Let’s begin:
Edward Tirtanata’s journey to building a unicorn company is truly remarkable. A phone call dramatically changed his attitude towards life. An issue led him from working at his father’s business to starting his own startup. Despite facing numerous challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, his positive attitude and relentless efforts motivated him to become a successful entrepreneur.
About Edward Tirtanata:
Meet Edward Tirtanata, a successful Indonesian entrepreneur and CEO of the unicorn company, Kopi Kenangan. From a young age, his curiosity for entrepreneurship was always more than academics. He belongs to a business family, and he got an entrepreneurial spirit as an inheritance from her family.
Following his further studies, he attended Northeastern University in Boston, United States, where he studied finance and accounting. Tirtanata believes, “The joy of doing it is more important than the money. Even now, that still thrills me.” When, he was in the USA, he received a call, and that call completely changed his life.
Unveiling the Story Behind This Call
One day, Tirtanata received a call from his mother. His mother told him that they were struggling through potential bankruptcy due to losses in his father’s tea business. After listening to his mother, Tirtanata decided to come back as soon as possible and he completed all his courses in just three years.
But, since the day, his attitude towards life has completely changed. Soon, he returned to Jakarta, immediately focused on his father’s business.
What Was Tirtanata’s Next Move?
Despite facing a challenging situation, Tirtanata remained patient and focused on resolving the issues. His next move was to steer his father’s tea business in the right direction, dedicating himself fully to its success.
In 2015, he founded Lewis & Carroll, a tea shop chain with multiple locations across Indonesia, before starting Kopi Kenangan. When he launched his fifth store, he discovered it wasn’t as successful as he had expected.
While working at his father’s business, he and his friend, Jame Prananto, observed an issue, and this issue motivated them to start a startup.
What motivated him to start his startup?
While managing his father’s business, one day in 2017, Tirtanata and his long-time friend James were having a conversation in his tea shop, and then they observed that a lot of Indonesians can’t afford $3–4 cups of tea and coffee. If every cup of coffee costs you $4, and then you consume it for 30 days, that is almost 1/3 of the minimum wage. They realised that major coffee chains were too expensive for the local communities in Indonesian.
This discussion ended with a solution. And their realisation motivated him to start their startup with a solution. Now, the solution has been converted into a Unicorn company.
What was the solution?
Finally, Tirtanata decided that instead of continuing his father’s business, he would start his own startup. His solution was to offer high-quality coffee at affordable prices. In 2017, he and his friend James embarked on this entrepreneurial journey by launching Kopi Kenangan.
What is Kopi Kenangan?
In 2017, Tirtanata began his entrepreneurial journey by founding Kopi Kenangan in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. What a beginning! As a single coffee stall, it has grown into a major Indonesian food and beverage company with approximately 1,000 stores in more than 60 cities across the country.
Success: The Impact of Tirtanata’s Patience and Efforts:
– Became Southeast Asia’s first F&B unicorn in December 2021.
– Named Brand of the Year in the café chain category by World Branding Awards 2020-21.
– Expanded from 1 store in the first year to nearly 1000 stores.
– Grew to approximately 3 million users on Kopi Kenangan app.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people said that it’s the end of Kopi Kenangan. But his efforts paid off, and they actually grew by three times in terms of store count.
Tirtanata says, “Everyday, it comes down to you, your will, your conviction, and your hard work, whether you can make it.”
