After all, this is the generation that grew up when successful entrepreneurs and rich kids were imbued with celebrity status — Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is arguably as famous as Paris Hilton!   
Applauded: The G.H.O.S.T. jewelry line, created by Agra Satria and Yasmina Yesy, was shown at Jakarta Fashion Week in November to high acclaim. Courtesy of Jakarta Fashion Week

But is that all there is? Not really. Given the fact that Gen Y has more tools at their disposal, a knack for thinking outside the box and a natural instinct to avoid a lifetime employment opportunity in the corporate sector, fearless Gen Yers could very well be the most entrepreneurial generation in history.

Jewelry designer Windy Dana is a case in point. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in multimedia studies, Windy has no formal training in fashion or the arts. Her 4-year stint as a fraud investigator in Melbourne was the only professional experience she had — not, exactly the most promising resume for an aspiring accessories designer.

But thanks to YouTube, Windy was able to hone her skills at designing and making pretty trinkets.  

“I always loved fashion and jewelry. When I was living in Melbourne, I would shop at the vintage market and fashion bazaar and remodel my findings into new accessories,” Windy said.

Windy also had a fashion line back in Melbourne. But, juggling a nine-to-five job with a fashion line on the side proved to be too much for the 30-year-old. She moved back to Jakarta at the end of 2009, and six months later she was equipped with craft-making knowledge she gained from YouTube. It wasn’t long before she established her label, Antyk Butyk.  

Meeting up with old friends was her first, and evidently most effective, marketing strategy. She told them about her new business, set up a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) group and got permission to add them to the group. She then started posting photographs of her designs regularly.

A business was born.    

“Within three months I had created three different BBM groups. I also took the business to Facebook, creating a page where my friends can view the products I designed,” she said.  

According to Windy, free-of-charge social media like Facebook are a very effective platform for small businesses. But, she is quick to add that there’s more to online marketing than just uploading pictures and status updates.   

“When it comes to social media marketing, business owners must constantly interact with the customer by featuring new products regularly. They also must be smart in associating their brands with the other websites and bloggers their customers may be attracted to,” she explained.  

In her case, she collaborated with local fashion bloggers Diana Rika Sari and Sonia Erika in order to reach a wider audience.  

Her efforts paid off when she finally earned a nod from the fashion world when Barli Asmara, who designed her wedding gown, requested a set of accessories to go with his new collection. This led to a business deal with Gaya, an upscale boutique in Plaza Indonesia that decided to sell the accessories Windy had designed for Barli.  

The next thing she knew, she was asked to join the 2011 Cleo Fashion Awards and showcased at Jakarta Fashion Week in November. The collection showcased at fashion week, called Java Love, saw a series of delicate necklaces and bracelets made of resin, acrylic, beads, laces and traditional Indonesian fabrics.

Windy didn’t win a Cleo award, but she said it was good exposure for her business. More importantly, the competition allowed her to make some new friends, like Agra Satria and Yasmina Yesy.

Since 2008, the couple, both 26, has also been taking full advantage of the Internet to promote their jewelry line, G.H.O.S.T.  

They’ve been posting numerous jewelry collections on their blog, and what started out as a hobby soon became a rather promising business.  

“We enjoy making accessories and wearing them too. It came almost naturally for us. Our friends had been telling us that we should start a business with our skills, but it wasn’t until 2008 when we came across a laser cut machine while doing research for our final project that we decided we wanted to produce jewelry,” Agra said.  

When asked about the decision to promote their line through blogging, Agra replied: “Blogs are the most effective platform for small business owners like us to communicate with the market, as they are free of charge and appeal to the younger market.”  

Both Agra and Yesy were university students at the Bandung Institute of Technology when they first thought of setting up a jewelry business. He did graphic design and she did textile design.

As you can imagine, money was certainly an issue in the beginning stages of their business.

But, Agra and Yesy possessed business creativity unique to their generation — they’re incredibly innovative, agile, socially conscious and team-oriented.  

“Realizing that a printed look-book, catalogue or advertising can be costly, we opted for a more effective marketing strategy that proved to hit the nail on the market’s head.  

“We collaborated with critically acclaimed baroque-pop band Angsa dan Serigala in designing the band’s limited edition T-shirt. We also had a similar collaboration with Bandung-based indie rock band The S.I.G.I.T,” said Agra.   

Then there was collaboration with Biyan’s offbeat ready-to-wear label, XSML, whose bold urban aesthetic is rather similar to that of G.H.O.S.T.  

Asked about their most recent collection, the couple said that they drew inspiration from Russia. The result is a stunning combination of fur, beads, acrylic and metals.  

G.H.O.S.T products are currently sold at Plaza Indonesia’s The Goods Dept., Kemang’s Dia.Lo.Gue, and No Eleven in Seminyak, Bali. Agra and Yesy added that they are currently negotiating with some shops in Singapore to represent their brand while at the same time working on an online boutique.  

Meanwhile, Budi Adi Nugroho and Gendis Primon had a rather long route before settling into the jewelry business. They both started producing T-shirts in Bandung but soon realized the competition was too stiff.  

“Then it dawned on us that we should just produce jewelry to go with the T-shirts. So in March of 2010 we launched a jewelry line called MONO. Our first step was to join the Brightspot bazaar,” said Budi, who is also a sculptor.  

But unlike regular accessories, Budi and Gendis have a rather unusual approach to designing jewelry. The duo is known for their animal-inspired items that look more like sculptural art than pretty ornaments.  

“The central theme of our design is animal. For the recent fashion week, our theme was ‘Empty Nest’, which is a shout-out to the public to care for endangered species,” said Budi, adding that their previous collection included tiger’s head rings and origami necklaces made entirely of resin.  

The collection they showcased at fashion week met with great reviews. Their quirky, larger-than-life yet elegant pieces were certainly the highlight of the 2011 Cleo Fashion Awards.  

Budi, who has a master’s degree in fine arts from the Bandung Institute of Technology, said he’s planning to create a stronger online presence for MONO. Like Windy, Agra and Yesy, Budi says that the Internet has enabled him to establish a sustainable business with almost zero operational costs.

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