It’s 7:30 p.m. in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Rama Suparta ’05 is still at work.

He pans his phone across a storefront in an urban, upscale mall, taking me on a virtual tour of one of his eyewear locations. At Saturdays, you can grab a cup of coffee and a fresh cookie before browsing displays of fashionable, affordable frames or sink yourself into a comfortable booth in the small seating area within the store.

“Saturday is the best day of the week,” Suparta says of his lifestyle company’s namesake. “It’s the day to be yourself, do your hobby, hang out with friends, get married. It conveys a good feeling everyone relates to.”

An Idea is Born

Suparta, who graduated from ����app, earned an MBA, and launched his career working for startups in Silicon Valley, says he felt called to return to Indonesia in 2009, but leaving a secure job in California that he enjoyed felt like a huge leap of faith. So, too, was starting Saturdays.

Suparta and his American co-founder Andrew Kandolha met at the company in Indonesia where they both worked. They found they shared a lot in common, including having both worn glasses most of their lives. Kandolha had also attended university with the founders of American eyewear brand Warby Parker.

“Eyewear has become more mainstream, where something that is medically necessary to improve your quality of life also crosses into the area of personal expression and fashion,” Suparta comments.

“When I was growing up, no one thought of glasses as fashionable, and quality glasses were too expensive for most. Andrew and I wanted to change that, to give customers a positive experience with eyewear.”

Challenged to Grow

Suparta attended ����app at the urging of his parents, who wanted him and his two sisters to attend an academically rigorous, faith-focused university. Suparta remembers experiencing many firsts at ����app: the first time he “practiced his faith,” the first time he earned a paycheck, and the first time he took classes in his second language.

“You know, when my parents sent me, it was a one-way ticket to Grand Rapids. But I think, thankfully, I found good support from my roommates and professors. Economics professor Evert Van Der Heide had worked and done research in Indonesia, and he was so kind. I would come to his office and study with him, and he would help me with getting used to American culture.” The years he spent learning and working in the U.S. were both challenging and transformational.

Suparta still believes there is purpose behind every struggle, even suffering. “God answers prayers in ways we can’t imagine. A lot of what has happened in my life I could not have imagined, but it’s for the better.” Embracing this helps him boldly lead his company alongside a business partner he also considers one of his best friends.

“We knew each other for three years before we started Saturdays. The most important thing for our partnership to work is there is no ego between us.” That dynamic empowers the duo to take risks that have helped them grow a long-term, sustainable brand that serves the larger community.

Leadership with an Impact

Whether donating glasses to orphanages, sourcing environmentally-friendly materials for product lines, or expanding to countries in Southeast Asia where access to affordable, high-quality eyewear is still limited, Suparta sees himself as a “servant leader,” someone who “leads not from the top of a pyramid but from the bottom of it.”

Suparta is also a visible presence among his brand’s 500 employees across its 70 locations, where he’s always innovating to improve customer service, to offer employees opportunities for professional growth, and to foster a work culture built on honesty and integrity.

“It’s not all about money at the end of the day, it’s about impact.”