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Meeting Sheryl Sandberg in Vietnam
When we got the phone call to come for a meeting with Facebook in Da Nang, Vietnam, they didn’t tell us who we’re going to meet. Girls in Tech Indonesia has been working with Facebook for the past 2 years for #SheMeansBusiness and #WhyNot program. But I have a strong feeling, this time is different. I feel that I’m going to finally meet Sheryl Sandberg in person. And boy… I was right. She has the charm and the charisma of a queen. She didn’t speak much, more because she wanted to listen. I bought Option B just before we got on a plane. It’s about how Sheryl cope with the…
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3 Biggest Lessons I’ve Learned from 2015 to Apply on 2016
Many many years ago, I attended a business conference where the speaker who just got his company to IPO, stand in the front of audience to speak about his success. And that time, he said something about ‘compassion’ that related to his success and that’s it. No more slides on the business strategy, detailed how-to, pitching tips to VCs, nothing. We went to coffee break, puzzled. I only understand that situation this year when I was invited by Sandra Correia to speak at an entrepreneurial event “A New Beginning for Portugal” (ANBFP) in Lisbon, Portugal. I did not asked to speak or mentor Portuguese entrepreneurs on how to fill out Business Model Canvas,…
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#1Hari1Kebaikan di Bulan Ramadhan
Bulan Ramadhan selalu jadi kesempatan emas bagi saya untuk melakukan lebih banyak kebaikan. Bukan hanya karena keberkahan yang berlipat dari hari biasa, namun seiring dengan proses menahan hawa nafsu, saya mencoba membuat kebiasaan baru untuk lebih rutin dalam berbuat baik pada sesama. Khusus di bulan Ramadhan, saya ingin proyek kebaikan saya direncanakan dengan seksama hari per harinya. Perang yang berdampak buruk saja direncanakan, kenapa berbuat kebaikan tidak direncanakan dengan lebih rinci? Dari hasil scrolling timeline di twitter, saya pun terinspirasi untuk melakukan #1hari1kebaikan selama bulan Ramadhan, dengan berbagai cara. Salah satu cara paling mudah untuk melakukan #1hari1kebaikan adalah dengan mendukung dan memberi donasi proyek-proyek sosial di situs crowdfunding lokal KitaBisa.com…
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How Twitter Plans to Help Raising the Number of Women in Technology in Indonesia
“Why do you think more girls in Indonesia are interested to learn IT?” Dick Costolo @dickc, the CEO of Twitter himself, asked me on a rare opportunity to have breakfast at a roundtable discussion with NGOs for @TwitterForGood during his visit to Jakarta. He was intrigued by his visit to University of Indonesia the day before, where he met the Dean of Computer Sciences, who is a woman, Dr. Mirna Adriani and seen women students were actively participated in building projects using twitter data. I was invited to the roundtable as the co-founder of Girls in Tech Indonesia @GirlsinTechID. We (me @salsabeela, @anantya, @adheRiya) founded Girls in Tech Indonesia in 2011, to inspire…
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Recognizing Small Victories and Moving Forward to 2015
I’ve been a Muslim and embracing Islam all my life. While Islam means surrender, only recently that I surrender myself to the compassion and love of God. Accepting the fact that what I need is not neccessarily the same with what I want. And at the end of the year, I found myself losing some people I trust, losing a business I nurture for years, let go precious stuff I had, yet I gained so much more. In the midst of chaos, I finally found myself. In my religion, the first revelation that The Prophet Muhammad SAW received was ‘Iqra’ means a command to ‘Read!’. While inside a dark cave, the…
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Creating Miracles through Entrepreneurship – Key Lessons from Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2014 in Marrakech
Whoever seeks miracles, will find it. I believe miracles can help accelerate our action beyond the initial plan and entrepreneurs are the best people to get inspirations from on how to create miracles. That is exactly why I’m so excited to attend Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2014 in Marrakech, Morocco, to represent my company NulisBuku.com – an online self-publishing print-on-demand platform in Indonesia. 6800 participants (mostly entrepreneurs and investors), 194 speakers, 405 medias are buzzing at the #GES2014, opening gate of serendipity and new opportunities. I’m one of the lucky 70 young entrepreneurs from 30 countries around the world, to be invited as a delegate and participate in GES Youth. GES Youth was hosted as part…
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Hector Alvarado and The Consolation of the Sculpture
Hector Alvarado must be the first ‘modern’ sculptor I met in person (we met at @Komunitas1111 meetup). And he doesn’t look like a sculptor at all. In fact, when I visited his house and see how beautiful he decorates his house, I didn’t believe it was his work. I thought it was his girlfriend’s or some professional interior designer’s job. There are masculinity of sculpting and femininity of arts in Hector. When I told him that, Hector said: “That’s exactly like sculptures.” From such a masculine material like marble stone, can come a true beauty of feminine art. He put some of his works at his house. The sculpture of…
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Speaking on Innovation at rAsia Forum Moscow 2014
The only thing I remember about Russian is usually they’re on Hollywood movies in furry coat, being a secret agent, lots of snow and cold face. So when I’m invited by the Embassy of The Republic Indonesia for The Russian Federation to speak at rAsia Forum in Moscow, I met Russian who speak and joke in Bahasa Indonesia, like Dr Ludmila Demedyuk, plus beautiful sunny weather. It’s nothing like I ever imagine before. Indonesia is the partner of rAsia Forum 2014. rAsia Forum is an international event held in Moscow, inviting speakers from all around the world including Indonesia, USA, UK, Hong Kong, Germany, and many more, to share knowledge and…
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From Tech Forum Central Asia 3 In Almaty, Kazakhstan
I came to Almaty, Kazakhstan, as a trainer at Tech Forum Central Asia 3, but the truth is, I’m the one learning so much from this trip. First, I’ve learned that Almaty is one beautiful and unique city. The city has a magical background of the snow-capped mountains that reminds me of Narnia. I told my friends that nobody can ever be depressed in Almaty. When you feeling down, all you have to do is to held your head up, watch the mountains and you’ll be okay in no time. A mix of ethnic groups in Almaty also the reason why there are a lot of beautiful people with strong…
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Tales on Mother’s Day
“How come there’s no Auntie’s Day?” That’s what I asked this morning to embrace Mother’s Day. I’m not married and I don’t have kids. My only way to show my motherly love is to shower my baby nephew, or other people kids, with presents. I’m the sweet Auntie O. I have another technique to pour my love: having ‘kids’ of my own by sending children back to school. Now, if you live in Brunei and Bahrain, you’re lucky. The government will send you to study up until Bachelor degree. In Indonesia, kids who can’t afford education, just won’t continue their study and work in the lower level jobs, earning lower…
