After nearly two decades in Asia’s financial markets — spanning private banking, hedge funds, and family offices — Martyn Terpilowski didn’t set out to build a technology company. His move into location intelligence began almost accidentally, driven less by a fascination with data and more by a practical observation about how fragmented information can quietly undermine entire economies.
Today, as founder and CEO of Bhumi Varta Technology (BVT), Martyn leads one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing location intelligence and big data companies, operating across Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan.
In this conversation, he reflects on what drew him out of finance, how he thinks about regional expansion, why financial discipline matters in tech, and what he looks for — and often doesn’t find — in founders navigating Indonesia’s startup ecosystem.
Highlights
- From Finance to Data — Seeing Opportunity in Fragmentation
- Expanding Across Asia — Why There Is No Single Playbook
- Financial Discipline in Tech — Lessons From the Markets
- Scaling SaaS Without Losing Focus — Learning When to Say No
- Angel Investing in Indonesia — Why Experience Matters More Than Hype
- Final Thoughts — Building Sustainable Growth Through Discipline and Trust
From Finance to Data — Seeing Opportunity in Fragmentation
Q: From hedge funds and family offices to co-founding Bhumi Varta Technology, what led you to take the leap into location intelligence and big data — and what problem were you most compelled to solve?
A: I actually left the finance world because I decided to take some time off. At that point, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do next. Later, I set up my own investment company in Singapore with the plan to invest in several businesses.
That’s when I came across an opportunity in location intelligence. The original idea actually came from another party, and at first, I was planning to be a co-investor rather than an operator. At the time, I didn’t have extensive knowledge about location intelligence at all.
But after spending time looking at Indonesia and speaking with people on the ground, I realised something very clear. The country has an enormous amount of data, but it’s extremely disorganised. On top of that, Indonesia faces major logistical challenges because it’s made up of thousands of islands spread across a huge geographic area.
People always talk about “location, location, location” when buying property. I started thinking — if we can help businesses make better location decisions, that single capability can address a wide range of challenges. Not just for companies, but also for government and, ultimately, for society as a whole.
Expanding Across Asia — Why There Is No Single Playbook
Q: BVT has scaled across Indonesia, Vietnam, and now Japan. What’s been your playbook for regional expansion — and how do you adapt leadership across such distinct markets?
A: It’s extremely complicated. Building a business in Indonesia has been very difficult and stressful, and finding the right people isn’t easy. Naturally, expanding into other countries comes with a different set of challenges.
I’ve been fortunate in Vietnam to find a very strong person to run the business there. Japan is different again. I spent twelve years living there and worked with Japanese companies for nearly eighteen years, so I already had deep relationships and networks that helped me identify the right people.
I don’t believe there is a single playbook. Each country is fundamentally different. Cost structures vary, and the types of companies you work with also change.
Vietnam shares similarities with Indonesia — a growing population, a large working-age demographic, and rapidly increasing technological adoption. Japan, on the other hand, is a much more established market. Costs are higher, but ticket sizes are also larger, which means you can sell at a higher value and build a different kind of business.
I’m learning constantly on the job. I was never a technology leader in the past, so much of this has come through experience. What I’ve learned most clearly is that every country is different, but the single most important factor is trust. In Indonesia, I initially worked with people I thought I could trust and later realised I couldn’t. Over time, I found the right people — and that makes all the difference.
Financial Discipline in Tech — Lessons From the Markets
Q: You’ve gone from financial product structuring to building data products that power decision-making across sectors. What lessons from your finance background have shaped how you lead in tech?
A: Some people already know my outspoken views on the venture capital world. Even without a background in tech, I had a strong grasp of numbers and a clear sense of what would work and what wouldn’t.
I’ve always been conservative when it comes to growing the company. I chose not to take venture capital funding, and we deliberately avoided the constant hiring and firing cycles and the so-called “tech winter” experiences that many companies went through.
Spending many years in financial markets gave me a solid understanding of balance sheets, what is realistically achievable, and how far a company can grow sustainably. Long-term financial experience provides a very strong foundation when running a business.
I’m not a product person. I have professionals who build the product. My role is to look at the accounts and assess whether something makes sense — whether we can sell a product at a certain price, whether margins work, and whether growth is actually profitable.
I’ve seen many companies make simple financial mistakes over the years, and in most cases, it didn’t end well. That perspective, shaped by more than twenty years across different businesses, heavily influences how I make decisions today.
Scaling SaaS Without Losing Focus — Learning When to Say No
Q: BVT serves clients from FMCG to government. How do you balance building a scalable SaaS model while still addressing sector-specific needs?
A: When we started, the biggest mistake we made was trying to do everything for everyone. Whenever a company came to us asking for something new, we tried to accommodate it.
Over time, that became very messy. We eventually realised we needed to focus on building a product that solves the needs of most companies and clearly identify which sectors benefit most from what we do.
We still work on enterprise software projects with larger ticket sizes, which naturally involve some customisation. But after working with around one hundred clients, we now have a much clearer understanding of what’s required in sectors like food and beverage, FMCG, and more recently, renewables and data centres.
We’ve moved toward a modular approach. We build core functionality that applies to everyone, then add industry-specific modules where needed. That allows us to scale while still addressing real sector-level requirements, rather than rebuilding everything from scratch each time.
Angel Investing in Indonesia — Why Experience Matters More Than Hype
Q: You’ve also backed Jakarta startups as an angel investor. What do you look for in founders — especially in markets like Indonesia, where scale and complexity can be hard to navigate?
A: In many ways, the startup ecosystem here feels like a boys’ network. People invest in friends, raise money quickly, and don’t always think long-term.
I prefer to work with operators — people who have actually built or run something. Being connected to the right family or social circle doesn’t make someone the best person for the job.
One of the biggest problems I see is companies scaling far too early, before they’ve found product-market fit. You hear about startups raising large VC rounds without even having a finished product. Given the scale and complexity of Indonesia, that approach often ends badly.
Without the right team in place and without regular oversight, investing becomes a minefield. Many founders lack deep operating experience. Oversight is critical — and that, in my view, is the core challenge.
Final Thoughts — Building Sustainable Growth Through Discipline and Trust
Across finance, technology, and regional expansion, Martyn’s perspective is shaped by a consistent belief: sustainable growth comes from discipline, not hype.
Whether it’s choosing not to pursue venture capital, resisting premature scaling, or narrowing focus after hard-earned lessons, his approach reflects a long-term mindset grounded in financial reality and operational trust. In markets as complex as Indonesia and as distinct as Vietnam and Japan, there are no shortcuts — only informed decisions, strong teams, and systems that can withstand pressure.
As data becomes increasingly central to how businesses and governments make decisions, location intelligence will play a growing role in shaping outcomes far beyond the balance sheet. Martyn remains focused on building tools that are practical, scalable, and grounded in real-world use — proving that durable businesses are often built not by chasing trends, but by solving foundational problems well.
Highlights
- From Finance to Data — Seeing Opportunity in Fragmentation
- Expanding Across Asia — Why There Is No Single Playbook
- Financial Discipline in Tech — Lessons From the Markets
- Scaling SaaS Without Losing Focus — Learning When to Say No
- Angel Investing in Indonesia — Why Experience Matters More Than Hype
- Final Thoughts — Building Sustainable Growth Through Discipline and Trust
Read the Chinese article here.
