Leon Gunawan

Urban beats

JAKARTA- BORN Leon Gunawan is the 33-yearold entrepreneur behind several hip bars and restaurants: Parc 19 in Kemang and León, Goldstein and Twenty-Fifth in Wijaya. All organised under his company De La House, Gunawan offers his customers a compelling recipe: good food and drinks, along with topquality live music. Parc 19, founded in 2013, focuses on “anti-mainstream” dance music and has featured international DJs, such as Joe Kay, Ryan Hemsworth and FKJ. Launched last year, León focuses on RnB. Goldstein, meanwhile offers jazzy tunes, and coffee shop Twenty-Fifth has a curated indie pop playlist.

“I have been passionate about live music and F&B since I was young,” says Gunawan. “When I was studying at Curtin University in Perth, majoring in Management and Information system, I organised several small events, such as a bazaar and an Indonesian night. I started De La House in 2013, along with Parc 19, because I was inspired by the progression of house music from all corners of the world. We seek to cater to the alternative lifestyles of the urban audience.

“My mentor is my father, Fritz Gunawan. He’s a veteran banker. He taught me how to be a good leader, the importance of being disciplined and of looking after business administration details, like accounting. To be a successful entrepreneur, I believe that hard work and patience are the keys. They can beat talent and intelligence. From embarking on this journey, I have learned that nobody is perfect. We are all human and we all make mistakes, so it’s important to be tolerant. Success for me is simply being happy in achieving what you do, and liking how you do it.”