Our story
In 2019, our founders walked the markets of East Java, listening to warung owners share their struggles. These shops weren't just businesses but the pulse of the neighbourhood. Yet they struggled with a broken supply chain, limited credit support, and uneven access to competitive pricing.
We realised that supply chains enabled by custom-built technology could improve the lives of small store owners. Ula was born from the belief that when small businesses thrive, communities thrive.
We shipped our first order in January 2020. Weeks later, the pandemic struck. Teams across Indonesia, India, and Singapore shifted to remote work. Zoom town halls replaced stand-ups. Virtual 'warung tours' trained new hires.
Ula's engineers made the app compatible with basic smartphones and choppy mobile networks. Our ops team found ways to get rice, oil, and other essentials to shopkeepers despite roadblocks. Field teams taught shopkeepers to order, apply for credit, and restock, often via video calls.
From the first shipment, we grew to serve 100,000+ warungs across East, West & Central Java. At peak, we hit a $300M sales run rate, processed 500,000 orders per month, and served nearly 86,000 customers in our highest month through our inventory-led model and delivery fleet.
We marked our milestones with stories — a shop in Surabaya serving a broader assortment, a regional FMCG brand expanding to new geographies, local women entrepreneurs earning better livelihoods through social commerce, amongst others.
Behind them stood 1000+ mission-driven Kawulas — engineers, operators, designers, warehouse staff, and field teams. Many of them joined during the pandemic without ever meeting a warung owner in person.
By late 2022, market realities had shifted. We explored pivots, ran experiments, and pushed creativity, but the road to long-term profitability stayed steep. By late 2023, after multiple pivots and experiments, we made the decision no founder ever wants to make — closing Ula's core operations despite a very large sum of cash still available.
This journey wouldn't be complete without enormous gratitude:
- Terima kasih, warung partners! Thank you for trusting us, embracing our tech, and teaching us to stay grounded.
- Thank you Kawulas, you are Ula's greatest legacy. From midnight support calls to kopi-fueled brainstorms, you lived our values daily.
- To our investors and partners - your unwavering belief kept us going. Lightspeed India Partners, Peak XV Partners, Bezos Expeditions, Tiger Global, Prosus Ventures, Tencent, Quona Capital, AC Ventures, B Capital, Northstar Group, Alter Global, Citius Global, Saison Capital, SMDV, and Angels - thank you for believing in the mission.
If Ula's story leaves one thing behind, it's proof that even in tough markets, a small, relentless team can shift the odds for those they serve.
Ula's story may be ending, but its mission will outlive it.
Terima kasih. Thank you.
Team Kawulas