CT Starts a Business Without Money, Using Only These Three Capitals

Yogyakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Indonesia’s veteran entrepreneur and founder of CT Corp, Chairul Tanjung, shared business tips during an entrepreneurship education class at the Jogja Financial Festival at the Jogja Expo Center in the Special Region of Yogyakarta on Saturday, 23 May 2026.

Chairul Tanjung, familiarly known as CT, recounted his early days as an entrepreneur, saying he started his business at the age of 18 while still at university.

At that time, he admits starting without a single rupiah in capital. He emphasised that money is not always the initial capital. He identifies three main capitals for starting a business, none of which is money.

“If you read the book ‘Si Anak Singkong’ (The Cassava Child), I started with no capital at all—what was the capital? One determination, two skills, three networking,” CT told the entrepreneurs in attendance.

He noted that with a network, anyone who wants to start a business can seek help from others. But this must be underpinned by drive and capability.

“And most importantly, we must be able to uphold trust. Without that, it will never work,” he asserted.

CT also said that anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur should start from a young age. He argued that youth is the best time to start a business.

“Youth is the best time to start a business, and money is not the only capital; it is not the only capital,” he said.

“Because it’s pointless to have money if you don’t have the will, and you lack a network. We wouldn’t even know where we’d want to sell it,” he added.