Since we launched GudangAda at the beginning of 2019, the fast-growing B2B marketplace platform has onboarded more than half a million merchants and established a geographical presence in 500 cities across Indonesia.
During the past two years, I have spent leading a high-growth technology-driven company, I have realised that a B2B technology platform is an ideal business solution to address the needs of this fragmented industry.
However, innovation is not without its challenges, especially in the capricious e-commerce industry.
My journey of building GudangAda from an early stage to a Series B funding startup has taught me valuable lessons in overcoming the hurdles of digitising the B2B e-commerce sector.
Having been in the industry for several decades, I am familiar with the inner workings of the FMCG industry. I have built strong relationships based on trust with key industry stakeholders over the years.
This experience has been instrumental in helping me build GudangAda, especially in the early stages, as it allowed me to develop a clear roadmap for the early success of my business.
My career journey has been enriched by the many talented colleagues I work with at GudangAda. Getting facetime with my team is essential and not just from a management perspective.
By participating in their day-to-day work on the ground, I can understand the challenges faced by the team and then develop solutions that provide value add to our operations.
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My team has also been a great inspiration source, and I learn new things from them every day! The key to growing a successful business is to adopt an open mind and never stop learning, no matter which stage of your career you might be at.
To help budding technology entrepreneurs navigate the startup trenches, I would like to share some insights from developing a successful multifaceted B2B marketplace ecosystem.
Perseverance and tenacity
One of the fastest-growing smartphone markets globally, Indonesia’s mobile app market is oversaturated and increasingly competitive.
With many companies vying for lucrative financial opportunities in B2B mobile commerce, gaining visibility in the app market and developing an effective market penetration strategy is highly challenging.
Launching a startup with limited resources in B2B e-commerce (an industry with many pain points) may appear daunting initially. However, persevering in the face of adversity is the cornerstone to transitioning to the next stage of your business.
Every successful mobile app starts from somewhere, and it takes persistence and determination to work around these challenges to separate yourself from the majority.
Empathy and receptiveness
Every business survives by adapting to ever-changing consumer behaviours. To develop a strong brand reputation and enhance users’ in-app experience, it is essential to understand consumer needs and monitor ground feedback.
Active listening and being receptive to user feedback will contribute towards app store optimisation in the long run. Engaging in communication with your customer base is essential to understanding in-app issues and product flaws.
After all, no app design is perfect and being humble in taking in negative criticism will help identify future areas for your product’s improvement.
By building trust with consumers and incorporating their feedback into your product design, the number of daily and monthly active users will grow exponentially.
In our case, our customers are manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers; and our team and I need to get regular feedback from them directly on the ground.
Embracing technology to create valuable solutions
Technology has allowed GudangAda to accelerate the digital transformation of the B2B commerce landscape. Relying on data-driven solutions has provided me with insights into mobile app marketing and interacting with users through their entire lifecycle.
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I also see the importance of prioritising app engineering and app features. Leveraging multiple touchpoints will increase user experience and stakeholder engagement.
Intrinsic motivation in employees
It is essential to cultivate intrinsic motivation in the organisation as intrinsically motivated employees are happier workers than those driven by external factors (e.g. monetary rewards).
Fostering employee engagement helps align their goals with organisational goals and, in turn, create a dynamic team environment.
Over time, these values of navigating an early-stage business become more prevalent as the company becomes scalable.
Whilst I have gained a wealth of knowledge and expertise over the years, learning from the ever-changing B2B e-commerce industry never stops.
I hope that these insights will help steer young entrepreneurs in the right direction towards success.
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Image credit: GudangAda
The post Building blocks of success: How I build GudangAda to become one of Indonesia’s most promising startups appeared first on e27.