A little over five years ago, we walked the markets of East Java and Jakarta’s Tanah Abang, listening to warung owners share their struggles. These shops weren’t just businesses - they were the pulse of the neighborhood.

And yet they struggled with a broken supply chain, limited credit that made cash flow a constant juggling act, and uneven access to competitive pricing kept them at a disadvantage.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

We realized that custom-built supply chains enabled by tech for the small store could improve their daily lives without losing their soul. Ula was born from the belief that when small businesses thrive, communities thrive.

Our first order shipped in January 2020. Weeks later, the pandemic struck. Teams across Indonesia, India, and Singapore quickly shifted to remote work. Zoom town halls replaced stand-ups. Virtual “warung tours” trained new hires. Engineers stripped features so the app ran on 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 that 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 measured our milestones with stories of a shop in Surabaya storing a broader assortment, a regional FMCG brand expanding to new geographies, and the improved livelihood of local women entrepreneurs (Ibu).

Behind them stood 1500+ mission-driven Kawulas-engineers, operators, designers, warehouse staff, and field teams-many having joined during the pandemic without 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 faced the call 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 more than we could teach you.

• Terima kasih, Ula team! 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, Alter Global, Quona Capital, Prosus Ventures, Tencent, B Capital, Northstar Group, AC Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, Tiger Global, SMDV, and our angels - thank you for believing in the mission.

• To ex-Kawulas: thank you for your trust and support.

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 us

Terima kasih. Onwards.

- Team Kawulas