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VC firms suggest that Indonesia leave unicorn status as benchmark
Many companies that had reached unicorn status remained unable to record profits.
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Indonesia's six unicorns, Gojek, e-wallet company OVO, online travel agency Traveloka, logistics company J&T Express and e-commerce platforms Tokopedia and Bukalapak are shown on a screen on Aug. 3, 2021. (JP/Norman Harsono)
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ome venture capitalists have suggested that Indonesia shift from using unicorn status as a benchmark to measure the success of a start-up company.
A unicorn is a start-up with a valuation of more than US$1 billion.
OCBC Ventura managing director Darryl Ratulangi, however, said it should not be the benchmark, citing many companies that had reached unicorn status but remained unable to record profit.
“Many smaller companies, not that big, [they are] successful, have profits, dividends,” Darryl said on Wednesday, as reported by Bisnis.
Similarly, Anthony Tjajadi from Thrill Capital said the country had glorified unicorn companies, when in reality, reaching unicorn status or company valuation of around $1 billion was not easy.
“I also think that founders shouldn’t build companies because they want it to be a unicorn,” he said, adding that the start-up ecosystem in Indonesia had yet to fully develop to support companies' development to reach that high of a valuation.
Read also: Tech unicorns lost for direction amid funding drought, unclear exits
