Chope Acquired Outing Trips and Lessons

Online restaurant reservation service EatOut has been acquired by Chope. The 100 Echelon Indonesia Top2015 Startups Champion proved his credibility and business traction in the national market. Duo founder EatOut Kunal Narang and Hiro Mohinani briefly talked about MakanLuar's journey before it was finally acquired by Chope to continue its ambition to dominate the regional market.

Since its inception in 2013, MakanLuar has long been inspired by Chope who has stood firm before. Hiro himself admitted that he was looking for opportunities for Makan Luar to accompany and collaborate with Chope, but limited experience and solutions made this difficult to do.

"Now that we have good traction and nails in the Indonesian market, we need to grow and develop, while Chope wants to expand into Indonesia. It made sense for us to contact Chope, at this moment the whole agreement and acquisition process begins," said Kunal .

The new chapter of the business development of these two entities is exposure to the regional market, and attracting more restaurants in the region. Kunal added, “If you look at the two products [MakanLuar and Chope], we share the same philosophy and culture in terms of service quality no matter where our target market is.”

Talks about acquisitions will certainly take time for the internal MakanLuar team to align decisions. Define the pros and cons that exist. Above all, restaurants that are registered as partners must benefit.

"They [restaurants listed on MakanLuar] get exposure not only from our users, but also Chope users in the region in the future. I think this acquisition process ultimately benefits MakanLuar a lot," said Kunal.

MakanLuar continues to be led by Kunal and Hiro who will gradually change their entity as Chope Indonesia in the next six to twelve months.

Being acquired should not be a goal

Kunal assures that planning a major goal to achieveexit"It's not the right thing. Exit is something that should be done in conditions if it is the right one for your business to thrive and continue to grow. Even so, it is necessary to have steps that must be prepared to achieve it.

Build credibility. Talk to many consultants, mentors, investors and anyone with an interest in the industry honestly about the progress and challenges faced. If someone often voices his success, Kunal states that we have to assume: 1) they don't need help, and miss many opportunities for lessons and advice, 2) it tends to be impossible because big challenges always haunt especially in businesses that require fast scalability. At the same time, startups must also be able to insert a few success stories to ensure that their business is on the right track.

Networks, networks, networks. MakanLuar is the winner of TOP100 Startups Echelon Indonesia 2015. Participating in competitions and similar events at home and abroad expands network, and understands trends from various points of view.

Persistence and perseverance. Startup founders often find that their idea doesn't go according to plan and then move on to the next solution. The fact is it is never easy.

"Growth it's never a smooth, straight line, it takes 100 different tries to prove your business can survive. This process can take two months, it could be a year, or even two years. And that is something that is closely attached to the startup culture,” said Kunal.