Larry Susanto: From Berkeley to Jakarta, Climate Tech’s Next Frontier & Indonesia’s Green Opportunity – E642
episode
BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)
39 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 17 days ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
How did Larry’s curiosity for chemistry lead him from UC Berkeley to a solar‑startup in the Bay Area?
When we talk about climate, uh I guess most people would Only think about like solar farms or EVs. But actually, the way we look at climate, we try to divide it into five pillars. So, first renewable energy, second is electric mobility, third is energy efficiency and resource management. Fourth is so climate smart agriculture.
Why did Larry choose to return to Indonesia instead of staying in the U.S. tech ecosystem?
And lastly, the fifth pillar is waste and circularity. So we think across these five sectors. There's a lot of interesting opportunities that can be solved. And also when we approach these five sectors, it's not just about climate mitigation, which is decarbonization, but there's also opportunities in climate adaptation. Which means it's adapting to the climate uh to the results of climate change.
What business‑strategy skills did Larry gain at Bain and how did they shape his climate‑tech focus?
Welcome to Brave. Learn from Southeast Asia's best tech leaders. Build the future, learn from our past, and stay human in between. No BS on Success. I'm Jeremy O, Venture Capitalist, Sarah founder, Harvard MBA, science fiction nerd, and dad of two daughters.
How does climate‑tech differ between the West’s deep‑tech model and Southeast Asia’s business‑model adaptation?
Every week, we debate startup news, interview change makers, answer listener questions, and share personal insights. Join our movement of over 40,000 members and get transcripts, resources, and community at www.bravesa.com. Stay well and stay brave. Hey Larry, excited to have you on the show.
What are ACV’s five climate‑investment pillars and why are they important for Indonesia?
You are an Indonesian who is a consultant, engineer, and now VC in climate tech, so lots to unpack there. Larry, could you introduce yourself?
Yeah, thanks so much, Jeremy, for having me here. Yeah. So hi everyone. My name is Larry.
How can Indonesia capture more value from its abundant nickel and other EV‑related minerals?
I'm currently an ABP of investments at ACV. Just a short background, maybe, about ACV. ACV we are a fund based in Jakarta, Indonesia, investing in Southeast Asia across different stages.
So Larry, I mean, you know, one thing we share in common is we both went to UC Berkeley. Right.
What untapped green potential does Indonesia have in solar capacity and two‑wheeler electrification?
You were an engineer. Go bears, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, you you were an a chemical engineer. So what did you want to be a chemical engineer?
Honestly, growing up, I've been really interested in science.
What are the biggest risks and regulatory incentives needed for Indonesia’s climate‑tech ecosystem to succeed?
Chemistry to me feels like magic. And I think as a boy I was super interested in trying to explore that a bit further. And just being real realistic at that time, I just Googled like top paying jobs and chemical engineering was one of them. And I thought it was a perfect fit with what I am interested in and also what the market pays.
And what was it like being a student at UC Berkeley? I mean, you know, I think there's a huge Indonesian community. I was part of the Singapore Malaysia Student Association. Which is obviously a different club, but smaller than the Indonesian community. I mean, what was it like for you uh at Berkeley?
It was a very rewarding experience. I really, really enjoyed my time at Berkeley. We do have a quite strong and big Indonesian community. I would say at that time maybe around 150 students. We are very close with each other. We do have a lot of events. Everyone's very supportive. And even until now, when we go back to Indonesia, we are s we are still quite connected with one another. But as you know, like Berkeley is one of also the top schools in US. So it was not an easy period, I will say. There's a lot of classes, uh a lot of assignments, but you know, having a lot of friends, a lot of community really helped me uh go through Berkeley and also make uh long lasting friendships.
Yeah. And I think what's interesting is that, you know, you were Indonesia studying chemical engineering and you spent, you know, effectively three plus years in the US, in California, being a research engineer, working with batteries. Could you share more about that? Why you decided to stay in America and work on that?
Yeah, yeah. So I stayed, I think, for a total of seven years in the US, mostly in Bay Area. So after four years in college, after graduating from Berkeley, I took a opportunity to become a research engineer in a solar cell startup, also in the Bay Area. I think at that time, connecting a little bit to my motivation of becoming a chemical engineer, I'm very fascinated with chemical I'm fascinated about new technology and climate and sustainability and renewable energy is actually one of the interest uh sectors and topics that I'm very interested and passionate in.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Larry’s curiosity for chemistry lead him from UC Berkeley to a solar‑startup in the Bay Area?
0:00–0:22
2
Why did Larry choose to return to Indonesia instead of staying in the U.S. tech ecosystem?
0:22–0:48
3
What business‑strategy skills did Larry gain at Bain and how did they shape his climate‑tech focus?
0:48–1:09
4
How does climate‑tech differ between the West’s deep‑tech model and Southeast Asia’s business‑model adaptation?
1:09–1:32
5
What are ACV’s five climate‑investment pillars and why are they important for Indonesia?
1:32–1:46
6
How can Indonesia capture more value from its abundant nickel and other EV‑related minerals?
1:46–2:03
7
What untapped green potential does Indonesia have in solar capacity and two‑wheeler electrification?
2:03–2:15
8
What are the biggest risks and regulatory incentives needed for Indonesia’s climate‑tech ecosystem to succeed?
2:15–39:18
Speakers
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