COMPFEST 14, Depok — Camp 2 Startup Academy (SUA) was held from August 22nd to August 28th, 2022, via Zoom platform. During this camp, participants learned many things that could be used to build their startup, from understanding the market, MVP, to mentoring sessions. Let’s look at the article below to see the excitement of the Camp 2 Startup Academy!
Day 1 — Market
The first day of the camp was filled with the presentation of “Building & Selling Products That Fits” by Qurrat Abu Ayub, a Director of Strategy at Pinhome. Abu stated that there are three important things about building and launching products: discovery, delivery, and marketing. Abu also explained that the key to success is not only about the proposition, but also the segment of the market. According to him, although many factors are involved, the best way to start a startup is to target a rather large market, but a small and appropriate segment.
In the early stages of building startups, founders tend not to have much capital. Therefore, one thing, that according to Abu, is important is to find the specific focus and purpose of the product that founders want to make. Then, Abu explained the important aspects that need to be considered in the go-to-market (GTM) strategy. Finally, Abu explained several important efforts that must be done to attract consumers.
After the presentation was over, participants were given a chance to ask Abu in a Q&A session. The participants did not miss this opportunity to ask Abu some questions to dig deeper into the material in the presentation.
Day 2 — Validated Learning
The second day of Camp 2 Startup Academy was filled by Geriska “Gege” Isabelle, a UX Researcher at DANA. The title of her presentation was “Creating Real Value by Using Validated Learning”. According to Gege, there are many uncertain conditions when building a startup. Therefore, validated learning, as a process to reduce this uncertainty, needs to be applied and carried out in the stages of product development. Gege said that there are many benefits from using validated learning, such as avoiding features that users don’t need and speeding up the development process.
Afterwards, Gege explained stages in validated learning, including hypothesis, build, measure and learn. Validated learning is applied and carried out in every stage of product development. Product development stages include problem validation, problem-solution fit, solution-product fit, and product-market fit. Gege described these stages in detail and enthusiastically. Finally, Gege gave a brief summary of the presentation that she had delivered. Before the session ended, Gege gave an opportunity for curious participants who wanted to ask some questions. The participants were very excited to ask their questions about validated learning.
Day 3 — MVP
On the third day of the camp, Fanny Limassa as SVP of Product at Bukalapak, had the opportunity to give a lesson about Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Fanny explained the definition of MVP and shared her experience about the importance of MVP in product development process. Fanny also explained Proof of Concept (POC) and the difference between POC and MVP.
Next, Fanny explained the stages in planning an MVP. While explaining these stages, Fanny also shared some examples of real-world problems during her time as SVP of Product. Then, Fanny gave an example and underlined the difference between POC, MVP, and Full-Fledged Solution. Then, Fanny gave a summary of the important points related to a good MVP.
Towards the end of the session, Fanny explained the steps after an MVP was made. Finally, Fanny summarized the important things that were presented and reminded us that the market is always changing, so the products must continue to adapt. Like the previous days, there was a Q&A session. Many participants are still curious about today’s topic.
Day 4 — UX Research
The fourth day of Camp 2 Startup Academy was filled by Catharina Benita Irawan, a UX Researcher at PT. Bank Central Asia. Benita started the session by doing a mini activity. Participants were asked to name their favorite application that they use every day. Some participants gave their favorite application enthusiastically. Benita concluded that the reason they liked the app was that it had a good UX.
After that, Benita explained the definition of UX research, its benefits, and the best time to do UX research. Then, she explained the stages in UX research, starting from determining objectives, making assumptions, determining methods, conducting research, and finally making synthesis. Benita also explained Usability Testing (UT), including the definition, when to do UT, as well as the stages in the UT.
Before the session was closed, Benita again did a mini activity. The participants were divided into two groups, then each group performed a task scenario from the predetermined objectives, with one group acting as the instructor and the other as the user. Both groups took turns doing task scenarios with high enthusiasm.
Day 5 — Traction, Transition, and Growth
On the fifth day, it’s time for Puti Ara Zena, a Product Manager at Gojek, to give a presentation about “Hyper Growth Strategies.” The three main topics that Puti covered are the right time to invest in growth, the product growth process at Gojek, and a case study.
According to Puti, the right time to invest in growth is when the products have shown a product/market fit. The sign of product/market fit can be known when the product has shown a good retention rate. There are three things that indicate a good retention rate: if 40% or more users will be disappointed if they can no longer use the product, if users get meaningful value from using the product, and when the retention curve shows a flattening or smiling trend.
Afterwards, Puti explained the product growth process based on her experience when working at Gojek. The steps in the product growth process start from set objectives, problem generation, ideation, prioritization, implementation and testing, analyze results, and finally launch. Puti also explained several things that should be considered in product growth process. Finally, Puti showed and explained a case study that she had done while working at Gojek. The participants were still very curious about the topic this time. They did not miss the opportunity to ask Puti some questions in the Q&A session.
Interview Session — Jesha Vebrattie & Colledger
After Camp 2 Startup Academy had ended, we had an opportunity to interview Jesha Vebrattie, a Head of Commercial and Partnerships at KUMPUL. Jesha shared many stories about her job as Head of Commercial and Partnerships. At KUMPUL, Jesha communicates a lot with other parties and builds relationships with companies to create programs that are targeted for people who want to build startups. Jesha is also involved in a lot of discussions and brainstorming to prepare material that will be presented to the mentees.
According to Jesha, startup founders must possess the ability to communicate because they not only have to talk to many people, but also have to be able to convince potential customers and investors. Jesha also provided tips for those who want to build a startup, but don’t know the idea of a startup or product they want to build. Jesha advises startup founders to participate in startup ecosystem enablers because the programs are helpful for startup founders.
Onto the mentoring session, Jesha said that she had learned a lot as a mentor. Jesha saw that there were a lot of new and exciting ideas that the participants, who are mostly students, had. She also appreciates that the participants are mostly talkative and curious. In the mentoring session, Jesha helped the participants to find out how to validate ideas, listen and receive feedback, and provide information about startups that the participants haven’t learned.
We also had an opportunity to interview one of the team, Colledger. The team, which consists of Jason Thaddeus, Rayhan Maulana, Syabib Ash-Shiddiqi, and Muhammad Anggoran, wants to help students to increase their productivity and effectiveness during college. Therefore, Colledger is currently developing an application for students to find jobs, organize activities, and expand their connections.
Deus said that by participating in the Startup Academy, he earned values that can’t be learned in other places. In addition, by participating in Startup Academy, he gained the courage to continue developing his startup. Raul also added that the material provided during the camp was structured and organized well.
Colledger team felt very helpful with the mentoring sessions in the Startup Academy because they could consult and learn directly from mentors. Not only that, the Colledger team also appreciated the speakers who they thought are very competent. Finally, the Colledger team hoped that Startup Academy and COMPFEST can continue to strive and improve in the future.
There’s more fun at COMPFEST! Keep an eye on information about the excitement of other COMPFEST events by following our social media at COMPFEST on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and our site at compfest.id. Read the complete articles on our Medium page for more about Academy. (Editorial Marketing/Ferry)
