To read about the idea behind Villa Finder, click here.
This is part II of our series highlighting the very beginnings and subsequent evolution of Villa Finder. Follow us as we go behind the scenes and discover how this Singaporean startup grew from three young lads covering one destination to over 30 employees and 3000 villas in Asia Pacific.
Having validated that his idea for a villa rental website was indeed attainable, and with his sights set firmly on getting his company off the ground, David Chambat focused on recruiting young and ambitious talent. He immediately turned to Daniel Rouquette and Adrien Eudes, two brilliant recent graduates with extensive experience in their respective fields. As the trio came together in Singapore, so did the plans for Villa-Bali.com – as founder, David would oversee the day to day activities and interact with clients, while Daniel would be in charge of marketing and spreading the word about Villa-Bali.com. Adrien, as the website creator and curator, would develop technologically advanced platforms to ensure the optimization of the customer experience.
With the organizational logistics out of the way, the group narrowed their focus on funding their project. A very famous economics saying warns that ideas rule, but cash is king, and the founders took this to heart – they now had to identify a way of capitalizing on their idea and turning it into a successful business model. One of the biggest problems that most startups face is a lack of capital and, with 90% of these businesses failing within their first year, the founders knew they had to address this issue as quickly as possible. For a new startup, this can be the stumbling block that keeps it in the initial phase of development. For David, Daniel and Adrien, though, this small fact was not to deter them from the huge potential they saw in the creation of Villa-Bali.com; in fact, it was to give them just the kind of bootstrapping motivation they needed to self-start the company.
Luckily for the future of Villa-Bali.com, David decided to redirect the funds he’d set aside for the construction of his family villa into his newly founded business. Assuming they didn’t make a profit immediately, this capital would give the trio a twelve month period to cover the functional costs of a small team operating out of a subletted mezzanine. “[But] in no way were we planning to have zero revenue.” David explains, “It’s not like when you’re building YouTube, or a social media platform, or a factory, something more complex where maybe you’re not getting any revenue before year one or two. When you’re building a company like ours, 
which is based on a prepaid model where customers pay before they actually check in, your first customer equals your first capital.” The trio now had two powerful weapons in their arsenal – a clever project that filled a gap in the market and catered to consumer demand, and the capital needed to fund it.
Eager to move their workspace out of their friend’s Singaporean mezzanine, the team found a Chinatown loft that was both welcoming to customers and comfortably human-sized, adding a touch of authenticity to the whole company. They moved into their new office, bringing with them their first official employee, Maria Saputri. A Jakartan native with a background in sales for EVA Airways, Maria brought a high level of travel industry expertise and a crucial knowledge of Indonesia to the table. An invaluable employee, she worked on growing Villa-Bali.com’s portfolio, establishing lasting relationships with clients, and recruiting an enthusiastic team of Travel Consultants. Now with a more complete sales department, Villa-Bali.com could provide strong customer service that would truly distinguish the company from its competitors.
Looking back, David can only focus on the positive aspects of bootstrapping, saying that “it forces you to focus on nothing else but the business because you have no choice. When you have investors, you have to focus on them as well. You have to focus on the storytelling, the reports, and following other things that might not be the best for the company. [But when you’re bootstrapped] that’s your money and the only way you get it back is to get clients to buy into your business.” Additionally, he underlines the value of self-taught financial discipline when bootstrapping your own company. “When working with other people’s money, there will always be a tendency to spend in a different manner because the risk is not yours, which inherently gives you a lot less flexibility.” Operating a bootstrapped company gave the founders the professional freedom to investigate the possibilities behind each and every one of their ideas, granting them an independent business model that is often credited as the reason behind Villa-Bali.com’s continued success.
Three years later, David remains truly humble about his accomplishments, stating that he attributes his success to following the KISS rule we were all taught in school, “I keep it simple and stupid. It’s not about owning your own company, it’s about being able to run that same company in an efficient way, and that’s the true measure of success.” The wonderful truth is that David’s gamble has paid off and today Villa-Bali.com is thriving – with a successful business model and growing profits, Villa-Bali.com beat the odds that see so many businesses failing within one year of their inception. Three years later, Villa-Bali.com’s growth shows no signs of slowing down, instead, with 5 total destinations in 3 countries and a portfolio of over a thousand villas, the growth has been exponential, all while never infringing on the company’s three business values – individually inspected and selected villas, a best price guarantee, and stellar customer service.
Having funded their project and gotten their company off the ground, how did the team grow from marketing one destination to five? Find out in Part III of our series: The Expansion of Villa-Bali.com.
This article was written by Cezanne Rothberg and Serena Lignel
Part III: The Expansion of Villa Finder
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