The Importance of Data in a Startup

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Jekt: I want long term for data to be the founding factor by which we make decisions. To get that buy-in of not just the engineering team but also the product and business teams, you have to create a standard. "I don't see a lot of data teams sometimes being super realistic about the capacity of the team," Jekt says.

“Goal on the behaviors that matter. Don’t goal on your vanity metrics. Figure out what it is that, not just works for your product, but also for you as an individual."

Crystal Widjaja is a startup growth advisor and a Forbes 30 Under 30. She was most recently the SVP of Business Intelligence and Growth for Gojek. She is also the co-founder of Generation Girl, a non-profit organization that introduces young girls to STEM.

In this episode, I had a fascinating chat with Crystal on many things about startup and her exhilarating journey with Gojek as the first data hire. We started with the recent trends of the startup funding in US and Southeast Asia, and the impact that COVID has brought to the startup scenes. Crystal then shared her insightful tips on startup growth strategy, including the common pitfall startups need to avoid in their strategy. She also gave practical tips on how a startup can start its data analytics journey. We then talked about her recent Gojek career when she outlined her amazing journey building Gojek data team from one person (herself) to 200+ people, the challenges she had to go through and how she overcame them. Last, Crystal shared about Generation Girl and why it is an important cause to help Indonesian young girls to succeed in STEM.

Listen out for:

Crystal’s career journey - [00:06:04]
Why Crystal quit Gojek and moved to VC - [00:09:26]
Startup trends in US and SEA - [00:13:16]
Impact of COVID to startup growth and funding - [00:20:10]
Reforge - [00:25:56]
Tips on startup growth strategy - [00:28:32]
Strategy for building data analytics strategy - [00:36:55]
Building Gojek data team as the first data hire - [00:45:54]
Generation Girl - [00:59:30]
Crystal’s 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [01:08:22]

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Crystal Widjaja’s Bio
Crystal Widjaja is a startup growth advisor, Reforge advisor partner, and Sequoia Scout in the SF Bay Area. Crystal has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 and was most recently the Senior VP of Business Intelligence and Growth for Gojek, the leading on-demand multi-service platform in Southeast Asia committed to empowering informal sectors and MSMEs through technology. She is also a co-founder of Generation Girl, a non-profit organization that aims to introduce young girls to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Follow Crystal:

Website – https://www.crissyw.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/crystalwidjaja
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalwidjaja/

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For more info about the episode (including quotes and transcript), visit techleadjournal.dev/episodes/13.