After being absent for a while in the scene, Aryo Ariotedjo, Grupara Inc’s Founder, hits the Indonesia’s startup scene in style. He is reportedly developing Project Shoe to strengthen the foundation of his own Grupara in New York, the U.S.
Ariotedjo, who is also the organizer of Freeware co-working space, told DailySocial about his activities in New York, including a series of project shows he is currently working on.
“To be honest, our operation is currently off, but we are still active in administering our portfolio. We keep communicating with local investors in order to make Grupara much better,” he stated during the E-Commerce Partnership Gathering (9/10).
Ariotedjo should thank MEDCO Group, as the investor was first to fund his Grupara. Grupara itself once an incubator which managed some local startups, i.e Gravira, Maskoolin and Lolabox which was shut down last May, at Freeware. Now, the company is known better as an investor. Even though looking for a new startup is not its focus for the time being, Grupara doesn’t shut out the possibility of investing should it finds a highly promising prospect.
Personally, Ariotedjo is now digging deeper about U.S startup scene and strengthening his relationship with reliable high profiles, including those founders who have been successful in guiding their startups to their “exit”.
“By learning about the atmosphere of startup industry there, I got more insights which can be applied to our own startups. Interestingly, we once had a thought to invest on an Indonesian startup whose products fit the demands in the U.S. If there is a chance, I will be very happy to invest and bring them there,” he added.
Ariotedjo further described the significant difference between Indonesia’s and U.S startup industry. The most basic points are the education level and the audience. The Americans tend to find a fresh solution to solve a certain problem, which can later be developed in to an idea for establishing a startup, while Indonesians, apparently, have yet nailed the true meaning of startup very well.
[Header illustration: Shutterstock]
