Gen Z-owned Digital Agency Break into Global Markets

The digital creative industry continues to grow alongside the massive penetration of mobile devices among the wider public. This industry includes web development, digital applications, as well as user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design.

Odama founder Happy Tri Miliarta, saw the UI/UX market as a highly promising sector. “The demand is quite high,” Happy said in mid-January.

A graduate of Informatics Engineering at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) identified this opportunity while working as a freelancer throughout 2020–2021. During that period, he actively showcased his work on the Dribbble. From there, he began receiving freelance projects, most of which came from overseas clients.

This habit of sharing his portfolio became Happy’s main strategy for attracting clients. One of his first clients was Metaco GG, an e-sports community and online gaming tournament platform.

Over time, the number of clients grew. Happy often handled four to six client projects in a single day, which led him to spend most of his time in his boarding room completing the work.

One day, Rohmad Khoirudin, Happy’s junior who would later become the Co-Founder of Odama, expressed interest in one of the projects Happy was working on. Ever since, Happy began inviting Rohmad and three others to learn design together.

“As an individual, I couldn’t possibly supply all the incoming demand by myself. Eventually, I invited my college friends at UMS,” recalled the man born in Rembang, Central Java.

The origins of Odama Studio trace back to a rented house in a residential area on Palem Raya Street, Colomadu, Karanganyar, Central Java. Over time, as they got even busier due to growing clients, Odama Studio required additional staff. The team then relocated its office to the Gentan area, Sukoharjo, Central Java.

Happy explained that Odama comes from Japanese, meaning “a big ball.” The name reflects the hope of continuously producing well-rounded and high-quality work.

Odama Studio offers a range of digital creative services, including branding, animation, illustration, UI/UX research and design for digital applications, website flow development, and three-dimensional design.

As quoted from Odama Studio’s page on the Behance platform, Odama provides two service schemes for prospective clients. The first scheme is a landing page design service priced at 1,500 US dollars.

The second scheme is a monthly subscription. Under this model, clients can use Odama Studio’s services for six working hours per day across five working days. This package is priced at 4,999 US dollars.

A number of international clients have partnered with Odama Studio. Happy said that some of these clients come from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. As a result, Odama Studio now brings in around Rp3.5 billion in revenue each year.

Odama Studio founder Happy Tri Miliarta believed design or any skill is better shared. That’s why he brings fellow students on board, learning design together while taking on freelance projects.

When Odama Studio was officially established, Happy once again recruited his college friends. As a result, all Odama Studio employees belong to Generation Z.

“We’re not rigid at the office. There are times to joke around too. That’s what makes it fun,” he said.

Recruiting his own friends turned out to be a challenge for Happy, especially when it came to salary matters. He admitted that he once felt awkward about paying his friends.

Odama Studio’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Rendra Rizki Kurniawan, experienced something similar. When he was promoted to COO, the UMS Informatics Engineering graduate was tasked with improving the company’s fundamentals.

They then began recruiting members for human resources and finance as they are managing finances and staffing in a more professional manner.

On the other hand, another issue that needed improvement was the working hours. The time difference between Indonesia and clients’ countries often forced the Odama Studio team to work overtime.

“It used to be really extreme, there was even a meeting at half past three in the morning. The results of that meeting would then be worked on later that same morning. So we had to have a clear list of updates,” Rendra recalled. Adjustments were later made to ensure more humane working hours for employees, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rendra acknowledged that an office environment filled with close friends creates a fun and warm vibes. Even so, he keeps reminding the Odama Studio team to stay professional, take their work seriously, and remain fully committed so the company can grow and last for the long run.

Rendra spent 2025 rolling out a series of fundamental improvements, from office attendance policies to leave policies. “I restructured the rules to make them clearer and more consistent. Even though this company is built among friends, it still has to be professional. We don’t want to be complacent just because we’re friends,” he said optimistically.

Odama Studio’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Rendra Rizki Kurniawan, explained that digital agencies in Central Java and Yogyakarta have grown rapidly over the past few years, especially in Yogyakarta, which is supported by an ecosystem that actively innovates in the digital sector.

Citing data from Gen Amikom, more than 84 digital agencies were operating in Yogyakarta as of July 2025. These agencies offer services like advertising, commerce, and information technology.

Meanwhile, Jakarta, according to Rendra, remained an ideal region for digital agencies to grow. “Jakarta is very promising because there are many business decision-makers who need digital agency services and are willing to spend their budgets,” he added.

Rendra noted that digital agencies in the Solo Raya area cannot survive by relying solely on the local market. They must be proactive in seeking clients beyond the region, even internationally. One effective strategy is consistently updating portfolios on creative digital platforms such as Behance or Dribbble.

Innovation, he emphasized, is a key factor for digital agencies like Odama Studio to remain competitive and relevant in a crowded market. Odama Studio founder Happy Tri Miliarta revealed that Odama’s long-term vision is to create digital products that can be directly used by users or clients.

“So it’s not just about design, but about something that’s truly used by users, until it’s fully finished,” he said.

The company’s biggest target is to develop services based on software as a service (SaaS). Happy also aimed to tap into local and national markets so that Odama Studio’s legacy can continue to grow within Indonesia.

Driven by this vision, Happy has begun the process of registering Odama Studio as a legally incorporated company. “At the moment, we’re in the process of becoming a limited liability company (PT),” he concluded firmly.

Writer: Gede Arga Adrian

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid

Editor: Al Habiib Josy Asheva