In order to be successful, one does not have to reach a certain age. The rapid development that goes on in this era has brought out a sea of opportunities that should be taken by the millenials. These days, the millennials are called the drivers of Indonesia’s economic growth.

“According to Sri Mulyani, the millennials are currently in a process to be agents of growth, that is to become the drivers of Indonesia’s economic growth,” said Reza Aryabima, CEO and Co-Founder of Artisan Pro during Career Talk UPH entitled “Millennials Becoming Entrepreneurs”, which was held on January 31, 2020 at UPH Lippo Village.

Upon this realization, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) through its Career Center and Knowledge and Reasoning Development Department (DPWP) under the Student Executive Board (BEM) decided to present millennials entrepreneurs to share the story of their business journey. Aside from Reza Aryabima, Jacqueline Karina – Founder of Kokumi, and Dennis Hadi – Owner of Hadi Kitchen, Salad Bar by Hadi Kitchen, and Positive Wear were also present to share their stories.

The phenomenon of rapid technological development has encouraged millennials to compete with each other in terms of becoming entrepreneurs. According to Jacqueline, this is the right time for someone to start a business from a young age. Aside from challenging our creative side, starting a business at such a young age can be a great means of learning financial and time management, as well as one’s analytical ability.

“If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to prepare the concept thoroughly. Do your research! You have to calculate your capital, you don’t need much though. Kokumi for example has this concept of “sharing happiness” in the beginning. We don’t want to only sell the products, we want to build the brand in order for it to have a soul and a unique personality,” Jacqueline added.

Moreover, Dennis Hadi stated that the first step that one needs to start a business is to understand the field in order to develop later on.
“I like things related to health and fitness, which is why I have high interest and is enjoying doing business in this field. In the past, there were not many people who were interested in this field when I first started because there were not a lot of markets back then. This enables Hadi Kitchen to grow as big as it is today because we are the first to pioneer health and fitness business,” Dennis explained.

On the other hand, Reza chose to start his business in a rather mainstream field, make up. For Reza, the beauty market has a big potential and is sustainable because most women would want to look attractive, there are a wide range of activities that require make up, and now, local brands have already taken their place in the hearts of the people.

At the end of the talk show, the three key speakers said that becoming an entrepreneur is about calling and the process of following one’s heart. Once you find it, you will have to do it with passion and eagerness.

Career Talk, moderated by Johan Jang – a Lecturer in Business School UPH, was attended by approximately 280 participants consisting of UPH students and alumni. This event is a part of Career Expo 2020.