(Webinar Recap) Charting the Indonesian VC Landscape

Instill financial discipline from an early stage to withstand turbulent economic cycles 

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It is becoming abundantly clear that founders need to instill a culture of financial discipline from the earliest stages to set themselves up for success in the long run. 

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According to Eddy Chan, Founding Partner at Intudo Ventures, startups who tried to cut back on spend solely during periods of fear will find it challenging to survive rough winters. On the other hand, founders who are consistently mindful of their spend patterns - through cycles of fear and greed - will have a competitive advantage in times of recession and economic downturn. If you're a fast-growing startup looking to establish a strong cultural of finance hygiene, check out this article on budgeting.

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In times of crisis, look for the silver opportunities 

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Whilst downward cycles create an environment of uncertainty and fear, they also offer great opportunities that startups can  leverage. Hiring and customer acquisition for instance, becomes easier due to people actively seeking jobs and less competitive pressure. Eddy Chan maintains that in order to take advantage of these rare opportunities, startups need to have a clear understanding of what resources are needed in the immediate term. Moreover, understand that these periods of economic distress are cyclical - use them as opportunities to recalibrate, focus and build resilience.

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Be confident about the return on every dollar you spend, and invest strategically to maintain a strong growth trajectory

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According to CEO of Prasetia Ventures, Arya Setiadharma, the relationship between startups and VCs is bound to change considerably in the next few months, as investors double down on the quality - rather than quantity - of their portfolio. To navigate this, founders need to be prepared to defend each of their activities with strong numbers and projections. Aspire’s Regional Head of Sales Yan Kessler posits that hiring and customer acquisition can still be aggressive during this period, but needs to be razor focused on investments that can deliver high ROI. His advice is to pair these decisions with a more conservative approach in other areas (such as slowing down on marketing spend or making notable senior hires),  if strong numbers are to be maintained.