GO-JEK Is On the Move
Academy of Art University alum Michaelangelo Moran is on the move to enhance transportation in his hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia. Growing up as an observer to gridlocked traffic conditions, darting motorcycles, and a need for people to get from destination to destination, he and his business partner have identified a way to help entrepreneurs and revolutionize logistics. Their tools: technology, strategy, social media, and the Ojek.
Michaelangelo, a 2010 graduate of the university’s School of Web Design & New Media, says that, “Ojeks in Jakarta are a way of life…. People use them to beat the traffic, which is just really bad in the city.”
For many years now, Ojek drivers have worked independently. They negotiate their fair on a case-by-case basis, and have always competed for territory and clients. After their ride, they drive back to where they usually do business and get in the queue of other Ojek drivers to wait their turn and start the routine again. Identifying an opportunity for improvement, Michaelangelo teamed up with a friend, Nadiem Makarim, to found the company Go-Jek. Together, they are bringing tried and tested methods common to the US to Jakarta that will reshape the Ojek driver’s process from the ground up.
Go-Jek will employ technology and standardize pricing, organizing Ojek drivers and streamlining an efficient business model of transportation. Customers need only call in to Go-Jek to arrange a pick-up and drop-off time. With the use of online mapping, their fair is pre-calculated.
Michaelangelo credits the Academy of Art University and its staff for making it all possible. Web Design & New Media director, Bob Rigel, and Gino Nave, BFA associate director , are at the top of Michaelangelo’s list. “They both were very in tune with what was required from the industry and not only advised me but pushed me to test new heights in my designs,” said Michaelangelo.
2011 was a huge boon for the company, when they began receiving international attention. In July, Go-Jek won first place in the non-tech category at the Global Entrepreneur Program Indonesia (GEPI) in Bali. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt have both expressed praise for the achievement. In December 2011, CNN ran a featured, televised story about Go-Jek.
You can visit Go-Jek’s website here, as well as watch this video, which was featured on Time Magazine’s website.
Go-Jek
Click to Enlarge
Related:
|
