Bukalapak’s Resilience Journey: Communicating Bukalapak’s Impact Story to the World

Imagine this: You gaze down upon an angry ocean, hurtling into it at a breakneck speed of 100 miles per hour. Once submerged, you find yourself navigating tumultuous currents. At this point, it’s a matter of swimming or sinking. This vivid scenario encapsulates my entrance into Bukalapak nearly five years ago.

With a background mostly in marketing and advertising, I finally met my biggest challenge in my professional journey here with the company.

We faced some of the most challenging times as a company, grappling with questions about our direction and the image we wished to project as an organization.

In 2019, we were hailed as both social media and media “darlings.” However, the quotation marks imply a negative connotation, reflecting the prevailing sentiment — we were engulfed in negativity. Negative sentiments surged to an all-time high, exceeding 50% when analyzing our data. I found myself questioning my decision to join the company, wondering, “What did I get myself into?”

Fortunately, credit goes to the entire communications team for bravely weathering the storm. We meticulously built our reputation, brick by brick, one at a time. Our initial focus was on restoring public trust, but equally important was rebuilding trust internally among Bukalapak’s employees. We understood that a strong company foundation begins internally.

Simultaneously, we worked on establishing positive relationships with various media outlets, both nationally and internationally. Conducting media gatherings outside Jakarta, we sought to understand how regional media perceived us. During this period, we were proactive in engaging with journalists, soliciting feedback on how we could enhance internal processes. Many of these suggestions were implemented in the subsequent year.

The IPO Era

The most intriguing phase of my tenure at Bukalapak was undoubtedly the Initial Public Offering (IPO) era. It marked my first exposure to something of such magnitude and life-changing impact. Contrary to my initial assumption that finance professionals would bear the brunt of the workload, the IPO turned out to be a colossal collective effort. From a personal standpoint, it felt like pushing giant boulders together, with the added excitement of being chased by a tiger. In other words, it was a point of no return; we had to push through.

The IPO significantly transformed us as a company. Few people realize that when a tech company transitions from freely expressing itself to becoming a public entity, it undergoes scrutiny from every angle of governance. Our perspective on the future shifted, acknowledging that as a public company, we now belonged to the public, necessitating transparency.

The communication team faced a heightened responsibility as the gatekeepers of the company. Every external communication channel had to pass through us. While an honor and privilege, the consequences were more severe than when we operated as a private company.

Previously, our attention was directed mainly at social media and mass media. Now, we contend with investors, regulators, the public, mass media, and social media. Every public statement holds weight, as our reputation is akin to a house of cards — pull one piece, and everything may crumble.

Post IPO and the Future

The pressure persists daily, not only for the communication team but for every individual who contributed to pushing that giant boulder collectively. Profitability is now the shared goal of every member of the company, as it represents our promised land. The next objective, following profitability, is to foster growth in the near future. One step at a time.

We know full well that profitability remains the common denominator for all of the people at Bukalapak, and having a good reputation as a company might be the most important part of the journey. While it is easier said than done, we are now halfway in the race to prove that the tech industry could still flourish in this country.

Not only as a business, but we’ve also tirelessly pushed the importance of making an impact towards Indonesian MSMEs through technology. This is more than just a buzzword for us, it has and will continue to be our compass moving forward.

As one of the reputation guardians in the company, it is within our duty to never stop spreading these impact stories to the public through the media in both national and international level. Hopefully by doing so, people will get what it means to be able to empower millions of MSMEs throughout Indonesia