5 Reasons to join SKALA #2 — the Indonesian pre-Seed program
And some fun times from SKALA #1
As some of you might know, SKALA opened for it’s second cohort recently. If you are an Indonesian pre-Seed entrepreneur and haven’t see the details yet, read them here:
I wanted to take the opportunity to throwback to the batch 1 and what I feel I could have gained out of SKALA if I were sitting on the opposite side.
#1 — Mentorship from Operating Partners who have built companies before
I’ve been through accelerators myself, and connected with many others. Very few of them end up having active mentors in the program who have actually built a company before. Do you really want to learn driving from some one who has not yet driven a car on the road? At SKALA we ensure that you get regular (at least weekly) face time with your designated Operating Partner at least once a week. You can take to them your queries around product, growth, operations, hiring, funding and so much more.
Usually the OPs spend time with you on your business and are able to derive your North Star Metric. This is the metric that they’ll help you to chase week on week. In this manner, the guidance given by the program is not generic, it’s highly curated and actionable.
#2 — Connections to the Industry
We know how hard it is to crack a new industry that you might not have deep background or relationships in. We also know how important is the industry connect for a startup. This is where Innovation Factory leverages it ties with Salim Group to help you kickstart business deals with the group companies. The teams enjoyed meeting GMs of various businesses and some of them have already started working closely with the conglomerate on solving various business problems.
#3 — Product Iteration sessions
The early days are all about the product. Going out in the market, talking to your customers, learning what is an absolute necessity and what a customer doesn’t need, and then coming back to reshape your product. This product iteration journey can be daunting for those who have not been on it before. Our team has people who have built and deployed products to millions, who will help you shape the right product for your market over the few months and instil in you an iterative product approach for the future.
#4 — Regular workshops without wasting your time
We know how important it is to spend time in the field, talking to your customers, building the product, and selling. And this is why we try to keep the workshop and mentorship sessions minimal and highly valuable for you.
Every Monday, the teams spend a few hours going through the topic of the week, such as finding product market fit, exploring digital marketing, best UX practices, guides on fundraising. This is combined with a guest speaker. We had the pleasure of hosting some fantastic founders including Fajrin from Bukalapak above. Having a chance to directly interact with such founders was one of the favorite activities of the last batch.
#5 - Activating a Growth mindset
Probably the most important contribution of SKALA to a startup is imprinting a growth culture and mindset in the founders. We internally track this growth on a weekly basis and try to find barriers from outsized growth.
For example, for Callista, Week 1 to 5 were spent iterating on the product and the marketing funnel. Once these were fixed, the company saw explosive growth for next few weeks till they started getting hit by operational challenges. By Week 12 they managed to solve the same and could start growing again.
Magalarva, on the other hand, spent time on operational efficiency and scaling throughout the program. In the end they processed 120 Tonnes of Organic waste just in the 5 months of SKALA program.
I hope this gives you a good summary of how SKALA can help in your journey. If you are raising a Pre-Seed round in Indonesia, do consider applying here.
