Anggia Meisesari, CEO and Co-founder of TransTRACKOn a rainy afternoon in a secluded area, away from the commotion of her 130-member team, we congratulated Anggia Meisesari on her remarkable achievement of 15x growth since Cocoon first invested in her company, TransTRACK, some 18 months ago.
Anggia Meisesari is CEO and co-founder of TransTRACK. This fleet telematics integrator provides the logistics market with the flexibility to access richer and more accurate data through its software and hardware platform. Anggia founded TransTRACK in Indonesia only 4 years ago and is spearheading its fast-paced expansion across Southeast Asia.
For those unfamiliar with logistics technology, TransTRACK has built vehicle tracking software that can be integrated with over 1,000 hardware devices, enabling its platform to track location, performance and driver behavioural data.
We had the privilege of interviewing Anggia, an exceptional female founder who is continually shattering the gender barrier as logistics is a male-dominated industry. On International Women’s Day, we are pleased to dedicate this interview to her. Are you ready to join Anggia on an entrepreneurial journey of wisdom, bravery, faith and love? Let’s begin!
Hi Anggia, congrats on the incredible 15x revenue growth! You’re now a profitable, multi-million dollar business. Can you tell us a bit about how your entrepreneurial journey began?
I founded my company in 2019 after working a 9-to-5 job for over 20 years. I was itching for some autonomy and the chance to implement my own ideas. Through my experience, I identified a huge problem and massive opportunity in the market. Plus, I knew had a killer solution for the market, so why not leap? I was 42 years old that year, and it’s never too late to start your own business. In fact, my age and experience are to my benefit because I know the problems and the market inside out. Whenever you doubt you can do it, either because of your age or timing, remember me.
I founded TransTRACK with a team of 12 people and we have now grown to over 130 employees.
My background in software engineering and informatics allows me to offer fleet owners richer and more accurate data through our hardware. It’s been amazing to see the TransTRACK team grow over the years. I’ve watched them buy motorcycles, get their first homes and start families. I’m super proud that so many people left big MNCs to join us. In fact, 75% of my old team from my previous job joined me when I first started TransTRACK, and I didn’t fail them.
It is impressive to see you dominating a logistics company as a female founder, especially as it is a very male-dominated field. Have you got any advice for founders embarking on a similar journey?
When you focus on building a great product that meets the market’s needs and have confidence in your abilities, being the “difference” in the industry definitely works to your advantage! TransTRACK is a really solid solution to the logistics market. Meanwhile, my unique perspective and approach as a female founder have helped me sell solutions to our mostly male customer base.
Great advice! Today is International Women’s Day. I’m curious to hear more of your thoughts on gender equality and how this issue has played a role in your entrepreneurial journey.
If there’s one advantage that women have, it’s that we’re better at effective multitasking compared to our male counterparts. If we are allowed to admit, gender equality is still a work in progress, specifically in Asia and Indonesia. Women take care of the family more, even if they work as hard as men. Take me, for example: despite being a successful founder and TransTRACK doing so well, I am still expected to be, and I am, the main caregiver for the family. I’ve built TransTRACK into a high-growth business while raising a family at the same time. I hope this inspires others who don’t believe that they can do both. Over the years, I’ve reached a balance without sacrificing either side and so can you!
24 hours are never enough for one day… Any tricks in striving for a double life of an entrepreneur and family caretaker?
It’s never easy to achieve balance, whether it’s between work and life or anything else. Besides multitasking, it is important to train yourself to control your emotions. It also helps you achieve a work-life balance as you separate work and personal life. It’s a bad habit to bring work stress home. I have great confidence in our fellow female founders because we are more in tune with our emotions and can control them better than men.
Your story is nothing short of inspiring. Do we wonder if anyone in your life has inspired you to go on this entrepreneurial journey. Or do you have a role model that influenced your thinking?
It has to be Bertha. Back in ’98, I was working with a female boss who was very tough but understanding at the same time. Working with her was pleasant because she ran the business so well while taking care of everyone, especially their feelings. Everyone enjoyed work and was excelling. From her, I realized being tough is not all bad, especially when it comes to work culture. She is definitely a role model of mine. Not forgetting, she demonstrated to me the importance of lifelong learning, be it from books, fellow founders or community events.
We can totally agree on this. That’s the reason we launched Female Founders Mentoring Hours for Southeast Asia, to allow founders to gain mentorship from experienced VCs. Speaking of which, we actually first met you at the Female Founder Mentoring Hours session back in 2021!
How can I ever forget! Actually, FFMH is by far one of the most important events I have ever participated in for entrepreneurship. It was a game-changer for me. FFMH provided invaluable feedback on my pitch decks and business model, which helped me improve the structure and eventually secure seed funding. For the first time, I reached so many insightful people all at the same time. Also, that was the start of TransTRACK’s journey with Cocoon. It was wonderful!
If you are interested in learning more about Female Founder Mentoring Hours (FFMH), the program provides founders with the opportunity to engage in one-on-one mentoring sessions with prominent VCs in the region, allowing for valuable feedback and guidance on pitching ideas.
As we conclude this interview, we are greatly impressed by Anggia’s exceptional vision and steadfast dedication to her entrepreneurial journey. Looking back on this conversation, our key takeaways are:
- Work-life balance can be achieved with the right support
- Never let age be a barrier to you achieving your goals
- Always bet on yourself if you believe in the problem you’re solving
We extend our best wishes to her and the TransTRACK team as they venture into new markets with their enterprise vehicle tracking platform. For further details on TransTRACK, visit transtrack.id.
This article is part of our new Cocoon’s Founder Series: Candid and compelling stories of founders who Dare to Change™