Say hello

Sections

  1. 01Hello
  2. 02Advice
  3. 03Tried
  4. 04The night
  5. 05Today
  6. 06Thank you
  7. 07Templates
  8. 08Résumé
  9. 09Your 1%

Cristo Chandra

Hi, I'm Cristo.

I help doors open in Indonesia.

My motto

Being 1% of others' success is the definition of my success.

Chapter one. Franchise consultant, 2019 to 2021.

The advisor’s seat.

There is a quiet thrill in helping a founder see their business clearly. At Astreem I built valuation models and expansion plans for franchise founders in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, and I enjoyed every part of it: untangling the numbers, finding the story inside them, watching a founder's plan come into focus. Yet the more advice I gave, the louder one question grew.

The question

I could tell a business owner what to do. Could I do it myself?

So I went to find out.

Chapter two.

Everyone gets a quota of failures.

I spent mine early, and gladly.

Each one taught me what no consulting brief could: how it feels to put your own name, time and money on the line. I would not trade a single one.

  1. Football phone cases

    Built it with a team. It ran for 14 months.

  2. Rungokei crispy mushrooms

    A snack brand from scratch. The recipe was the easy part.

  3. An NFT project

    Rode the metaverse wave, right up to where it broke.

  4. CFA Level 1

    Self-funded, aiming for investment banking. The 36% pass rate won that round.

  5. A scholarship to study in China

    I earned it. The borders stayed closed.

  6. The next one.

    Still trying.

The night

Meanwhile, I kept learning business from inside the fintech industry.

By 2022 I was at Xendit, surrounded by some of the sharpest minds I had ever worked with. I was content.

Then a moment arrived: the chance to set up a new company and build a new line of business for the family.

My father had decided to retire. The question I had carried for years came back: could I do it myself?

That night I was not sure. I prayed, and a short video appeared on my screen.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13

God does not always choose the able. He chooses the willing.

The able lean on their own strength. The willing, not yet able, lean on His.

So I said yes.

Chapter four. 2022 to now.

Alone. Then one. Then two.

I began with a desk, a phone and a catalogue. Then came the first hire, and the second. Along the way some people I trusted walked away, and some of my own calls proved wrong. Each lesson cost something. Together, they taught me how to lead.

PT Gemilang Citra Eka Anugrah, Jakarta

Today we are a key distributor for Allegion, the global security group behind Schlage, CISA, LCN, Von Duprin, Briton, Ives and SimonsVoss, supplying door hardware to projects across Indonesia.

The business, as a burger.

  1. Bread

    Residential hardware

    The everyday essentials that hold every home together: lever handles, locks, hinges, door stops and digital locks.

  2. Cheese

    Our B2B partners

    Door manufacturers, glass and aluminium applicators, contractors, and design and build studios who fit our floor hinges, door closers and automatic door hardware into their own clients’ projects.

  3. Meat

    Project ironmongery

    Complete door hardware schedules for offices, hotels, apartments, hospitals, data centres and retail, from specification through delivery and after-sales.

Some doors we helped open

Hotels and resorts

  • St. Regis
  • TA'AKTANA, a Luxury Collection Resort, Labuan Bajo
  • Portra Hotel, Yogyakarta
  • Loman Park Hotel, Yogyakarta

Offices

  • Menara Rajawali
  • Deutsche Bank Building
  • Gedung Graha Surveyor Indonesia
  • Noble House, Kuningan

Health, faith and industry

  • RS MMC Kuningan
  • Gereja Kemah Tabernakel, PIK 2
  • Vihara Ekayana Arama
  • AHM Industry, Karawang

Retail and dining

  • Mal Kelapa Gading
  • Podomoro City Deli, Medan
  • Galleria and Istana Buah, Semarang
  • Master Fried Chicken
  • Rusty Rabbit

Chapter five. How I keep score.

Why I do this.

Now and then, a message arrives that reminds me.

Thank you ya To, karena ngobrol sama lu gw jadi berani akhirnya ganti laptop.

Thanks, To. After talking with you, I finally dared to upgrade my laptop.

Thank you ya To udah kenalin gw kemarin, gw jadi bisa supply ke developer target gw.

Thanks for the intro, To. Now I supply the developers I had been chasing.

Thank you ya Cristo, kalo ngga ada lu mungkin hari ini kita belum menikah di pelaminan ini.

Thank you, Cristo. Without you, we might not be standing at this wedding today.

I keep these messages the way some people keep trophies.Being 1% of their success is how I define mine, and it always will be.

Templates

Small tools, ready to use.

Each one began as something I needed for the people around me. This shelf will keep growing.

Off the clock.

I write songs.

If every job paid the same, I would be a songwriter. I'm better at listening than talking. Songs are where I say the rest. The one that matters most is “You put colors to my life”. I wrote it for my wife, and it became our wedding song.

Résumé

The full record.

The same story, the way a CV tells it: every role, what I did there, and what I studied.

  1. General Manager

    PT Gemilang Citra Eka Anugerah, full-time

    Jan 2023 to now · Jakarta, Indonesia

    • Leads a door hardware business supplying architectural hardware and ironmongery to projects across Indonesia.
    • Key distributor for Allegion: Schlage, CISA, LCN, Von Duprin, Briton, Ives and SimonsVoss.

  2. Financial Operations Specialist

    Xendit, full-time

    Feb 2022 to Dec 2022 · Indonesia

    • Ran daily transaction processing, periodic reconciliations and shift operations.
    • Wrote a weekly report turning money-flow data into insight for the team.
    • Handled cross-border and FX remittance operations.
    • Monitored customer funds across regions, currencies and bank accounts, keeping every balance in the right place with enough liquidity.

  3. Associate Consultant

    Astreem Consulting Pte Ltd, full-time

    Nov 2019 to Jan 2021 · Jakarta Metropolitan Area

    • Created a financial modelling simulation to find the franchise valuation strategy best suited to each client's goals.
    • Led the rollout of a guided online consulting method for clients in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, using Tree AMS integrated franchise management software.
    • Helped an F&B store manager document operating procedures to an international SOP standard.

  4. Customer Insights Intern

    Pegipegi, internship

    Aug 2019 to Oct 2019 · Jakarta

    • Built a monthly report tracking customer satisfaction through Net Promoter Score.
    • Supported the UI/UX researcher with interviews, customer journeys and usability testing for a new bus product line in the app.
    • Proposed optimal text sizes for offline marketing using the Snellen acuity index, for more ergonomic visuals.
    • Planned and ran focus groups on how customers saw the brand against its competitors.

  5. Product Research Intern

    PT Didi Teknologi Indonesia

    Sep 2018 to Oct 2018 · Bandung, West Java

    • Found and standardised inconsistent retail product names in the database using pgAdmin and PostgreSQL.

  6. Production Planning and Inventory Control Intern

    PT Pharos Indonesia

    Jun 2018 to Jul 2018 · Greater Jakarta

    • Helped the PPIC team control the availability of raw materials and finished goods in storage.
    • Ran a Monte Carlo simulation to propose periodic ordering instead of quantity ordering, reducing stock-outs.

Education

Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (UNPAR)

Bachelor of Engineering, Industrial Engineering

2015 to 2019

Honours and awards

  • Most Favorite Product, Chemical Product Design Competition 2019
  • Finalist, TIOS Green Supply Chain Competition 2018
  • 1st Runner Up (High School Level), SIMBIZ 2015

Certifications and courses

  • SMIT Mini MBA Program, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS)
  • CFA Level 1 Course, Binus University
  • Fundamentals of Quantitative Modeling, Wharton Online
  • Private Equity and Venture Capital
  • Certified Blockchain Expert, Blockchain Council
  • Introduction to Supply Chain Finance and Blockchain Technology, Coursera
  • Building No-Code Apps with AppSheet, Google Cloud
  • Behavioral Economics and Neuromarketing, Udemy
  • Solar Energy Systems Overview

Publications

  • Reusable Packaging Concept for Logistics with Bamboo Material
  • Development of Edible Cutlery Focused on Local Ingredients to Substitute Plastic-Based Cutlery
  • Usulan kebijakan pengganti kantong plastik pada pasar swalayan berdasarkan preferensi konsumen dengan metode Choice-Based Conjoint
  • Utilizing Biobutanol as a Fuel Additive
  • Support Tool Design for the Chamfering Process in Hinge Production

Let me be your 1%.

If any part of this story sounds like yours, here is where I can help.

  • A P&L projection for your franchise or expansion plan.
  • The right door hardware for your project, from a single home to a whole building.

Success is not how far you climb alone.It is how many people you help along the way.Be someone's 1% today.It may be the greatest investment you ever make.