Evaluating Digital Businesses via Link Canvas
📌 When evaluating conventional businesses, assessment focuses primarily on cash flow and profitability.
⚙️ For digital startups assessed via a Link Canvas or prototype, evaluation requires deeper scrutiny into market strategy and business model mechanics.
📊 Key areas for evaluation include understanding the revenue streams, customer segmentation, and the strategy for market penetration.

Case Study 1: Posno (Point of Sale Application)
🛑 Posno operates in a highly competitive (red ocean) POS market, necessitating a clear market entry strategy.
💰 Revenue streams include monthly fees (Rp250,000/month), gadget sales, and installation fees.
🎯 Customer segmentation targets UKM (Medium Enterprises), positioning the monthly fee as affordable for this segment, which represents an estimated 11 million potential users.

Case Study 2: Warungku (Online Shopping for the Uninitiated)
🛒 Warungku facilitates online ordering for people unfamiliar with standard e-commerce, using local convenience stores as physical pickup/payment points.
👥 Target market focuses on the 70% of the target market (estimated 160 million people) who have never shopped online.
📈 Revenue model relies on commissions per sale, requiring mass onboarding of merchants and agents (local stores).
📣 Acquisition channels involve direct marketing, social media ads, and training sessions in local communities (kelurahan).

Case Study 3: Petani Fun (P2P Lending for Farmers)
🤝 Petani Fun connects investors with farmers needing capital for activities like seeds or irrigation, bypassing difficult traditional banking access.
💵 Investors are promised a return, such as 5% profit on their investment after the harvest cycle concludes.
⚠️ Critical evaluation points include ensuring the startup has OJK (Financial Services Authority) permits and appropriate assets pledged as guarantees, especially concerning government relations.

Case Study 4: Ojon (Online Motorbike Taxi Application)
🚩 This application was immediately dismissed due to relying solely on nationalism ("red and white vehicle paint") as its Unique Value Proposition (UVP).
🛡️ Lack of a substantial Unfair Advantage or competitive edge against giants like Gojek is a fatal flaw; a strong competitive advantage beyond sentiment is required.

Case Study 5: Babiba (B2B Marketplace)
🏛️ As a B2B platform connecting suppliers/producers with resellers or direct consumers, success hinges on possessing a strong B2B channel/database and extensive business networking.
⚔️ A crucial question for founders is how they plan to survive if a larger competitor (like Tokopedia) decides to enter the same B2B space.

Case Study 6: Barista (Cafe Supply & Training)
☕ This niche application supplies coffee beans, cafe equipment, and barista training—a highly specialized niche market.
🏆 If successful in this narrow focus, they could become a "Cockroach Startup": small but consistently profitable, rather than aiming for massive global scale/valuation.

Case Study 7: Edugo (Interactive Learning Platform)
🎓 This EdTech platform is interactive, supports group work, and allows external HRDs (e.g., from Traveloka) to monitor participant performance for potential hiring.
🧑‍💻 For niche segments, focus must be placed on market penetration strategies and building strong relationships with content creators who develop the training materials.

Case Study 8: Bertani Yuk (Indonesian Farming Game)
🎮 A farming game designed with Indonesian characteristics. Revenue streams include selling online items and ad-free facilities.
📈 Potential partners include major gaming companies like Tencent.

Case Study 9: Food Gorilla (Specialized Food Delivery)
🌡️ Differentiates itself by ensuring food remains hot or cold upon delivery, unlike standard services like GoFood.
📉 The concept is considered too risky to invest in personally because its unique value proposition is easily replicable by giants like Gojek (e.g., Gojek adding specialized insulated boxes).

Key Points & Insights
➡️ When evaluating startups in crowded markets (Red Ocean), always investigate their specific market penetration strategy to enter the saturated space.
➡️ For service-based revenue models (like commissions), substantial growth requires aggressive scaling of both merchants/suppliers and agents/partners.
➡️ Unfair Advantage (Unfair Advantage) must be structural and sustainable; relying on mere sentiment like nationalism signals a lack of true competitive strength.
➡️ Assess the market size (Total Addressable Market); startups aiming for profitability should target markets that are still vast or underserved.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Jan 07, 2026, 21:51 UTC