"Solve supply first with scrappy tactics, then retention becomes the real game"
Evidence from the Archive
Gojek, Kumu
Gojek scaled from 4,000 orders/day to surpassing Lyft in rides and DoorDash in food delivery
Gojek: rented a stadium to recruit 60,000 drivers in weeks -- a growth tactic no playbook would suggest, requiring zero-to-one creativity
Built and led the growth team at Gojek through hyper-growth from 4,000 orders/day to Southeast Asia's largest super app. Now CPO at Kumu. Author of 'Why Most Analytics Efforts Fail' (Reforge). Their core argument: Hire growth early but match the hire to your stage -- start scrappy, not senior.
The evidence is specific: Gojek: rented a stadium to recruit 60,000 drivers in weeks -- a growth tactic no playbook would suggest, requiring zero-to-one creativity. Furthermore, gojek scaled from 4,000 orders/day to surpassing Lyft in rides and DoorDash in food delivery. A subscription company reduced churn by adding a pause/snooze button -- identified through growth model analysis, not A/B testing signup flows.
In Crystal Widjaja's own words: "I felt like it was a problem that was very solvable. And we ended up renting a stadium to just hire 60,000 drivers in a couple of weeks. So I think looking back, it was certainly a risk. When I got there it was in a house and I realized I've probably made a huge mistake, but we were growing very quickly already, even at that small scale of 4,000 orders per day." (Describing the scrappy, zero-to-one growth tactics that built Gojek's early supply side before any formal growth team existed.)
Gojek, Kumu
Gojek stadium hiring: rented a stadium to hire 60,000 drivers in weeks, solving supply constraint in one bold move
Gojek super app: each vertical (rides, food, payments) required different supply-side strategies
Built and led the growth team at Gojek through its early explosive growth into Southeast Asia's largest super app -- completing more rides per day than Lyft and more food deliveries than GrubHub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash combined -- giving her unparalleled experience with supply-side scaling in emerging markets. Their core argument: Solve supply first with scrappy tactics, then retention becomes the real game.
The evidence is specific: Gojek stadium hiring: rented a stadium to hire 60,000 drivers in weeks, solving supply constraint in one bold move. Furthermore, gojek super app: each vertical (rides, food, payments) required different supply-side strategies. Gojek scale comparison: more rides than Lyft, more food deliveries than GrubHub + Uber Eats + DoorDash combined.
In Crystal Widjaja's own words: "I felt like it was a problem that was very solvable. And we ended up renting a stadium to just hire 60,000 drivers in a couple of weeks." (On Gojek's creative approach to the supply-side chicken-and-egg problem.)