By Irwan Wyllie, Managing Director, Venture Capital Partners
The Why
The brutal truth: Subud is struggling to pay its way in the world, let alone have a major impact
through its activities. More than ever, we see the implications of our inability to apply Bapak’s advice
around enterprises.
However, we are where we are and perhaps over the last thirty years (since the major projects
collapsed), we have individually and collectively developed to a point where we can again give more
focus on creating successful enterprises.
Nearly every one of Bapak’s talks makes reference to the importance of enterprise, either in the
personal sense of following one’s talent and guidance, or in the broader sense of applying that talent
to generate income for the Subud organisation and its activities in the world.
So, enterprise is personal: “And that is the reality, that is the pleasure of doing enterprises. That is, of
being able to pluck the fruit of your own nature, of your own ability, of your own talent which you
have been given by Almighty God.” [82 CDK 10] “Bapak’s advice to you to do enterprise is so that you
can really get to know your own being as you are doing your work every day. This is necessary.” [81
SAO 2]
It’s also about the organisation and serving society: “Doing enterprise, therefore, will in no way be an
obstacle for you in your worship of Almighty God in the latihan Kejiwaan. On the contrary, it is
through enterprise that you will become aware of your responsibilities, your duties in life: your duty
to worship God and your duty to serve society and human life.” [81 SAO 1] “
To bring this latihan to mankind in general a lot needs to be done. And what needs to be done requires money. It requires
funds and the ability to bring about and to do things that must be done. But this cannot be accomplished unless you are able to carry out Bapak’s advice in relation to enterprises.” [81 LAX 3]
There are multiple references to enterprise in Bapak’s talks. One of the best ways to come to grips
with the significance Bapak attached to enterprise is to read the book “Human Enterprise” compiled
by Rahman Connely and Bradford Temple in 1995 and now available as a free pdf.
The importance Bapak placed on enterprises is the why of our VCP endeavour. We want to
encourage and support Subud enterprises, support the entrepreneurs, and support the Subud
organisation. As Bapak recommended, VCP will contribute 20% of our net profits to Subud.
The How
Bapak was very definite that business should be done in “the way that business is done” [84 CDK 7]
and not intentionally mixed with the kejiwaan. So, the best way we can help Subud enterprise and all
the benefits that flow from that is by:
as a first step, pooling any available financial resources from “sophisticated investors” within
Subud,
providing a professional venture capital service to assesses entrepreneurs and business
ideas,
providing funding in exchange for equity for at least three-to-five-year period, and
making available the collective business experience of the four VCP founders, Rahman
Connelly, Irwan Wyllie, Hamid da Silva, and Arif Matthee, plus that of the many experts we
are identifying within Subud.
Our approach will follow the norms of venture capital investment in most regards, but we give extra
emphasis to working closely with entrepreneurs to manifest their idea and build their business.
Business success is not only about funding. Our due diligence process is thorough and can take
months, but this allows us to establish a very good understanding of the business and to work closely
with the entrepreneur to agree a strategy that will realise the goals of both the entrepreneur and
investors.
Venture capital investment can be brutal. It’s a high risk, high return game and not all investors or
businesses are suitable for this type of investment. It’s mainly aimed at businesses that have the
potential to scale up and disrupt national or international markets.
As a new enterprise ourselves, it is our responsibility to find the right balance between those hard
decisions required to create a successful business and make a profit for investors, as well as to
support the entrepreneurs to achieve their goals. Of course, if we strike that right balance, then
both entrepreneur and investor will be satisfied. Maximising profits should not be the only
consideration. As Bapak has said, in Subud “we are aware of a boundary beyond which we are not
allowed to go. And this is the effect of the latihan kejiwaan.” [81 NYC 5]
We will be at World Congress to explain what we do – both at the Swiss Bell Hotel and at Rungan Sari
during the SESI aspects of the Wings program. Check the final Congress Program to find the details
of our events. We would love to hear from you if you think we might be able to help, or if you would
like to know more about what we do. Please come and have a chat with us, or contact Irwan at
irwan.wyllie@venturecapitalpartners.com.au.
This article first appeared in www.subudworldnews.com