MACA – Laras sat on a weathered wooden bench on her porch, morning sunlight peeking through the gaps in the roof tiles. In her hands was a biography of *Marie Curie* borrowed from her school library. Since third grade, this curly-haired girl had discovered another world within the pages of books. Her father, a history teacher, often brought her secondhand books from flea markets. Her mother, a village seamstress, would smile watching her daughter lose herself in dusty stacks of paper. “The world is vast, dear. If you can’t travel, read,” her father once advised her on a quiet afternoon.
By middle school, Laras had devoured hundreds of books: from the struggles of Nelson Mandela to the rags-to-riches story of Bob Sadino. Every figure left an imprint on her mind. One day, she read about Bill Gates starting his career in a garage. Her eyes sparkled. “I can create something too,” she whispered.
At 15, Laras noticed a problem in her village: high schoolers struggled to finish assignments without computers. The nearest internet café was in the city, 10 kilometers away. With savings of Rp1.2 million from selling homemade cookies with her mother, she bought two used computers. Her father transformed their backyard storage room into a cramped space with a frayed carpet. “Laras Net” officially opened.
At first, only 3-4 customers came daily. But Laras didn’t give up. She read *The Lean Startup* and applied its “feedback loop” principle. Customers complained about high prices? She introduced cheaper hourly packages. Slow internet? She walked 3 kilometers to the city to negotiate better data plans. Within a year, her café had 8 computers and became the go-to spot for young villagers.
One evening, Laras saw Mr. Tono, her father’s regular becak (cycle rickshaw) driver, slumped at a coffee stall. “Since ride-hailing apps came, my income’s dropped by half,” he sighed. That night, Laras couldn’t sleep. In *Social Entrepreneurship*, she’d read about Muhammad Yunus lending capital to Bangladeshi artisans.
The next morning, she gathered five becak drivers. “What if you rent rickshaws from me? You’d pay 20% of your daily earnings instead of a fixed rate.” The idea was a hit. Using profits from the café, she bought three used becaks. Within six months, 15 bright green “Laras Transport” rickshows roamed the village. Drivers received basic English training for tourists. “This is better than paying daily rent to loan sharks,” Mr. Tono said, his eyes glistening.
In high school, Laras noticed a student dormitory near her café. Every weekend, students queued at a laundry that only operated 8 hours a day. She recalled Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, who spotted a gap in the undergarment market. With leftover savings and a cooperative loan, she purchased four secondhand washing machines.
“Laras Express Laundry” offered two perks: **free pickup-delivery** and a **loyalty points system**. Every student who signed up received a small calendar printed with a quote from Laras’ favorite books: *”Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.”* – Chris Grosser. Within three months, 50 regular customers signed up. She hired two neighborhood housewives to manage operations.
Two years later, Laras was invited as a guest on *FODCAS* (Fireside of Dreams and Challenges), a popular podcast. The host, a renowned journalist, asked: “What’s the secret to running three businesses at just 19?”
Laras smiled. “I’ve had three teachers: books, problems, and the people around me.” She recounted nights spent reading about *Amancio Ortega* (Zara’s founder), who started from a tiny shop, and how *Thomas Edison* taught her to embrace failure. “When my first washing machine broke, I remembered Mr. Ciputra’s words from his book: *‘Entrepreneurs are magicians who turn problems into opportunities.’*”
The host was captivated. “What’s next for you?”
“I want to build a free mobile library using my becaks. Every child deserves a ‘window to the world’ like the one I had.”
Today, a corner of Laras Net holds a shelf with 200 donated books. Every week, three dedicated becaks deliver them around the village. A child in a remote hamlet is engrossed in a worn copy of *Harry Potter*, while Laras drafts a proposal for a web-based laundry management app in her tiny office.
On her desk, a yellow sticky note reads: *”Still many pages left to write.”* Just like her life—a story of a girl who learned that books aren’t just to be read, but to be lived. ***
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