Daryl is currently an Investor at Trihill Capital, investing in early-stage startups across South-East Asia & Founder of The Next Batch.
He was previously at Hypotenuse AI (YC S20) and Deskimo (YC S21), wearing multiple hats across Growth, Product, Partnerships, Marketing and Analytics.
Guest Author: Daryl Lim
🙌 Welcome back to Startup Wednesdays, featuring hashtag#VC, hashtag#founder & hashtag#operators here in South-East Asia. For this week, we have Ashley Suhalim, Principal at Intudo
💭 As one of the earliest members of Intudo, what are some insights into the journey of building & shaping the fund?
I’ve definitely been very fortunate to have joined & seen the growth of the fund from the very beginning. Joining in 2018, Intudo was the new kid on the block. We were a startup ourselves & have to continuously iterate our offerings to better serve our stakeholders. What we do is not rocket science, just continue to hone in our value add, day in day out & be consistent.
Since then, we grew to managing a total AUM of +US$200M across 3 funds, backed over 30+ companies & what I’m most proud of is growing to an 11 people team (with zero turnover!).
💭 How does Intudo differentiate itself from other VCs operating in Indo?
It really boils down to what we call the 3 “Ins” of Intudo – Indonesia Only, Independent & Involved. Our key operating pillars that really give our capital the competitive edge in the market.
Our fund invests exclusively in Indonesia homegrown companies, backing Indonesian founders. Our resources are 100% for hashtag#Indonesia
Our fund is Independent in terms of structure. We support the “Indonesia-beachhead” strategy for top tier institutions, funds & family offices in the world (including 35+ hyperlocal Indonesian conglomerate/families).
Lastly, our Involved piece. We don’t try to do everything under the sun, we just focus on these three things & do them really well – Business Development/Strategy, Corporate Finance & Talent.
💭 What are some programs that Intudo has implemented to foster innovation among Indonesian youth?
Intudo has 2 specific programs, namely, Pulkam & BUMI, to foster talent in the industry.
Our Pulkam SEA Turtle Program – Pulang Kampung is a term widely used in Indonesia meaning returning home. Since inception, Eddy Chan, our Partner based out of Silicon Valley, travels around 🇺🇸 to source Indonesians in universities, professional organizations & tech companies to share about the growing digital #ecosystem & the exciting opportunities back home.
Pulkam takes a long-term approach on talent in general, whether that be potential sourcing for founders, plugging talent into our portfolio or ecosystem building in general; with the goal that we’d be their first phone call when they decide to return home.
A fun fact, we’ve actually sourced 1 in 5 of our investments through the Pulkam program, with the likes of Xendit, Pintu, NalaGenetics, Delman Data Lab & Slice Group.
Our BUMI (Berkaya Untuk Masyarakat Indonesia) Program, meaning Innovating for Indonesia serves as our in-country program to encourage local talent to join the digital / tech ecosystem. We work with leading universities across the country, student associations, professional organizations & entrepreneur ecosystems to share about exciting developments within the space.
