Starbucks was supposed to be my sanctuary that morning. Tempo Scan Tower, drop-off spot, safe plan: mix juice, Wi-Fi, a corner table where I could disappear into Headway. Except, plot twist: Starbucks was closed for renovation. The shutters were down, my drinking plan collapsed, and suddenly I had nowhere to go.
It’s funny how such a small inconvenience can throw you off balance. For a split second, I considered loitering awkwardly in the lobby. Instead, I spotted a Bluebird taxi that had just dropped someone off. Rp 9,000 later, I was on my way across the street, supposedly to Starbucks Menara Kadin. But halfway, on instinct, I asked the driver to switch course:
“Pak, Erasmus Huis aja ya.”
That detour turned out to be a gift. Erasmus Huis, the cultural wing of the Dutch Embassy, is one of Jakarta’s underrated havens. The library is cool, bright, and lined with shelves of Dutch and English books. It also has Warung Belanda, a cozy little café with both indoor and outdoor seating. Perfect for people like me who need somewhere in-between: not too crowded, not too lonely.
I picked up Greetings from Jakarta by Scott Merrillees, a book of old postcards from 1900–1950. Paging through those sepia-toned windows into the past felt like rediscovering the city I thought I knew. There were neighborhoods I walk through today, looking so different and yet somehow familiar. A reminder that cities are living things. They change, adapt, and carry their history like scars and souvenirs.
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| Erasmus Huis Library |
But the day wasn’t about quiet libraries. It was about people, energy, and ideas. By noon, I was at the Indonesia Product Conference 2025 at JW Marriott Mega Kuningan. The main ballroom buzzed with the kind of energy only product managers, startup founders, and tech optimists can generate. The halls were packed, badges everywhere, conversations about AI echoing around.
Every year, we’ve been invited to this event. My husband serves on the advisory board, and with that comes the privilege of VIP access and front-row seating. But more than the formal title, I’ve seen how much he enjoys connecting the committee with his network. From recommending topics, speakers, introducing potential sponsors, and making sure the right people meet each other.
After the panel session, the committee directed us straight to the VIP lunch room. That’s where we finally met Jessica Cassey Jaya, Co-Founder and CEO Apiary Academy and EPIQ Events, the mastermind behind this whole event. Jess isn’t a stranger to us, we’ve known her for quite some time, even before this conference came to life. It was such a joy to see how her vision has now materialized into something this big.
What impressed me even more was the fact that Jess is six months pregnant. And yet, she was still moving around so gracefully in heels, carrying things here and there, and making sure everything ran smoothly. Her energy was truly inspiring. We also had the chance to meet her husband, who’s from Singapore, though he had to leave rather quickly.
Still, Jess didn’t just stop at greetings. With her usual warm and bubbly spirit, she introduced us to several other speakers while we shared lunch together. The atmosphere felt less like a formal gathering and more like an intimate reunion, filled with laughter and new connections.
The table chat quickly turned lively. I met Ray Frederick Djajadinata, Technology Partner at Alpha JWC Ventures, who brought a calm, measured perspective to the startup funding conversation. Beside him were Irvan Bastian Arief, VP of Data Science and Machine Learning Engineering at Tiket.com, who immediately clicked with my husband over technical tangents.
And then David Christopher, CPTO at Anteraja & CTO at Autopedia joined us. He cracked jokes with ease, first backstage, then on stage, reminding everyone that humor can live alongside serious tech talk. It’s rare to find a leader who can discuss strategy and failure rates while also making the room laugh.
I also ran into Ellen Nio, Head of Product at SQuantum Engine, someone I had once traveled with to Semarang years ago. We’d been stuck at the airport together for hours back then, laughing our way through the delay. Seeing her again in such a different context was like stumbling upon an old footnote in my personal history.
Also at the table were Alexander, Head of Product at 99 Group and Rudianto Thong, Chief Executive Officer at PT Xtra Pembayaran Aman (and ex-VP of Product at SawitPro), and also Husein Indra Kusuma, AI Solution Architect at Cerebra Asia who kept the flow sharp and engaging later on stage.
And then, seeing Mohamad Ario Adimas, Vice President of Products at Blue Bird Group, was a trip down memory lane. We’ve known him since 2010, back when he was still at Gramedia. Over the years, his career journey has taken him through Microsoft, Telkomsel, Indosat, Loket, Gopay, and now Bluebird. Watching his corporate ladder climb has been like following a parallel storyline to our own paths.
After lunch, we headed back to the main hall, where my husband met Joel Kereh, CEO and Founder of Fazpass, now one of IPC’s sponsors this year. From the very beginning of Fazpass, Joel has been learning closely from Natali. You could say Natali has been Joel’s mentor, and Joel his mentee. Watching that relationship grow into success story feels like one of those quiet legacies of his behind-the-scenes role.
By the time the official sessions wrapped up at 6pm, our social battery was half-drained but not yet empty. Good thing, because the day still had one more chapter: the IPC exclusive networking dinner at 8Souls, the Jazz Club we've been eyeing for but haven't got the chance to visit before this.
We arrived so early, in fact, that people on the club thought we were the hosts. For a brief window, we had a table all to ourselves. Bliss for two introverts masquerading as extroverts. It felt like energy recharging station. Until eventually, the seats filled. Jessica joined us again during dinner and brought us Ed Baker cakes. Yumm!
Later she introduced me to Deassy Rizky Syahputri, Founder and Managing Director of Thrive Indonesia. Dinner conversations tend to start safe. Food, traffic, surface-level updates. But then, if you’re lucky, they deepen. Ours did. We were talking about MBTI types and how they shape leadership styles.
Just when we were about to leave, the conversation only grew warmer. Two more people pulled up chairs and joined us: Fransiska Meigloria from PT Daya Dimensi Indonesia, and the other from Bank Syariah Indonesia. When the crowd thinned and the plates were cleared, only five of us were left at the table. We were talking and sharing as if we had known each other far longer than a single night.
As I finally settled back home that night, I realized how full the day had been. Not just in schedule, but in spirit. IPC was always on our calendar, but what I didn’t anticipate was how rich the in-between moments would feel: the library detour, the serendipitous conversations, the laughter that carried long past dinner.
It reminded me that time can be arranged, yet the echoes that stay with us are born of chance. Maybe that’s why not a single group photo exists; we were too busy living it.
Stay connected,
Nuniek Tirta Sari