Tag Archives: entrepreneurs

[Simply Business] The Need for Niche

Opinion, , , , , ,

I am a big fan of basketball, from watching intense games of the NBA, to the exotic collection and vibrant culture of the shoes to actually playing the game on a regular basis. To put it short, I’m a basketball geek. I’ve invested in shoes (lots, like once per 2 months), jerseys, apparels, renting courts twice a week to play, and even NBA.TV yearly subscriptions and I spent all of my hard-earn money happily. I am a very good example of a niche market: obsessed, marketable and willing to spend.

One good example of a ‘startup’ that attack my niche market is @ngobrolNBA. The owner of the @ngobrolNBA account: @irrilD is a true NBA fan, you could tell from the 300 jerseys he owns or the uncountable shoes he collects over the year. Clearly the man got love for the game. He created the account out of love, and he’s smart enough to capitalize it.

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Rather than eat from the same pie, why not add more pies?

Opinion, ,

The startup scene in Indonesia seems to have been flooded by investors as well as budding entrepreneurs themselves but one of the concerns among several entrepreneurs is that the majority of investors are based in Jakarta and they prefer to deal with Jakarta-based companies rather than out of town ones. This creates a disparity and perhaps a little envy among those outside of the capital city.

Obviously Indonesia is far more than just Jakarta and despite the city being the business, financial, entertainment, and political hub of the nation, nobody should take the rest of the country for granted. In fact, the roles should probably be split up or shared with other cities but that’s an argument for another time. At the heart of the issue is the requirement by these Jakarta-based investors that the startups and entrepreneurs that they’re going to take under their wings to be located in Jakarta as well.

What is more likely the issue with these investors is that they may not have the resources at this stage to go to other cities as yet, let alone national. Alternatively, they may not be prepared to go beyond Jakarta for now because of the uncertainty that surrounds the industry. They could be concerned that some of the so called entrepreneurs are only in it for the money, not necessarily to advance their business. Of course, some entrepreneurs may be concerned that investors would be too restrictive with their terms but again that’s a different argument.

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