Dubbed a “game changer” by the Indonesian press, twenty-two year old Putri Tanjung has taken the business world by storm. Her talk show and creative agency, Creativepreneur, has reached and influenced over 60,000 millennial entrepreneurs. Her Instagram has 426,000 followers—and the numbers only keep growing.
While Tanjung’s enterprising nature led her to establish Creativepreneur at the age of seventeen, her communications degree from Academy of Art University helped her hone her business savvy. And not only did Tanjung sharpen her preexisting skills at the Academy, but she also discovered new interests that broadened her horizons—such as radio broadcasting and podcasting.
Earning a Communications Degree to Build on Her Experience
After successfully funding and founding Creativepreneur, Tanjung decided that she wanted more experience than what she’d already acquired. More specifically, she wanted a formal interdisciplinary education and guidance from professionals working in her field.
So Tanjung set out to build on herself at the Academy’s School of Communications & Media Technologies.
Choosing to study on campus, Tanjung discovered San Francisco to be the ideal location for pursuing her degree. Nested in the heart of a vibrant, innovative city, the Academy exposed Tanjung to ideas and topics from other fields of art and design, providing her with a well-rounded educational experience.
As Tanjung explored different aspects of multimedia communications, however, one area of focus caught her attention: the art of podcasting.
Transforming Her Business By Gaining New Skills in School
Eager to learn more, Tanjung dove wholeheartedly into classes about podcasting and branded content at the Academy. One of her instructors, Matty Staudt, showed her the ropes while creating opportunities for her to practice what she learned.
For instance, Staudt brought Tanjung onto the staff at Urban Knights Radio, the Academy’s student-run radio station, in 2015. There, Tanjung worked as the station’s first social media director. This firsthand experience taught her new, valuable lessons about managing her own business.
Of course, Tanjung’s passion and skills were key components in her success as a businesswoman and art student. Staudt stated, “She never looked at an assignment as just as an assignment. She always understood why we were doing it and the importance of what we were doing.”
Paired with her determination and work ethic, these opportunities helped Tanjung soar to new heights. Everything she learned in class, she applied to her outside endeavors—including Creativepreneur, which she continued to develop while earning her communications degree.
“Since I’m learning podcasts here, I can then produce podcasts or audio shows for the event or clients we have with the creative agency,” said Tanjung. “There’s a lot of new things that I can apply to both aspects of my business.”
Making Business Events Engaging With Creativepreneur
Founded by Tanjung in 2014, Creativepreneur gathers young entrepreneurs from all across Indonesia to share their goals, struggles, and accomplishments. The program uses a number of unique tools to communicate, including music and comedy. Its mission is to center millennials, many of whom find traditional business events stuffy and boring.
In addition, Creativepreneur has expanded to include a creative agency specializing in marketing campaigns that appeal to millennials.
Tanjung admits that her path wasn’t easy, but her advice for those inspired by her story is to stay motivated.
“I believed in my concept so much. I believed it could work so I just kept moving and kept on going. Every time I got rejected or people called me crazy, that was just a push to prove them wrong,” Tanjung said.
“You just have to start, you can’t wait.”
Story originally published by Nina Tabios in ART U News.
Images courtesy of Putri Tanjung.
