Founder of Tokopedia – In this modern era, the development of technology and information has become increasingly sophisticated. To change various lifestyles and sectors of people’s lives, including buying and selling in Indonesia. Maybe the story of this one figure will be one of the changes in the conventional buying and selling system into an online or digital buying and selling system in Indonesia.
Namely the figure of William Tanuwijaya who is the founder of Tokopedia, a fairly large and well-known online buying and selling platform in Indonesia. Profile William Tanuwijaya now holds the position of CEO of Tokopedia and has contributed greatly to the development of the company. Until now, Tokopedia has succeeded in becoming one of the companies labeled “unicorn” with a company value of more than 1 billion dollars.
It was previously heard that Wishnutama Kusubandio would become one of the administrators at Tokopedia. But in the end the issue disappeared after Tokopedia listed the latest management composition on Tokopedia.
Get to know the Founder of Tokopedia: William Tanuwijaya
Do you know about the biography of William Tanuwijaya? For those of you who like to shop online, of course you are familiar with this name. Where William Tanuwijaya is the founder of the largest online buying and selling site in Indonesia called Tokopedia.
William Tanuwijaya himself admitted that he did not come from a wealthy and respected family, in fact quite the opposite. In building his business, he only had the blessing of his parents and high enthusiasm to travel for four days and three nights in search of an experience outside North Sumatra.
After studying at Bina Nusantara University, he then worked for a company engaged in computer software development. Until in the end, he had the idea to build a company engaged in the digital field.
The figure of William Tanuwijaya is a businessman who was born on November 11, 1981 in the city of Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra. As mentioned above, William comes from a family that has mediocre economic conditions. However, both parents have strong life principles towards the world of education for their children. So that William can get a better life thanks to his parents.
Willian himself is the husband of Felicia HW, where they married in 2015. In 2009, William has succeeded in establishing a startup company called Tokopedia. Then now Tokopedia has succeeded in becoming one of the largest e-commerce platforms for buying and selling online in Indonesia.
The Story of William’s College Period in Jakarta
William Tanuwijaya’s success story begins with his childhood where he grew and developed from elementary to high school in the Permata Siantar area. Then he continued his education at a university in Jakarta.
Willian went to wander and study in the city of Jakarta, because this was his father’s request and a suggestion from one of his uncles. The capital city of Jakarta was his goal because his father and uncle really believed that in that city he would have better quality learning and also opportunities. The university that William chose was Bina Nusantara University, also known as Binus.
With prayers and also the blessing of his parents, William Tanuwijaya ventured to live abroad outside the Province of North Sumatra. At that time, William departed using sea transportation services, from the port of Belawan to the port of Tanjung Priok. While still in college, William was just an ordinary cafe keeper. His life journey is very complicated and full of twists and turns. Especially in the midst of his father’s illness, he was forced to work while studying.
Career Journey of William Tanuwijaya
The story of William Tanuwijaya as a foreigner begins with his studies at Binus, which is one of the well-known private universities in Jakarta and has affordable tuition fees. In his first year, William conducted lectures like a normal student. However, in his second year, William’s father fell ill to the point that William had to think and rack his brain so that he could still continue his studies. Then he started trying to find a side job so he could pay for college and his daily life.
In order to make a living in a foreign land, namely in Jakarta, William Tanuwijaya finally got a job as an internet cafe guard or internet cafe. William works as an internet cafe guard from 9 pm to 9 am.
The internet cafe where he works is not far from his campus in Central Jakarta. His job as an internet cafe keeper makes William spend more and more time with the digital world or the internet. So this made him start to be inspired to become someone who is successful through the internet. This is what later became the forerunner to the birth of Tokopedia.
Until 2003, William Tanuwijaya successfully graduated from Bina Nusantara University. After that, he became increasingly interested in working in the internet and digital world. At that time, William focused on the success of Facebook and Google. But before starting to build his own business, William had joined a game development company called PT Bisa Net Indonesia for about 4 months.
Then, he moved to Signet for a period of 9 months and moved again to PT Sqiva Sistem until March 2005. There he served as a software developer or commonly known as an application developer. William’s last career journey was recorded at PT Indocom Mediatama as an IT worker and also a Business Development Manager for approximately two years.
The Story of William Tanuwijaya’s Hard Times and His Idea in Starting a Tokopedia Business
By gathering all of his experience working in the IT field, William Tanuwijaya had the idea to build a digital platform built on a concept like an online mall in 2007. Then he named the online mall Tokopedia.
It’s not an easy thing for people to believe. This is because William felt this before, namely that he was looked down upon by the people around him because he was someone who had no business background or experience. However, his determination and desire that does not give up easily can make him always optimistic to always strive to realize ideas and ideas to build an online mall platform.
In his journey to build Tokopedia as one of his ideas, William also took part by collaborating with one of his colleagues named Leontinus Alpha Edison. The two of them then built Tokopedia together as a free connecting platform between sellers and buyers in Indonesia.
They try to build the Tokopedia platform as best they can. One of them is by offering these ideas and concepts to investors and financiers who intend to help in developing a real business.
Before finally succeeding, they both received a lot of rejection from people. But after two years they tried and worked hard. In the end, one of the top officials or superiors at work is willing to provide some capital to help build their business concept.
The difficult period for William Tanuwijaya was when he started building an online mall business concept. Where at that time the father got a trial that was sentenced to have cancer. William then became confused and in a dilemma because he could not go home and left the project he was building in Jakarta.
However, William could not do this, because he was the only breadwinner in the family who was in charge of helping and paying for his father’s treatment. But as time went on, it turned out that William was able to go through this phase slowly.
Tokopedia’s Success As An Online Shopping Platform
In the end, on February 6 2009, Tokopedia which was developed by William Tanuwijaya and also Leontinus Alpha Edison was officially launched. When it wasn’t the first time after the inauguration, Tokopedia.com had success in inviting as many as 509 sellers and 4,560 members to join the official website.
In addition, Tokopedia at that time managed to receive transactions of 3.3 million rupiah. As one of Tokopedia’s CEOs, William Tanuwijaya has succeeded in bringing Tokopedia into a shopping platform that has grown significantly in a relatively short period of time, namely one year.
The number of sellers or traders who have successfully joined is 4,659 and the number of members who have joined is 44,785. During this period of development, Tokopedia managed to receive transactions worth 5.95 billion rupiah.
Data on Tokopedia’s growth figures have continued to increase until early 2017. The company that was started by William Tanuwijaya has 40 million products from sellers and 12 million users and turnover that can reach a fantastic figure of around 1 trillion rupiah.
When the moment of Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia, namely August 17 2017, the figure of William Tanuwijaya began to be known and popular among the people. At that time, William became a hot topic among Indonesian businessmen.
This happened because Tokopedia had succeeded in getting investment funds in a fairly fantastic amount, worth 1.1 billion dollars or 14 trillion rupiah. Several companies that have become investors in Tokopedia include East Venture, Softbank, and Cyberagent Venture.
With this huge disbursement of funds, William Tanuwijaya as the CEO of Tokopedia is also aggressively making developments within his company by means of product discounts, marketing strategies, cashback and free shipping.
Motivational Words and Business Principles of William Tanuwijaya
William Tanuwijaya as the founder of Tokopedia who has succeeded in bringing this online shopping platform into an application that really helps many people and has succeeded in helping sellers offer their products easily online. That is what can inspire many people to start a business and try to make dreams come true.
The following are some words of business motivation and also principles from William Tanuwijaya as the CEO of Tokopedia, including:
a. “I am grateful, the journey of starting Tokopedia has not only changed my life, but also the lives of millions of other people.”
b. “I am an entrepreneur by necessity, entrepreneur by necessity.”
c. “I learned about the courage to start, the persistence to get up every time I fail and to dream with open eyes. When we think about dreams, dreams turn into ideas and plans. When we say these ideas and plans, dreams turn into commitments. When our commitments are carried out seriously and wholeheartedly, dreams turn into reality.”
The award received by William Tanuwijaya
As a figure who has successfully brought Tokopedia to become one of the largest shopping platforms in Indonesia, William Tanuwijaya has certainly received a lot of appreciation and awards from many parties. One of the achievements he has achieved is being one of Indonesia’s representatives at the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2016.
Not only that, William also received the Satyalancana Wira Karya award or better known as the Medal of Honor from the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. This award was given because of its contribution to economic growth and also the development of digital technology in Indonesia. Then, Tokopedia also received an award as Android Excellent Apps selected by Google on the Playstore.
Exemplary Success Tips from William Tanuwijaya
Not a few people who want to live a successful life and have a lot of wealth. William Tanuwijaya is a figure that we can make a role model in life, especially in terms of doing business. The CEO of Tokopedia is now one of the richest people in Indonesia. Here are the full tips.
1. Growth Mindset
Having a growth mindset is very important for moving our business forward. William Tanuwijaya revealed that if we want to make the business a success, then the first thing we have to do is change the way of thinking or growth mindset. Here, William Tanuwijaya proves himself through his success story in establishing an online shopping platform, Tokopedia. Therefore, we should imitate William’s way of thinking, by changing the mindset if we want the business to be more successful.
2. Have Big Dreams
The next way to build a successful business is that we must also have big dreams to achieve that success. So, don’t just change your mindset. According to the CEO of Tokopedia, this will help you when you experience tough obstacles or failures. Why do you have to have big dreams? Because, by remembering your dream to be able to achieve success when you are down or facing challenges, it will be easier to raise your spirits.
3. Humble
William Tanuwijaya revealed that people who have a business venture must have a humble nature. You are required to keep learning, whether from anyone and anywhere. That way, you won’t easily feel oppressed by tough competition in the business world.
4. Don’t Give Up Easily and Learn to Give Solutions
You need to understand that in order to create success in the business world, try to provide solutions to people who need it. You can start to think more creatively and make sure that the results you have thought will actually be as useful as you hope. Do not forget also do not give up easily. A business owner is not allowed to put the word give up in his dictionary. Keep holding on even though the challenges are getting tougher. That way, the chances of achieving success will be even greater.
5. Start With a Simple Idea
We really need big dreams, but you can also start with simple ideas as initial learning in starting a business. From there you will slowly be able to devise more appropriate strategies for the future. In addition, you can also ask for opinions from other people or relatives and family. From the simple ideas they have, ideas will emerge that can break the next business planning strategy.