Kaskus is the largest community forum in Indonesia, having been founded 12 years back. Just recently the company moved to its new office where it will release the new Kaskus (#NewKaskus) with a new look, new back-end and infrastructure. Amid all that activity, we were lucky to interview Andrew Darwis, the founder and CTO of Kaskus.
1. Now that Kaskus has opened a new office, do you have any upcoming plans to expand?
With our move to the new office , one can surely point out that it’s a big step we took. After 12 years of Kaskus, we want to show that we are indeed a serious player in the online industry in Indonesia. Kaskus, as an original product of Indonesia, would like to contribute significantly in improving the digital industry and the internet in our own country. That is why, other than concentrating on perfecting the Community Forum and Forum Jual Beli (Buy & Sell Forum) that will be available soon in the NEW Kaskus (which is still in beta), we also will focus on KasPay as an online payment system that will support e-commerce activity in FJB. Kaskus will always be the platform for any online solution. To accommodate this expansion, we are going to need more competent human resources. So yes, after 12 years, we are more than ready to expand, big time.
2. Kaskus has always been the biggest Indonesian community, without any real threat in sight. How have you avoided complacency with such a big lead?
Over the years we can be this huge and this strong because of ‘Kaskuser’ loyalty. From the start of Kaskus, we always have been trying to answer the users’ needs. Every new forum or subforum that is made, each new appointment of moderators — it’s all because and for the users. At the end of the day, users aren’t just happy and loyal to Kaskus, but they also have a big sense of ownership towards Kaskus. So far there are websites that have the exact same concept as us, and of course with more websites with new features it might take a dent out of Kaskus users — but yet we don’t see it as a threat. Instead, we are happy that it means the internet industry in Indonesia will be more enriched and varied, and if you see it from another perspective we will be challenged to always keep innovating and giving benefits that will satisfy our users needs.
Luckily, until now only Kaskus has been doing a great job in giving freedom to our users in expressing themselves online. The ecosystem on Kaskus as the biggest forum has already taken shape, and it has became a need for our users. Ngaskus (or Kaskus-ing) is like a virus, once you pop you’ll never stop.
3. How many employees do you have right now?
Our staff stands roughly at about 60 staff and is still growing. We are aiming for 200 to 300 in the next two years.
4. Can you share any recent Kaskus milestones or statistics?
- Pageviews = 90,000,000 / month
- Visits = 40,000,000 / month
- Unique Visits = 22,000,000 / month
- Posts = 3800 posts / second
5. We all know about the acquisition by GDP Ventures. While we don’t know how much you recieved, can you comment on how will you spend that money? Will there be any acquisition by Kaskus of smaller startups in Indonesia?
First off, we will definitely use it to expand Kaskus first. On infrastructure, we will use it to add more servers to accommodate user growth so there will be no ‘overposting’ (so we won’t get complaints from Kaskus users, ha ha). Expanding human resources is also a key move so that Kaskus will move more aggressively, and of course to cover our operational cost. So far, we haven’t had any plans for any acquisition because we want to concentrate on Kaskus first. There is still a lot of work to do and things to perfect. But along the way who knows, we might meet startups that have potential, that have the same vision and mission. Then it’d be a different story.
6. Speaking of startups in Indonesia, how do you see the scene and the ecosystem right now? And how Kaskus will help startups in Indonesia?
It’s exciting to see so many startups emerging right now. There’s a lot of passion and spirit. But for now, we can say that there are still a lot of startups that aren’t very original or are too much of a copy cat. That’s what we should focus on, and some of them can’t sustain themselves because the internet industry in Indonesia is tough. I think startups should really able to be sustainable at least for three years because the industry is expanding. Internet users are growing and internet penetration is bigger as well. There is a lot of potential in terms of market. So as long as we can focus on users, providing services and products that appeal to them, we can attract them.
7. Last but not least, Kaskus has just celebrated its 12th year; a very impressive feat. can you give any advice to people that are building a startup as to how you could survive and win until today?
Like we have mentioned, most startups now prioritize on how to make money. But, for a website, what’s important is when a user needs your service, so the traffic and loyalty will come naturally. A website can generate huge traffic by giving benefits to its users, whether it’s a service, information or any other shape — they will love it and become a loyal user. Be original. Don’t just merely copy and paste an existing website that works. Yes, it can be an inspiration, but then again we have to be able to customize and localize according to our target market, so we can be more of a sustainable website/startup.