Ice Breakers

Ice Breakers with Ilya Kravtsov

August 16, 2023

Ilya Kravtsov is a serial fintech entrepreneur and the co-founder of Ringkas, a digital mortgage platform for Indonesia.

For context, the mortgage penetration to GDP ratio in Indonesia is below 3%, with 14M houses in the backlog. Ringkas is solving this problem by helping Indonesians get access to home financing.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

Help Indonesians get access to home financing.

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I was one of the first foreign tech entrepreneurs to do a startup in Indonesia back in 2012. Now, I am on my third startup.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Seeing a 10,000-person crowd all using my technology at once.

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

Quantum computing, I believe this space will be the next big trend after AI.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry? 

Be focused on the problem you want to solve.

🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours? 

Tech, of course.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show? 

I like Interstellar, Closer, Cinema Paradiso, About Time, and The Legend of 900.

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Vanilla, there are fewer calories.

FYI. We've edited this interview for clarity.

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