Not everyone gets access to healthcare in Indonesia. The country only has 0.4 doctors for every 1000 residents. This problem is further complicated by the traffic jam in big cities like Jakarta and having to deliver healthcare to residents on over 17,000 islands across the country.

To address this challenge, Doddy Lukito founded Halodoc in 2016 together with his Co-Founder Jonathan Sudharta with the mission to simplify healthcare for Indonesians.

They’ve grown from 6 million patients per month in 2019 to serving over 20 million patients in Indonesia every single month in 2022. That is almost four times the size of Singapore’s population!

I had an enjoyable conversation with Lukito and was excited to learn how telemedicine technology can be used to set up drive-through vaccination centres during the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest challenges when running a health tech platform, and valuable advice on how to deal with the ongoing tech winter.

Start with why: Focus on the problem you’re trying to solve

Lukito opened up about the biggest wake-up call he had while running Halodoc. A few years back, Halodoc launched a new product. The team built the product, prepared the operations team, and the launch was even covered by the media.

Yet, after all the effort and resources and waiting one entire month, there were only two users! This major setback made the team realise that they jumped directly into the solution without “thinking about whether the solution solves the pain point of the users”.

Also Read: Desperate times, desperate measures: How to extend cash runway by reducing cloud costs

Since then, for every new initiative, the team often starts by answering the question, “What is the pain point that we are solving”? They believe that with the focus on solving critical problems, the “product-market fit will be there, and business will flourish”.

Yet, the nature of the problems is often dynamic and influenced by changes in the world. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Indonesia, Halodoc used its technology to help Indonesians book COVID-19 tests and rolled out a drive-through COVID-19 testing service.

In the following year, when vaccinations were available in Indonesia, Halodoc expanded its appointment service and centres to help Indonesians book COVID-19 vaccinations.

The message is clear: If we are constantly solving real problems, we are generating value at work, and this translates into how relevant and valuable we are as businesses and tech workers. On the contrary, if we do not start with the why and fail to solve a problem, it does not set up for success.

Lukito’s advice on dealing with tech winter for the first-time entrepreneurs

Having been in the technology industry for more than 18 years, this was not his first tech winter, and he came from a place of experience.

When asked how Halodoc was dealing with it, Lukito shared that since their Series B round, they have already committed to investors that they have a roadmap to being a sustainable business. This means that every service that they launch needs to have a positive unit of economics.

Also Read: Winter for tech startups is here? Here’s how to deal with it

I shared with him that there were some of my peers in their 20s and 30s who were experiencing a downturn for the first time. Their stock-based compensation dwindled, crypto savings crashed, and some of their friends in the industry had also been impacted by layoffs.

Lukito shared several actionable steps one could take to protect themselves.

One of his advice was to learn as much as possible and “don’t stay in your comfort zone”. This echoes Warren Buffet’s advice at the end of the Great Recession, where he shared that the best thing to do during those troubling economic times was for people to invest in themselves and learn new things.

He also emphasised twice on the importance of focusing on productivity. This advice echoes that of leaders at big tech companies like Meta and Google, who have highlighted the same to their workers.

Convincing others to adopt new ways of doing things?

When I asked Lukito about some of his biggest challenges running Halodoc, I was not expecting this answer. The biggest challenge is convincing stakeholders such as patients and healthcare providers that they could use telemedicine without sacrificing quality.

He shared that some Indonesians were initially not used to talking to doctors online and still believed that “If I am not being touched by my doctor, I can’t recover”. We all need to convince stakeholders at work and in our lives. Lukito shared three useful pointers on how we can win others over.

• Give proof that you can understand and solve their problems first.
• Change needs to be incremental. They started with one drive-through centre and added more over time once they proved the impact.
• Use data to your advantage. Gather the data, analyse it, and present it to demonstrate impact. Win trust and expand more facilities

Overall, I enjoyed the conversation with Lukito. Whether you work in tech or just started your own company, I am sure you would have a lot to learn from his story and lessons in running the largest healthtech startup in Indonesia.

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All the excitement of the Web3 movement reminded me of the 2010-2012 period in Southeast Asia. There were abundant opportunities in the region, and everyone was doing something interesting.

Every other meetup excites you and further motivates you to push harder in your own work areas. Startups are pitching not just to raise investments but honestly to share the excitement and the raw passion that they have in solving that problem with their proposed solution.

With an overall emerging market outlook, there was massive potential in many sectors for which entrepreneurs and founders are looking to create solutions. This statement is now true for the Web3 movement.

Caring for Web3

e27 has been starting to shift our content focus into Web3 since the start of 2022. The main reason is the idea that Web3 is a powerful and life-changing concept and definitely means more than crypto tokens and exchanges.

The promise of decentralisation and a community-first model seems to make perfect sense in a world of mixed opinions, capitalism and its zealous growth march, which are detrimental to its own environment. Thus, we are taking a closer look at this space to understand where the innovations are and how they could impact and assist our current tech community, which is made up of Web2 companies. 

Also Read: Web3 marketing: Building a cult-like community

For the past seven months, I have been spending time researching, speaking to new and old friends, learning the basics of the crypto jargon and what terms like “shilling” actually meant and going into multiple rabbit holes of NFTs and tons of discord channels. Dabbling with DeFi, I was also amazed by the number of projects that were attracting tons of money (before March).

Web3 events

As a community platform, events are part of our core, organising and attending events. 

One of the key events I’m looking forward to attending is Coinfest, which will happen next week in Bali. The Indonesian government has done much to encourage the growth of the digital nomads, and a portion of these communities are crypto and Web3 related.

The area where I’m personally interested is going deeper into DAOs and Web2.5 models and concepts. Web2.5 is a small movement where innovative concepts and technologies are created to bridge the ever-dividing gap between the Web2 and 3 models.

There’s plenty to learn more from the agenda with two separate tracks targeting the Web3 natives and the learning general technologists, startup founders and businesses that are attending the event next week.

I’m most looking forward to sessions on how Web2 companies transition to Web3 and how to build Web3 companies. I’ve spent a few months studying this trend and would like to hear from others in the ecosystem on how they think this transition will come about. What are the practical applications of Web3 beyond crypto, and how can conventional Web2 companies embrace the new world order?

Coinfest Asia has a stellar set of speakers from the key well-known exchanges, L1 blockchain representations, banks and investors and most importantly, key support from the Indonesia Ministry of Trade, with Vice Minister Jerry Sambuaga officiating the opening ceremony for the event. Check out the entire agenda and speakers and get involved here. 

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We all communicate with everyone based on our acquired or ingrained philosophies and worldviews. Nonetheless, in a diverse organisational setting, we must tap into our capacity for empathy and be mindful of our language. Vocabulary that may seem innocent to some may be abhorrent and isolating to others. 

From personal experience, I can say any institution can leverage all the advantages of its diverse crew with an inclusive environment that encourages people to bring their knowledge, experience, opinions, and mindsets to the workplace. 

What is inclusive communication?

Inclusive communication uses words or terms that avoid vernacular, biases, expressions, and slang that discriminate against people or groups based on age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and ability. 

Inclusive communication is not just restricted to daily dialogues but also amplifies the message to more people, making a blog post, job description, or website copy more accessible than before.

Principles of inclusive language

People first: We are more than our descriptors

Use people-centric language that reflects people’s individuality and doesn’t stereotype somebody based on their association or identity with a group or culture. 

Mentioning of personal attributes or characteristics like gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial group, or ability should be context and relevancy based.

Example: Instead of “It’s not that black and white”, use “It’s not that clear.” 

Medical conditions and ability terms: Recognise and be sensitive toward 

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)”, “Bipolar,” “PTSD,” and “ADHD” are real-world mental health issues. Spreading ableist language (Ableism is discrimination or social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that common abilities are superior) or using such words interchangeably describing day-to-day behaviours undermines the impact of someone’s experiences with a mental disorder. 

Example: Avoid using derogatory terms relatable to mental health issues, like “crazy.” Instead, use “outrageous” or “unheard of.”

Universal phrases: Results in transparent communication

Acronyms, idioms, jargon, and even colloquial expressions or metaphors specific to just one culture or class have become part of most companies’ vocabulary. These can be alienating and impede effective communication for new joiners, candidates, or global teams. 

Example: Working majorly with startups that need quick results, I often use the term “Low hanging fruit”.  Instead, I am consciously practising using “executing easy things that can help make progress toward an objective.”

Gender-neutral language: The most obvious, but is it? 

Let’s take a step back first, Sex and gender are dissimilar. Sex is given at birth, while gender is how an individual identifies. Gender is a broad spectrum.

Now, the most basic way to avoid gendered language in English is by employing gender-neutral phrases when addressing groups of people, their professional titles or when talking about family members to prevent heteronormative language.

Also Read: Why we cannot talk of diversity without inclusion

Example: Instead of “a woman entrepreneur,” use “a woman who is an entrepreneur” or replace “Husband/wife” with “spouse” and Good Morning, Everyone/team/people!” instead of “Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen!”. When unsure, you can always be respectful, introduce yourself and the pronouns you are comfortable with, and ask the same to make whoever you are communicating with feel welcome.

Not sure? Ask around

Inclusive language is subtle. The nuances can be confusing at the least and offensive at worst. The following questions have often helped me be neutral and inclusive:

• Is it essential to refer to a person or group’s inherent characteristics? 
• If so, are the references to personal characteristics couched in inclusive terms? 
• Do the framed considerations reflect the diversity of the audience? 
• If so, is the material accessible to the intended audience? 
• Are you, by any chance, excluding people in the design and delivery of your communication?

Image Courtesy: Inclusive Language for powerful communication by KarmaV

Conclusion

We are all constantly learning. So I’d say there are two key things to remember when practising inclusivity in communications:

First, anyone can make a mistake, no point in harping over it. Rather, sincerely apologise, correct yourself, make a mental note for future reference and move on. 

Second, the underrepresented are not obligated to explain the context behind their pronouns, how they perform their gender or the nuances of their sexuality. They shouldn’t be considered a token of their diverse community. I reckon the best approach is to ask questions you would consider answering without any discomfort.  

For me, inclusive language is not about alarming the ‘woke-meter’, encroaching on freedom of speech, or even being politically correct; it is about respectfully conveying your message. 

Verbiage is fluid. The intention and connotations of words can alter rapidly. It just needs one to be mindful of showcasing value, be inclusive, and empower all audience members.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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FOMO Pay raises US$13M in Series A funding round to accelerate growth
FOMO Pay aims to diversify product offerings following the crypto adoption curve, including working with regulators on CBDC projects. It will also strengthen research and development capabilities

Graas acquires Shoptimize, SELLinALL following US$40M Series A funding round
Singapore-based Graas was founded by serial entrepreneurs and martech veterans Prem Bhatia and Ashwin Puri. It has revealed its plan to expand further into Southeast Asia and India following this funding round.

MiyaHealth raises additional Pre-Series A funding to expand global footprint
The funding would be used to drive MiyaHealth’s aggressive growth strategy in product development, hiring and expansion of operations globally. MiyaHealth is also planning to kick off its Series A fundraise in the next six months to develop its product suite further.

Exclusive: Bukalapak founders’ fund backs early round of Indonesian coding test firm
Founded in 2021 by Elfino Sitompul and Melinda Wardiman, Algobash offers a tool that helps employers filter top-quality programmers through coding test solutions and pre-employment assessments, according to Tech In Asia.

East Ventures leads Indonesian sustainable proptech firm’s seed round
Founded in 2020 by its CEO Fred Moeis, Kabina simplifies the building process through prefabrication and modular construction. It also uses wood from sustainable sources as its main material, writes Tech In Asia.

Quona Capital secures capital commitments worth US$308M so far for its third fund.
DealstreetAsia reports that the fundraising only reflects the amount raised from US investors.

How the pandemic inspires Natural Trace to create a food supply chain traceability solution
What Natural Trace is offering is believed to be a better solution because, in addition to being food-grade, it is also tamper-proof.

How to venture into blockchain during a recession
Despite the market’s current doom-and-gloom outlook, blockchain as an agent of change remains key to the world’s digital and financial future. Investors should gather their wits and start shopping now, during this market correction.

How to never waste a good a crisis and survive the recession
At the end of the day, opportunity is greatest during times of volatility and this is a great time to build for those with that attitude. So this is how we can grow stronger during the recession.

Is the crypto market dead again?
Given how compelling the principle of decentralising is, it’s not a surprise that people aren’t ready to give up on crypto yet.

Early days of the Indonesian VC landscape and why VCs are like music labels
Southeast Asia is the centre of opportunity, and Indonesia is going to be the centre of development and engineering. But is there a shortage of money in the market?

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Image Credit: © inspirestock, 123RF Free Images

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From plummeting prices to high-profile layoffs and bankruptcies, the crypto bear has fully emerged from hibernation amid high summer. Yet one sector remains bullish, the blockchain gaming industry is, in fact, experiencing explosive growth and thriving in the proverbial crypto winter.

According to a report by DappRadar, in the first quarter of 2022 alone, investors have poured US$2.5 billion into blockchain games, a significant and substantial increase from the US$4 billion raised in the whole of 2021. 

This corroborates strongly with the view from many experts that gaming is truly the best use case for crypto, and blockchain gaming activity has surged 2,000 percent in the last year. 

This isn’t too surprising as the gaming industry is known to be very resilient and, in some ways, “recession-proof”. The idea is that during a recession, people will spend more time at home, seeking inexpensive forms of entertainment or generally look for video games that operate on a longer-tail business model, representing good value for money. 

But with such a meteoric rise comes the question of sustainability. How can game developers efficiently scale up to effectively meet the rising demand for new blockchain gaming experiences, and ensure that their ecosystem is effectively future-proofed?

While demand for blockchain gaming is surging, there remain many challenges that hinder the long-term viability of the space. To drive mainstream adoption, the user experience must be good.

Security and legitimacy are also important considerations due to an evolving business model which challenges who really holds the value in blockchain games. Scams, hacks, and misleading projects are rampant and discredit the good work that has been ongoing to upgrade gaming infrastructure.

We have seen high-profile cases, such as what has been dubbed the “largest exploit” in the history of the space, when popular blockchain game Axie Infinity’s Ronin network suffered an eye-watering loss of US$625 million earlier this year. This presents a huge roadblock to onboarding users. 

Game developers are also well aware of these challenges. For many long-standing AAA publishers from traditional gaming, they will have to manage their reputations, as well as protect their intellectual property (IP), so they have understandably been hesitant about diving headfirst into blockchain technology. 

Fun first

Beyond the barriers of entry, however, a significant pain point to address revolves around the actual gaming experience, and whether it provides something simple, yet seemingly elusive according to critics: fun. 

Too many blockchain-based game developers and publishers today tunnel vision on their monetisation models, project tokenomics or emphasise a play-to-earn model with game mechanics geared heavily towards earning rather than playing.

Also Read: Why the Web3-enabled gaming world still has hope

It’s simply not scalable. Focusing on monetary rewards without prioritising gameplay does not motivate users to continue playing the game. The attempt to financialise gaming without regard for the spirit of why we play games simply turns a fun, recreational activity into a job. It causes the fractionalisation of a player base, turning a community driven by gameplay into one where users are seen as mere market participants. 

This is the fundamental reason why there is still so much apprehension from conventional gamers and gaming platforms, who view blockchain gaming as a cash grab and the antithesis of everything they stand for. 

As it currently stands, games on the blockchain are generally not fun. This is not necessarily down to the aspiring and well-meaning game developers, but perhaps the limitations of current blockchain architecture.

This is very simply how games are judged to be “fun” or “good” in the blockchain. Nobody wants to pay high gas fees to execute actions within a gaming metaverse or wait for 15-seconds to five minutes for a transaction to be confirmed. 

Current consensus mechanisms are geared so much towards decentralisation, security, and privacy that they can come at the expense of speed, performance, and cost. For blockchain-powered solutions to be attractive to game developers and succeed in winning the hearts and minds of players, they need to be highly scalable with high transaction speeds and low/zero gas fees for users. They must have a well-designed user interface, be fully optimised for performance, and be interoperable between various multiverses. 

Bridging two worlds

Another issue for the flagging interest in blockchain gaming is that there has been very little buy-in from major gaming brands, developers, and studios from the traditional gaming world thus far. The process of IP development for blockchain games is complex, and major IP holders are right to be concerned about how their brands are deployed, monetized, and used on a blockchain. 

When we examine how traditional IPs are created, they are usually a derivative of mass-consumed media. For example, Mickey Mouse was popularised by the Steamboat Willie movie, and Gundam mechas have pretty much defined a genre since their debut in the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series.

However, in the Web3 world, without the long-established credibility and brands such as Disney and Bandai Namco, IP conceptualisation begins with creation for a limited number of people, using NFTs as a limited-edition product.

Also Read: Exploring the creator economy in gaming

This means that many NFT developers are spending big on branding to increase the value of their collections rather than investing in-game mechanics, functionality and interfaces in the hopes that their husk of a game will move on to join the mass market.

It is clear that for blockchain gaming to succeed, it cannot do so alone. Rather it must acknowledge its limitations and embrace the value and expertise that traditional gaming brands can offer. 

What we’re seeing now is more and more buy-in from traditional game developers and gaming companies, who are now realising the tremendous value that blockchain gaming offers to players and developers alike.

For instance, the Oasys project, which was just only announced this year, has already been backed by the likes of Bandai Namco, Ubisoft and SEGA – huge brands and stalwarts of the traditional gaming industry, and some of the biggest game companies in the world.

Not one single company holds the key to surmounting the aforementioned problems. Rather, an ecosystem approach is necessary.  Just as more institutional investment legitimised crypto over the years, the interest and participation of traditional gaming company brands will also help accelerate the growth of blockchain gaming.

The Oasys project has quickly recognised this paradigm and quickly brought in as many partners, validators and investors across a wide range of Web2 and Web3 leaders. Aside from working with the aforementioned gaming developers, Oasys also recently partnered with ConsenSys to produce an industry-first, gaming-optimised wallet for players, as well as announced a collaboration with Mythical Games, a leading crypto-native games developer, to serve as an initial validator.

By leveraging the strengths of different stakeholders, there is a more efficient use of resources and industry expertise to propel growth. The time is now for all of us collectively in the blockchain gaming industry to dig deeper and build a robust gaming architecture that can not only ride out winter but also emerge from it stronger.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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