Legal Matters

Rieke Caroline eyes a big slice of the market from thriving startups and SMEs by offering easy access to legal services.

- Ester Christine Natalia

A sales and marketing strategy is a focal point when one plans to run a business. However, entrepreneurs should also include proper legal representation in their priority list so they can avoid financial losses caused by any legal problems. Unfortunately, legal terms and systems tend to be complicated, especially for entrepreneurs who are just starting their small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups.

Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) data show that as many as 2,017 startups had been established as of February this year. The country was also home to 62.92 million SMEs, according to Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry data in 2017. Those numbers are rising and appear as a major opportunity to 30-year-old Rieke Caroline. She seized the opportunities of flourishing technology by founding PT Legal Tekno Digital, a startup that provides legal services through a digital platform, in March 2016. Her goal is to make legal services easier to access and less complicated for entrepreneurs, especially newcomers, through utilizing technology.

With capital of less than Rp 100 million from her own savings, Rieke developed a platform named Buat Kontrak (later rebranded as Kontrak Hukum) that offers a package of up to 10 draft contracts for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups. The platform works as a connector between client and selected lawyer, as well as a referee in overseeing the legal drafting process. And the entire process is quick, she claims the company can deliver the first draft of a contract within three days. During the initial phase of the business, she carried out the administrative, sales and marketing tasks all by herself, while partnering with three lawyers using a project-based payment system. To her surprise, the company received orders for at least 25 contract-drafting packages within the first month of operation.