Business of A Youthful One

Ahmad Fauzan Tirmidzi never imagined that his hobby of creating content and selling small products back in high school would lead him to become the young entrepreneur he is today. A Management student at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), he is now known as the founder of Kubik Society, a local fashion brand with a streetwear vibe closely tied to youth identity.

Known as Ojan, he originally grew up as a badminton athlete. From elementary through high school, most of his time was spent on the court, even collecting various trophies along the way. But the COVID-19 pandemic changed his path.

When sports activities were put on hold and his allowance from his parents was cut off, Ojan sought another path to independence through Kubik Society. Starting as a reseller with only IDR 900 thousand in capital, Kubik Society now records a monthly turnover of around IDR 10 million and has penetrated international markets.

At first, Ojan started as a reseller on e-commerce platforms like Shopee. Gradually, the profits he saved became the seed capital for founding Kubik Society in 2021.

Ojan’s workspace, often used for screen-printing clothes and packing orders. Personal documentation.

“It started out as just trying things out. But after seeing the results, I thought, why not create my own products?” recalled Ojan from his boarding house in Laweyan, Surakarta, which also doubles as his workspace, in late September.

The name Kubik Society carries meaning. Kubik refers to the mathematical concept of cubed numbers, symbolizing exponential growth, while Society represents the community and wider public as the target market.

“That philosophy reflects my vision: to build a brand that doesn’t just sell fashion items, but also creates a space of identity for young people,” said the Madiun-born youth.

Kubik Society’s first products came from Ojan’s creativity and his knack for following youth fashion trends. He began producing t-shirts, pants, bags, and flannel shirts, items that remain the brand’s hallmark to this day. TikTok has made Kubik’s products start to gain recognition. 

Some of Ojan’s content even landed on the TikTok FYP (For You Page, the platform’s personalized video recommendation feed), attracting buyers from cities across Indonesia. Even so, Ojan admits the early journey wasn’t smooth. For a time, he ran his business in secret, not even his parents’ knowing this.

Coming from a family with no business background, his decision was seen as reckless. His father is a civil servant and his mother a homemaker, who raised him with discipline and hopes that he would one day become a soldier.

“For the first year, my parents didn’t support me at all. Only later did they start to believe in me and give their blessing to build Kubik Society,” Ojan recalled.

Kubik Society’s success didn’t come without trials. Ojan once suffered major losses after being deceived by one of his own colleagues. 

The dispute centered on a PayLater scheme, a digital payment facility that allows people to buy goods or services immediately and pay later, often in installments or within a set time frame.

“At that time I was really overwhelmed, because it ended with a debt of up to Rp35 million. But eventually I managed to pay it off in installments from my business proceeds, with help from my brother-in-law,” he said.

In addition, managing human resources has also been its own challenge. Several times Ojan had to replace employees due to trust issues. 

Kubik Society now has three permanent staff members handling screen printing, affiliate management, and graphic design. For design work, he openly shared that he even recruited a professional. “When it came to employees, I used to feel too awkward to reprimand them. Now I’ve learned to be more assertive. Alhamdulillah, no problems so far, and hopefully none in the future,” Ojan said.

Although he once felt overwhelmed, Ojan has managed to keep Kubik Society running. The fifth-semester student even confidently presented the latest sales report as of August 2025, showing total revenue of IDR 92 million. The sales peak consistently occurs during Ramadan, reaching IDR 24 million.

Kubik Society has also begun breaking into international markets. Through Shopee’s export program, his products have reached customers in Malaysia, Thailand, and even Japan. “Once, a Japanese customer placed an order though the shipping cost was more expensive than the product itself. That was a proud moment for me,” he said.

In addition to relying on online marketplaces, Ojan is also actively leveraging social media. TikTok, with 17,000 followers, has become his main marketing channel, followed by Instagram, which continues to grow despite once losing an account with 12,000 followers due to technical issues with two-factor authentication.

Ojan at his pop-up store at Swanirwana Coffee, Madiun, 26 July 2025. Personal documentation.

Ojan’s core marketing strategies include paid advertising, collaborations with other brands, and hosting events in cafés that are popular hangout spots for young people. One of his successful collaborations was with Swanirwana Coffee & Grilled Chicken in Madiun, where he ran a three-day pop-up store and generated IDR 3 million in sales.

“The target market there is Gen-Z, so the products sold quickly,” Ojan explained. Moving forward, he hopes Kubik Society will become a widely recognized fashion brand and eventually create job opportunities for people around him.

Ojan’s courage in building his business has earned him several awards. Most recently, he secured funding through the Student Entrepreneurship Development Program (P2MW) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, receiving IDR 20 million in support.

The funding was used by Ojan and his team to develop an innovative product, T-shirts made from aloe vera fibers, which have antibacterial and anti-odor properties. The product has even undergone laboratory testing.

“I personally tried wearing it for three days straight, and it didn’t smell. This gave Kubik Society an edge over other brands during the competition,” he said.

Ojan also made his mark at the Indonesian Student Entrepreneurship (KMI) 2024 event, winning 3rd place for Best Booth in Kendari. More recently, he participated in the Dahlan Muda Expo at Ahmad Dahlan University Yogyakarta, where he took 3rd place for product innovation and earned 1st runner-up for Most Unique Booth.

In recognition of these achievements, UMS awarded him the title of Outstanding Student in Entrepreneurship with the highest business turnover in 2024.

Beyond competitions, Ojan is frequently invited as a speaker at various campus events, including at the Politeknik Elektronika Surabaya, and Universitas Brawijaya. He shared his journey of building a business from scratch, inspiring other students to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

For him, the biggest challenge young people face in business is not capital, but time management and consistency. Many of his peers failed not due to lack of funds, but because they were tied by laziness.

Ojan channeled his concerns and experiences into writing. He is currently preparing a book titled “9 Langkah Sukses Bisnis di Usia Muda”, co-authored with his lecturer, Candra Kusuma Wardana, S.E., M.B.A. “Once laziness takes over, every idea comes to a halt. But business requires consistency. I want this book to serve as a guide for other students who are eager to start their own ventures,” he concluded.

Writer: Genis Dwi Gustati

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid

Editor: Al Habiib Josy Asheva

Designer: Salsabila Kamila Wardah