Startup Products Need Global Reach
Jakarta, Aug 3 – Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Indonesia-based www.bubu.com Shinta Witoyo Dhanuwardoyo stated that startup founders must sustain a strong entrepreneurial mentality, nurture a solid team and genuine products if they want to be able to reach world-class startup status.
Speaking at 12th WIEF’s Master Class session, under the theme ‘Synergies between Corporations and Startups’, Dhanuwardoyo added that a startup’s great products must be able to address a specific problem or cater to the right market. Such appealing products can have local content but attain a global reach.
Giving a concrete example, she introduced a local startup called ‘Digital Happiness’, which won the Bubu Awards Startup Category in 2013. Digital Happiness presented local-content game called ‘Dread Out’, produced in Bandung and featuring local supernatural characters. The game proved to be attractive to global gamers.
On the same occasion, Jordan Duffy, Director & Head of Innovation at Australia-based Buckham & Duffy, recommended corporations and startups first launch a pilot project to minimize risks for both sides. Corporations are increasingly working with startups in a bid to outsource a portion of their technological requirements and business operations, for lower costs and higher efficiency. As startups are by nature lean and nimble, this makes for more cost-effective business ventures.
Meanwhile, Duffy emphasized, both corporations and startups need to know and focus on their core value propositions and problem value for the enterprise. Corporations also need to communicate their expectations about output.
Paco Morales Recreates Spain’s Arabic Era in His Cuisine
Spain’s Michelin Star Chef specializing in halal haute cuisine, Paco Morales, observes that he not only provides the finest meals but also recreates history by creating food that echoes certain traditions, historical events, the art and culture of the past, especially from the Islamic period in Spain.
Speaking at the 12th WIEF Masterclass session on ‘Halal Haute Cuisine’, Paco revealed how he incorporates the Arab heritage into the cuisine of his native Spain. Through the Arabs, Spain received culinary knowledge from China, India and the Middle East. For instance, sugar cane cultivation was brought by the Arabs from India, while the technique of refining sugar was taken from Persia. Others include long-grain rice that was brought by the Arabs from India, and lemons and cider that arrived before oranges, thanks to the Arabs.
Paco has had extensive experience working in restaurants such as ‘Guggenheim’, ‘Mugaritz’, ‘El Bulli’, and ‘Change of Pace’ in London, creating quality dishes and menu changes. In 2006, he became head chef upon his return to ‘Mugaritz’, a role that included travel to various countries to give exquisite lunches and dinners.
In 2010, Paco opened ‘Noor’, his own restaurant, at Hotel Ferrero, and was subsequently awarded a coveted Michelin star. Between 2013 and 2014, he became advisor to three restaurants, in Menorca, Madrid, and Brazil. Last year, he finalised the opening of his restaurant in Cordoba.
