If you knew him when he was younger, you wouldn’t bet on Jonathan Sudharta’s success. At that time, he was more into fights and his bass guitar than his studies. But the next chapters of his life seemed scripted with a magic pen.

The original idea for Sudharta’s celebrated start-up product, Halodoc, started to take shape while when he worked as a salesman for his father’s pharmaceutical company. During those years, he witnessed the issues that beset Indonesia’s healthcare system.

Later on, Sudharta got to meet the people who eventually played pivotal roles in Halodoc's formation, like Indonesia’s health minister who green-lighted and supported his venture, and Go-Jek co-founder Nadiem Makarim, who encouraged him to start his company.

While still in its first year, Halodoc already attracted venture-capital heavyweights, among them, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The perfect alignment allowed Sudharta to build one of the best med-tech apps, whose speedy product development and span of features efficiently address Indonesia’s healthcare needs—particularly during the pandemic when the country has been at its most vulnerable.