LOST THE BATTLE WON THE WAR
3 September 2023
By Anisa Pinatih
It’s been four years since the last blog update. What has happened all this time? A lot, but what’s probably worth highlighting is that Eduedit was shortlisted as a grand finalist at the 5ME2045 LPDP Business Competition 2023. We didn't win, though. But I had a good time attending the Festival.
A little recap, we started Eduedit as a side project in 2018 and gained traction slowly but steadily. We even survived the pandemic and came out stronger, with the biggest growth (over 200%) in 2022. Long story short, we work hard and all, but I still don’t think we have the ambition to become entrepreneurs with this much and that much valuation–at least not now. What we have is a purpose, and that’s what keeps us going.
That said, in May 2023, we entered the competition to get a clearer sense of direction where this business is going to go. We ended up one of the grand finalists to represent East Java. I flew to Jakarta on 1 August 2023 to join the final.
The competition was part of LPDP Fest 2023. The judges came from the industry, academia, and government agencies, assessing the business proposal presentations in five categories. The category we participated in was Business Growth Plan (Awardees/Alumni), with the following judging criteria: (1) capability and network, (2) market growth potential, (3) social impact, and (4) exit strategy.
There were 6000+ registrants in this competition, 3000+ proposals receiving feedback, 400+ regional finalists, and then 96 grand finalists to compete at the national level. Then the question is, why did we not win?
Honestly, I don't know. But other finalists’ business valuations were a lot higher, with a larger market share, and more funding experience. Their innovations, I think, are also impactful on their respective industries.
In any case, I believe that process is as much important as result. In this case, we may have lost the battle, but we won the war. In the process of writing and revising the proposal, from the regional to national stages, between May and July 2023, the business’ long-term direction and goals became clearer.
In the competition, we were forced to understand our position in the research publication industry. By taking stock and all, we could finally see which direction we are heading in and explain our development plan simply in a poster and short presentation.
So, despite not becoming the national champion, Eduedit has won the war against self-doubt and the busyness trap. Yes, a trap because our business performance has increased exponentially. Time and energy were only focused on getting work done day to day. Without stepping back, it will be difficult to see the long-term vision and plans.
Anyway, after the presentation and the announcement of the winners, we attended the closing ceremony on the third day of the festival. Apart from the finalists, the ceremony was attended by invitees, alumni, and awardees.
President Jokowi, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani, and Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim gave their remarks, reports, and messages to alumni and awardees. One of the messages from the President is for the awardees who are going to study abroad to come home after they graduate :)
