you need people and so It’s great that the founding team has strong backgrounds and fisheries. So how do you approach building this team even further, especially filling in key leadership roles? How do you balance, that background and fisheries with the tech and also looking for people who want to work in a fast-growing company?

Bayu: My honest answer is to have technical founders. Like all of us are technical founders, we bring our advantages and challenges at the same time. 

The advantage is, of course, we can digest the industry. We know where is the problem. We know where we take the value, and then from the challenge, of course, is how we can lead the team, because, to be honest, we are first-time founders. We are still young. We’re still under 30. 

So what we did first is we invited an angel investor who can be our support system. That’s the first thing [we did]. That’s why with Insignia, there were a lot of very spectacular angel investors from a different fields, in the industry field, in the technology field, in the startup founder field. So, it brings us advantages. It builds our power to run the business, to know how we avoid mistakes.

The second one is we need to set the middle management who are more professional than us who are more experienced on the operation level, on the technology level, on the finance level, so we can set the direction and we can set the objective. We can inspire them, but we need to set a clear objective for them when they are preparing for the operations. 

So I think that’s the most challenging part, but along the way, we’re still looking for the best people who want to join because another problem is this is a niche industry. So whoever who wants to come to this industry, I believe the answer is not just for the money but it [also] for the vision.

They know that this is a meaningful problem to solve. And this is a fast-growing company, so that’s what we want from them. So, that’s why I think we need to inspire them with our industry as well. 

“…we’re still looking for the best people who want to join because another problem is this is a niche industry. So whoever who wants to come to this industry, I believe the answer is not just for the money but it [also] for the vision.”

Paulo: I really like what you mentioned about knowing what your strengths are and then tapping into your investors, to fill in the gaps and eventually be able to hire, as you mentioned, the middle management who will be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together so Fishlog really matures and organization as a company. And if anyone listening out there wants to join Fishlog, I’ll leave their careers page, in the podcast description and Bayu’s LinkedIn as well in case you want to reach out. 

And before we get into our rapid-fire round, would love for you to paint for us a picture of what Indonesia’s fisheries industry looks like in the next five years with Fishlog now in the picture and now doing all this work? What is the role of Fishlog by that time?

Bayu: The first one is I want to make this industry as a powerful industry for Indonesia, because this is what we have for seafood security, for the food, how we can supply [the needs] of the world. I would like to [solve] the unsustainability [issues], because why they are doing a campaign like that because they don’t have these resources.

I believe Indonesia, even the Philippines and Southeast Asia, we have all of this resources. The answer is how we can manage this well because now the management is not quite well. All of the [players] are fragmented. There is no single institution that can give a good example to every stakeholder.

So I want Fishlog, with the other startups as well in the fisheries industry, to change how we practice fish, in the catch, in the aquaculture, in the distribution as well in the packaging, in the branding. So we can bring this effort in Indonesia to the world to consume with sustainability.

And that we can grow the industry because I’m afraid it’s not just about the sustainability, but it’s about the fishermen as well. No one wants to become a fisherman anymore. That’s the stigma that we want to change for the first time.

Everyone must see that fisherman is one of the jobs that have a future value. Then the second one is that we can [bring] sustainability. So I think that’s the point of view that we take for the future. 

Paulo: I really like those two points on really not just the food sustainability aspect, but also the labor sustainability aspect of ensuring that fishermen, continue to grow and there continue to be more fisherman in Indonesia as well.

“The first [goal] is I want to make this industry as a powerful industry for Indonesia, because this is what we have for seafood security, for the food, how we can supply [the needs] of the world…I’m afraid it’s not just about the sustainability, but it’s about the fishermen as well. No one wants to become a fisherman anymore. That’s the stigma that we want to change for the first time. Everyone must see that fisherman is one of the jobs that has a future value.”

Rapid Fire Round

Top 3 traits of a startup CEO? 

Bayu: I believe as a startup CEO, we must have an ultra learning mindset. So you need to learn anything necessary faster, and you need to empower everyone in the organization to learn. Then the second one, visionary is followed by clear communication.I think it’s very important for us because as startup founders, at the top level, you need to bring a direct objective for the organization so they can solve how we can get those [solutions]. It’s very important to get the communication and to get a visionary mindset for the founders, so we can deliver the message through to the entire organization. 

Do you have a favorite book/podcast/resource you would recommend to fellow Indonesian founders? 

Bayu: I prefer reading books more because a book is the most prepared [form of resource] when sharing some ideas. So I have a lot of recommendations: Zero to One by Peter Thiel is the most recommended for the early startup and then Good to Great from Jim Collins, and then the other is Almanack by Naval Ravikant. 

What’s your favorite go-to destination in Southeast Asia? / What trip are you most looking forward to taking? 

Bayu: Yeah it depends. If we talk about fulfillment, a fulfilling destination trip, I love to visit every fisherman’s village. I love seeing fresh fish. I love to talk with the fishermen. I love to look for the problems that they have. I love the fish smell. I love catching fish as well. And then for the vacation, I think Bali is the most “complete” destination. 

What’s the biggest fish that you’ve caught?

Bayu: I caught a seven-kilo fish four years ago.

What is your favorite fish to eat? 

Bayu: I love everything, but most likely I love squid. If we talk about fish, I love groupers. 

Favorite activity to de-stress? 

Bayu: I love watching movies, action, inspirational, comedy, and even Korean dramas, I watch as well. I also read nonfiction books. 

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