Photo: Spotdokter

For coffee with cofounders this week, we have Pascal Christian, Mendy Candella and Jaka Pradipta of Spotdokter which is based in Indonesia. e27 got in touch with the fun guys behind the Indonesian startup and they were happy to share their stories with us.

Tell us more about Spotdokter, and your team of cofounders.

Spotdokter is a location based healthcare directory app. It allows user to find a curated list of health providers nearby. We also provide daily updated health news written by experts and medical staff. We emphasize on mobile since it is available widely and easily accessible, which is a necessity in emergencies. Spotdokter is available on Android, BlackBerry, and is coming soon on iOS, pending Apple’s approval. We decide to make it a mobile site and hence covering the majority of smartphones in Indonesia.

How did you and your cofounders meet?

We were all friends in a medical school. One day (around last May) Mendy approached me with the idea of building a one-stop health directory application on mobile phone. He was stationed on the Public Health Department at that time, and was struck by the unavailability of public health center information. Jaka joined shortly after, and we started by asking patients on the emergency ward, and found out that many of them were brought in late, mainly due to the lack of information regarding the availability of first aid. With the idea validated, we pushed full speed ahead, getting a seed investment from Project Eden on October and finished the application late last year.

Why did you and your cofounders decided to take the plunge together into entrepreneurship?

I guessed we didn’t really ‘plunge in’ because we took it step by step. We developed the app in our free time (we were students after all) and tried to get as much feedback as early as possible. Of course there were moments of doubts, but we managed not to dispel it and were able to reassure each other. Getting into an incubator program helped a lot too, as our helpful mentors (Mr. Calvin Kizana, Mr. Megain Widjaja, and many others) constantly guided and helped us build our confidences.

Photo: Spotdokter

Did anyone of you felt like quitting at any point?

Again, there were doubtful moments and times when we were really bored, but I don’t think any of us felt really like quitting. Perhaps part of that came from the realization that  we are a rather young company, and also our firm belief that, as doctors, we share a mission to improve public health. Spotdokter is a way for us to channel those passions and make a difference, so why do we have to quit if we love what we are doing?

How many users does Spotdokter have right now?

We just launched a day ago (9th February), but we already have around 3000 downloads, 2000 of which came from the last two days alone.

What do you think would make the best Valentines Day gift?

Mendy: chocolate is classic.

Pascal: flower is forever.

Jaka: kiss is … (He does not finished the sentence, but he argues it is way better than chocolates or flowers).