What HeyHi's Indonesia Expansion Teaches About Trust
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
HeyHi, a Singapore-based EdTech platform, is now working with Tunas Muda and Binus — two of the most recognized names in Indonesian education. Neither relationship was the result of a single sales push. Both trace back to introductions Curt & Co made years earlier, ones that quietly compounded into something far bigger than the original deal.
That's the real answer to how an EdTech platform builds trust with schools in a new Southeast Asian market: not through a marketing campaign, but through relationships that are handed off, nurtured, and allowed to grow over time. HeyHi engaged Curt & Co specifically for deep, on-the-ground expertise in Indonesia's education sector — a market where decision-makers move slowly, referrals carry more weight than pitch decks, and outsiders rarely get a second meeting if the first one feels transactional.
Why School Outreach Had to Happen in Person, Not Online
Curt & Co didn't lead with a digital campaign. The team ran webinars for teachers and administrators, held face-to-face workshops, and set up personal meetings with school decision-makers directly. In a sector where trust is built through proximity — being in the room, understanding a principal's constraints, showing up more than once — this on-the-ground presence was the mechanism that made HeyHi a known, credible name rather than another foreign platform cold-emailing schools.
Why Market Intelligence Was Treated as Its Own Workstream
Alongside outreach, Curt & Co ran a distinct market intelligence function: cultural context, local nuance, and strategic guidance on how the Indonesian education landscape actually operates — not how it looks from the outside. This wasn't a byproduct of the outreach work. It was structured as its own service line, because understanding why a school says yes (or stalls) in Jakarta requires context that generic market research doesn't capture.
From Introductions to an Ongoing Presence
The outcome wasn't a single signed contract — it was a foothold that kept growing. Curt & Co's initial introductions have since developed into HeyHi's ongoing work with Tunas Muda and Binus, and a deeper footprint across Indonesia's education sector overall. As HeyHi's Glenn Low put it, Curt & Co's Indonesian team demonstrated strong relationships with schools, an extensive local network, and a genuine grasp of local culture and market nuance — the combination that helped HeyHi navigate the landscape effectively rather than guess at it.
In education markets, the first deal is rarely the point — it's the credibility that makes the next five conversations possible.
If you're an EdTech company (or any relationship-driven business) weighing entry into Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, or Singapore, and you want partnerships that compound rather than plateau, we'd be glad to talk.
About Us
Curt & Co Pte Ltd is a consulting company started amongst a group of business owners who were looking for a consulting company themselves for advice !
Our offices and our focus markets are in Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. With clients ranging from 1 man operating SMEs to listed companies, we are proud to have helped our clients across different industries gain market entry into the South East Asian region.
Contact us at marcus@curtconsult.com if you want to talk!
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