Taxi mafias, cash vaults & 100% MoM growth: The story of SEA’s biggest startup | Kevin Aluwi (Gojek)

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

March 26, 2023

Duration

1h 2m

Channel

Lenny's Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Kevin Aluwi is the co-founder and former CEO of Gojek. With over 2.7 million drivers and over 3 billion orders completed, Gojek is the biggest startup in Indonesia and all of Southeast Asia. In today’s podcast, Kevin shares the story of how Gojek overcame endless obstacles—including being underfunded, being unable to send drivers payment, and the local motorcycle mafia coming after their drivers. We cover the importance of brand, the value of doing the hard things, how to be super-scrappy, and helpful tips on building a tech company outside of Silicon Valley. — Brought to you by Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Rows—The spreadsheet where data comes to life | Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs. Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/taxi-mafias-cash-vaults-and-100-mom Where to find Kevin Aluwi:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kaluwi
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaluwi/

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

Referenced:

• Gojek: https://www.gojek.com/en-id/
• WeChat: https://www.wechat.com/
• Sequoia: https://www.sequoiacap.com/
• eFishery: https://efishery.com/en/
• What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture: https://www.amazon.com/What-You-Do-Who-Are/dp/0062871331
• How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know: https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195573560/
• The Menu on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/movies/the-menu
• Cyberpunk Edgerunners on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81054853
• Arc: https://arc.net/
• Steam Deck: https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Kevin’s background (05:00) How Gojek got started and the current scale (08:35) Some of the services that Gojek currently offers or has offered (09:37) Kevin’s thoughts on super-apps (15:36) The importance of brand (23:08) How to create branding with consistency across copy and design (26:53) Challenges Gojek had in the early days that required scrappiness (33:03) Why Kevin doesn’t believe in moats as a durable solution, and the value of doing hard things (37:30) How Gojek hired private security to keep their drivers safe (39:38) The value of founders doing and understanding multiple roles within the company (44:12) How Kevin’s failed finance career led him to take a bet on building tech in Indonesia (47:30) Tips on building a tech company outside of Silicon Valley (52:09) What the market is like in Indonesia (55:42) What’s next for Kevin (57:41) Lightning round Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Kevin Aluwi

  guest

• Lenny Rachitsky

  host

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Kevin Aluwi and Lenny Rachitsky, Taxi mafias, cash vaults & 100% MoM growth: The story of SEA’s biggest startup | Kevin Aluwi (Gojek) explores inside Gojek’s Rise: Mafia Threats, Cash Vaults, And Super-App Myths The episode follows Gojek co-founder Kevin Aluwi as he unpacks how Gojek grew from a scrappy Indonesian motorcycle taxi service into one of Southeast Asia’s largest tech companies. He describes operating in a hostile environment—facing violent taxi mafias, no payments infrastructure, and virtually no local tech ecosystem—while competing with massively better-funded global rivals. Kevin shares why Gojek built cash booths and private security operations, how a deep focus on brand and culture created lasting loyalty, and why he believes the “super app” narrative is overrated and often misunderstood. He closes with lessons for founders building outside Silicon Valley and reflections on his own journey from failed finance professional to tech founder.

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