[RECAP] GIST x ANGIN Angel Investor Training

ANGIN is proud to have partnered with the US State Department, GIST, and VentureWell in creating the first GIST Investors training to angel investors in Indonesia.
The full day training was packed with many topics covering areas of Investment Process Deep Dive, Valuations, Terms, & Negotiations and Gender Lens Investment with speakers: Claire Ruffing from U.S. Department of State, Eli Velasquez from VentureWell,  Gwen Edwards from Angel Resource Institute (ARI), Ramphis Castro from ScienceVest and Melissa Bradley from Project 500.
Some key takeaways from the training:

  • Indonesia has plenty of opportunities – young demographic with no shortage of capital.  The challenge is to educate investors about the opportunities abound in startups. Gwen said that it is about finding the next “unicorn” and lots of “gazelles.”
  • It is important to diversify your portfolio. As Gwen Edwards put it, having 20 investments in your portfolio is about the right number. One cannot complain about the pitfalls of angel investment if one only invests in one startup. After all, angel investment is comparable to investing in the stock market. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
  • It can take up to 10 years for an angel investor to see significant return from their portfolio. Angel investment is not a quick process; you must nurture and grow the companies you are investing in; some may fail, some may exit, but the process will be different every time and hopefully very rewarding.
  • As an investor, one should carefully craft their investment thesis. This is represented by a few criteria that will define the parameters of your investment. Having an investment thesis is also a marketing tool for yourself, as other angel investors or networks will begin to direct deals that match with your thesis to you once you are known for your thesis.
  • From Virginia Tan: gender-lens investing isn’t necessarily just “social” — it’s also extremely profitable. From her experience, women-led startups have not only been profitable but have also been more consistent with projections. Male entrepreneurs tend to pitch very well but the numbers show a bigger gap in performance versus projection.

The GIST Investor training on 5 April 2018 is the first and just the beginning of many more training and other programs. We look forward to a continued collaboration with GIST in bringing quality events to Indonesia and in providing resources to our angel network and beyond.

[UPCOMING] GIST Investors: Indonesia

Attend the first GIST Investors training program in Indonesia as we delve into science and technology investing topics, including the principles of angel investing, portfolio management and empowering women investors. Also come meet and network with like-minded investors. This event will be co-hosted and curated by ANGIN. To RSVP, send an email to contact@angin.id explaining why you would like to join.
Where: Kantorkuu, Agro Plaza, Ground Floor, Jl. H.R Rasuna Said, South Jakarta 12950
Speakers:
– Claire Ruffing, U.S. Department of State
– Eli Velasquez, VentureWell
– Gwen Edwards, Angel Resource Institute
– Melissa Bradley, Project 500
– Ramphis Castro, ScienceVest

About GIST Investors: Indonesia

Already a hub for innovation, Jakarta is attracting young founders who need more than support, they need capital. Now the GIST Initiative is joining forces with in-country investors to empower entrepreneurs in Indonesia looking for funding opportunities to help their startups start and scale. The longer term goal of the partnership is to build a stronger ecosystem for entrepreneurs to grow in Southeast Asia.
The GIST Investors program in Indonesia will be conducted in partnership with the Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN), the largest angle investors group in Indonesia that supports early stage startups.
If you represent a formal investor network, venture capital firm or investment fund and are interested participating in the GIST Investors program in Indonesia, contact Eli Velasquez at evelasquez@venturewell.org.

[RECAP] ANGIN Angel Investors at the IMF Gathering of Thought Leaders

Last week, three of our angel investors were invited to IMF Gathering of Thought Leaders Lunch with the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. With 10 other leaders, they discussed how business should be more inclusive for women and how sustainable development must include women as part of its main actor.

Shinta Kamdani CEO of Sintesa Group, Mari Elka Pangestu former Minister of Trade in Indonesia, and Svida Alisjahbana CEO of Femina Group were all in attendance and had a productive and lively time at the lunch. We are honored to have had our angels invited to this event, and hope that more opportunities for public-private partnerships to help the world’s most underserved are in store for the future.

 

Ibu Shinta Kamdani: CEO of Sintesa Group and Co-Founder of ANGIN

From Indonesia Tatler Website: //www.indonesiatatler.com/society/shinta-kamdani-on-being-indonesia-s-influential-business-leader 

Shinta Kamdani On Being Indonesia’s Influential Business Leader

Shinta Kamdani, CEO of Sintesa Group, sits down with Indonesia Tatler to talk about her journey to become one of Indonesia’s most influential business leaders. 

The journey to get to where she is has been a long and arduous one. Knowing all along that she would one day be handed the reins of the family business started by her grandfather, Shinta Kamdani had to do everything in her power and more to prove to herself and her parents that she had what it took to lead the company.

Despite being born into a family of entrepreneurs, the third generation heir of the family business started her illustrious career at the very bottom. And proved to them she did. Today, Shinta is the CEO of Sintesa Group, a conglomerate of 17 distinct companies, unified under one banner by Shinta herself.
The family business started as a rubber plantation in 1919 established by Shinta’s grandfather, Oey Kim Tjiang. It then shifted its focus to trading in 1959 when her father, Johnny Widjaja, took over. At that point, it was only a matter of time before Shinta would be handed over the reins. Shinta remembered the times during her primary school years when she would help out at her father’s office, even if it was in the smallest capacity. It was when she was 13 that Shinta got her first experience of trading: selling books door-to-door. Through the successes and failures of the experience, Shinta was determined to push on and gather as much knowledge and experience as possible. No school vacation since then had gone by without Shinta doing some form of work. The trend continued on to her university days, where she would intern at various companies during term breaks.
Having garnered experience at various companies, Shinta immediately began her career at the family business, as a promotion and marketing staff at one of the subsidiaries focusing on consumer products. Despite being the owner’s daughter, she did not receive any form of special treatments. It took years of hard work and putting in plenty of extra effort before she got her first promotion. Shinta was extremely proud of this promotion as years of hard work had finally paid off. No one could take it away from her as she had done it all by her own two hands.

The biggest breakthrough for Shinta came a few years later when she proposed the concept of unifying the numerous independently operating companies under one holding company. Her time in the company had made her able to view its operations from a different perspective, thus identifying the areas which needed improvement. She had finally risen through the ranks and made it into a leadership role.
Today, Sintesa Group is led by a professional management team, with Shinta as its leader. As CEO, Shinta states that the three most important roles for her as CEO are to provide a vision for the future, and to serve and empower the employees. Shinta understands very well that under the new structure, the people working for, and with the company, are the most important components for success.
She learned from a young age to always put her feet on the ground and never to take things for granted. “You have to appreciate the little things. It is important to know that at any time, all our material possessions could be taken away. Always remember who you are, and where you came from,” said Shinta. Passion and discipline are the other two guiding principles that have gotten Shinta to where she is today. It is of utmost importance to love what you do, and to have the self-discipline to always give a hundred per cent. “I may not be the best at something, but I will always give it my best,” said Shinta.
Being in Shinta’s position comes with its own set of challenges and pressure. When she is met with particularly difficult challenges, Shinta likes to take time off alone. It is during this personal time free from distractions that she is able to find solutions, even to the toughest trials. When asked what it is specifically that she does during this time, Shinta had a succinct answer that needed no further explanation: “I dance.”
Outside of the family’s business, Shinta cares a great deal about the environment and the future of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. Shinta is an ardent supporter of the country’s thriving startup scene, and is always looking to help young and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She is the founder ANGIN, GEPI, and IBCSD, and is the Vice-Chair of WWF Indonesia. ANGIN has become Indonesia’s largest network of angel investors, with a focus on funding and mentoring startups in Indonesia, while GEPI connects local entrepreneurs with global developments and investment prospects. The IBCSD is an association of companies committed to promoting sustainable development through sustainable economic growth, ecological balance and social progress.
Success can be difficult to define and is different from one individual to the other. With her multitude of responsibilities, Shinta sees success as being able to achieve a balancing act, and to have all aspects of her life exist in harmony. With so much on her plate, Shinta believes that the best way to find balance is to bring others along and share in the success. “An individual can only do so much, but together we can do so much more,” said Shinta.
While there is so much more that Shinta can share, it would be impossible to fit them all within these pages. In closing, Shinta emphasised once again the significance of never giving up, and to never be afraid of failure.
“In all that I do, if I never give up, if I continue fighting, then I will definitely make it. It pays to be daring, and to never give up. I have failed many times, and it is only because I choose to keep fighting that I am where I am today.”
This story appears in the January 2018 issue of Indonesia Tatler, for the full story, grab the copy at your nearest newsstands, or subscribe here.
[Text by: Kevin Sjahrial; Photographer: Heri N. Heryanto]

 

Nuniek Tirta: angel investor, founder of StartupLokal, mother, and wife

ANGIN Women’s Spotlight series seeks to showcase a diverse array of inspiring women leaders and their stories and experiences in order to shed light on the unique experiences of women in business. We hope that both men and women can gain from these shared experiences, that these stories can inspire change, and that other young girls are motivated to become leaders as well.
Tell us about yourself. 
I’m Nuniek Tirta. I’m a digital nomad – meaning I work from everywhere. Along with my husband who is also the co-founder of Tiket.com, I initiated StartupLokal. It is currently the biggest startup community in Indonesia, and has been running since April 2010. We do monthly meetups where we gather startup enthusiasts every month; about 100-200 people usually come these. That’s our non-profit organisation. Apart from that, I’m also a PR marketing and community consultant for some companies, and my husband and I have made investments in 7 companies so far. I’m also a mother of two, and currently also finishing my studies in Masters of Psychological Counselling in Jakarta.
How do you juggle all of this – being an entrepreneur, an angel investor, a mother, and a wife?
I have a support system which is my family at home. I delegate my weaknesses, so that I can focus on doing what I’m good at. If I spend one hour with a client, I am focused on them. My advice on multitasking? Focus on your priorities first and also focus on what you are doing at hand. For instance, right now we are doing an interview and I am focused on that. If I spend one hour with a client, I am focused on them.
Do you have advice for young mothers who want to balance their career and their family?
Everyone has their own system of balancing. For me, I do it based on time. For example, weekends is for family. Me and my husband, we allocate at least one night a week to dating. Even though we have been married for 11 years, we are still dating regularly. We think that the relationship between husband and wife can have a huge impact on the relationship with your children. Many people don’t think so and ignore this while focusing entirely on the children. But for us, it’s very important to keep our relationship healthy, so that the relationship with our children is also healthy.
In terms of women and juggling home life and work life, do you think there are more women moving into the workforce after university? Is there is a trend moving towards that?
Yes of course. Maybe if we go back several years ago, many women were staying home to nurture their kids. There’s a statistic that more and more women are going out and looking for a job – an upward trend for working women. Improved gender equality that has opened up the opportunity for women to have the same opportunities as men to go into the workforce. In some rural areas, maybe there is still pressure to stay at home. But here in the big city, there is none of that.
What was your experience like being female in the startup ecosystem and building a startup organisation?
It’s kind of a privilege actually, to be female, because we have less competitors right? So when women are on a certain level, they tend to highlight us because we’re women.
What are your tips on leveraging being female and the strengths associated with being female for someone who wants to go down your path?
I think being a women…we have so many plus points compared to men. For instance, we have instinct. It’s either a blessing or a curse, I don’t know. But I often use it for business dealings, which my husband cannot — maybe because he doesn’t have the gift of instinct (laughs). I can generally sense what deals are not right, and so I don’t go for it. If you want to follow up, go ahead but I don’t. Usually my instinct works.
Do you have a story of a particular time where you used your instinct?
So often. For example, sometimes we get approached by people and for some unexplainable reason, I just don’t have a good feeling about that person. I just tell my husband. Other people who we meet for the first time — not only one or two, but four different people talked about this person who ends up with a bad reputation. And then that’s it, you know? That’s my instinct, but I can’t explain it, right? Then my husband decided not to continue to, you know.
So you guys work as a team?
Yeah, we work as a team.
How do you perceive these gender and women’s empowerment initiatives in Indonesia? Do you think it’s just buzz or a trend, or do you think it’s something that will last for a long time?
It’s funny you know, because 20 years ago I wrote a paper on gender equality. At that time, there were so many issues, especially in Indonesia. For example, women employees, didn’t get covered for the family, while men got covered for the whole family. Not even single mothers got covered. Those were the kind of gender equality issues at the time, but right now we have already achieved so much of the same. So when you talk about the movement, as long as there is still imbalance of equality, there will also be a movement fighting against it. But maybe the intensity of the movement is downgrading compared to the past.
What do you think other countries can learn from Indonesia when it comes to gender equality?
Indonesia once had a woman president. America hasn’t yet, at least for now. Apart from that, Indonesian women in general have the independence to choose whether they want to work or stay at home, which is different from Japan. My friend, who is marrying a Japanese, always says in Japanese culture when you become a mother you stay as a mother, but sometimes they forget to become a housewife. Can you see the difference? That is also one important point that I always tell my friends and others who come to me for counselling. That when once you become a mother, you don’t forget your rule as a housewife. Because the typical thing is that once you have a baby and the baby cries, and at the same time your husband is calling you for help, they will first run to the baby, because the baby can’t do anything, the husband can do his own thing. While in fact, the role must be balanced. My role as a housewife is number one, then after that as a mother. Back to my principle, if my relationship with my spouse is good, then my relationship with my children will also be good. It cannot be the other way around.
Who are some female role models that you have?
I think in terms of startups, Ibu Shinta has played a very good role in connecting more women in the startup industry. In terms of international figures, my role model is Michelle Obama – she is an excellent example of someone who can be successful yet supportive to her husband. Because I believe that behind a good leader, there is good female support. I think she’s very elegant and brainy.
As an angel investor, what do you look for in your startups? And what do you look for in a startup that tries to empower women?
From experience, the first thing I see is not the idea or the business, but the person: the founder who has a big vision for the startup. Right now, I invest in seven startups; we previously invested in nine startups, but two failed. From that we learned that a very good idea is not enough, and how you run it is much more important. When the founder has a big vision, they don’t give up. So what I look for when I choose to invest in something is a founder with a big vision.
I also tend to vary my portfolio. Right now, I invest in media, AI, web and also in film. I tend to do several things. Some might say that’s not focused, but rather than focusing on the field I’m focused on nurturing the startups that I invest in. I don’t just put money in them but I also open my network to them.In terms of investing in women founders, I invested in one female founder who owns three companies. It’s not actually about whether she is a woman or not — when we see that she has a good vision and that she knows the route to reach her goals, she is investable.
Where do you see the indonesian startup scene in 10 years? Where do you see the growth?
I think in 10 years, the startup scene will really take off. We’ve seen a lot of predictions, especially as GDP per capita rises…so I think it’s about time. There is already a good ecosystem for startups to grow in Indonesia. It will empower more and more people to go into this area, and then directly or indirectly, it will support both the Indonesian and the global economy.
When we first started, even the term startup is not familiar; those who had startups didn’t even know that they had a startup. They were not familiar with it. StartupLokal’s first event was attended by William Tanuwijaya, the co-founder of Tokopedia, and also Leon [Alpha Edison]. There were 33 people who were founders of startups, who are now becoming somebody. So you never know, that was 7 years, almost 8 years ago. I can see in 10 years we’re only going to get bigger.
Just to wrap up, if you had one thing to tell the world, what would you like to tell people right now?
Delegate your weakness, focus on what you’re good at, and find a mentor.

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