He went to see Ferry Soetikno, a successful second-generation scion who had expanded his family’s health-care business, PT Dexa Medica. Soetikno, 12 years his senior, told him: focus, start from the beginning and always measure your performance.
Sudharta adopted the pseudonym Budi Jonathan to hide his identity and began as a junior medical representative at Mensa, often waiting until past midnight for a chance to pitch drugs to overworked doctors. Over the next 13 years he rose through the company ranks.
He didn’t think of starting his own medical business, but would talk to friends about the gaps he saw in Indonesia’s system. One of those friends, Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim, pulled him aside one day and said: “‘Why don’t you do it yourself? A startup. Fundraise. Do it properly.’”
Gojek, Indonesia’s answer to Uber Technologies Inc., went on to become the country’s most valuable startup, with ride-hailing, food delivery and payments services across the country and now spreading elsewhere in Southeast Asia. It also became a key strategic backer for Halodoc, integrating the app in 2017 into its platform.
Makarim’s advice was to focus on helping people where they felt the greatest pain, and Sudharta thought of the countless times he’d seen patients camped out in hospitals to see a doctor for a few minutes and then wait another two hours to get medicine.
A year after Halodoc started, Sudharta had another pivotal introduction when he was part of a group of young leaders invited to a lunch with Bill Gates in Seattle. The invitees were asked to dress formally. Sudharta arrived in a business shirt, but removed it just before the meeting with Gates to reveal a red T-shirt emblazoned with Halodoc’s logo.
Sudharta left the meeting with the message that if you’re lucky enough to be able to change the world, do good, stay on course and don’t get distracted by the financial rewards.
Meanwhile, the Gates’ foundation, which distributes billions of dollars in grants to improve living conditions in developing countries, had been increasingly looking to make direct investments in companies that could help advance its goals. One of its target countries was Indonesia and the investment arm zeroed in on Halodoc.
The foundation is joining Halodoc’s so-called extended Series B round of funding with other new contributors Prudential Plc and Allianz SE. They will add to the $65 million Halodoc secured from UOB Venture Management, Singtel Innov8 and Korea Investment Partners in March.
Halodoc is only one of dozens of health-tech startups developing apps. Gojek rival Grab has a joint venture with China’s Ping An Good Doctor to provide online services in Southeast Asia, while Indonesian rivals include Alodoktor.