Magani unites tradition with the new; reimagining the traditional batik shirt for the needs of our contemporary society. We combine Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage with the latest innovation in performance wear material to build the ultimate durable and comfortable shirt for the modern Indonesian man who is constantly on the move.
As we celebrate Indonesia’s heritage, we also celebrate the individuals who are unintimidated by the sweat and hard work required to defy challenges, push boundaries, and move Indonesia forward.
Meet the #MaganiMen who have inspired us that with grit and endurance, there are no limits to what you can achieve. #NOSWEATNOLIMIT
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#MaganiMen — Benny Bonardy’s entrepreneurial journey has always been driven by curiosity, creativity, and a deep understanding of people. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, he naturally found his way into business, starting with food photography before discovering his passion for design and branding through his first clothing venture. That journey led him to build Ben & Wyatt, The Well Wisher, and For A Friend, three distinct brands connected by his belief that great businesses go beyond looking good: they solve real problems, create meaningful experiences, and build relationships that last.
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Before building Ben & Wyatt, The Well Wisher, and For A Friend, could you take us back to the beginning of your journey? What was your educational background and professional experience, and how did they eventually lead you to become an entrepreneur?
My journey didn't start with a business plan, it started with a camera. I studied Marketing Communications at London School of Public Relations in Jakarta, but my first real steps as an entrepreneur came through food photography, shooting for restaurants and F&B brands and learning how to tell a story through visuals.
That curiosity led me to launch a clothing brand next. It taught me something more valuable than the brand itself, through building it, I developed a real sense for design and branding. I started understanding not just how to make something look good, but how to make it mean something. Looking back, I don't think I ever set out to 'become an entrepreneur, I just kept following what I was curious about, and each step quietly built the skills for the next.
What initially motivated you to start your own business? Was becoming an entrepreneur always something you envisioned for yourself?
Honestly, wanting to be an entrepreneur was never really a decision for me, it was something I was raised into. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, learning about business from a young age by watching and helping my parents run theirs.
So when people ask if I always wanted this path, my answer is yes, not because I had a grand vision early on, but because entrepreneurship was simply the language I grew up speaking.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned while building your first business?
The most valuable lesson from my first business is that business is ultimately about people. It's not just about offering the right solution, it's about building a real relationship around it. That's the part that lasts.
What is the story behind the creation of Ben & Wyatt? What problem or opportunity were you hoping to address when you first started the brand?
I'd always been drawn to design and branding, but never professionally. Back then, about ten years ago, property developers rarely invested in design, most pitches were just simple PowerPoint decks. A mentor of mine saw an opportunity in that gap and gave me a trial project: brand his residential development with a modern, clean, minimalist approach, proper logo, naming, the works.
It was something fresh for that market at the time, and the pitch landed well. That trial turned into a partnership, my mentor became a partner in Ben & Wyatt and mentored me through its early stages.
When building a brand, what do you think many businesses often overlook, even though it is actually one of the most important foundations for long-term success?
I think branding is often mistaken for just beautiful decks, logos, or clever naming, but that's only the surface. Real branding has to translate into how the business actually operates. If your brand promises 'fast,' you have to actually deliver fast, not just design something that looks fast.
That's the foundation many businesses skip: making sure the identity on paper matches the experience in practice.
The Well Wisher was created as an executive corporate gifting solutions brand. What inspired you to start it, and what is the meaning behind the name?
The Well Wisher actually started from something personal, my love language is gift-giving. When I care about someone, that's how I show it. So when a Ben & Wyatt client asked if I could design gifts for his buyers, I took it on, and I ended up loving every part of it, from curating the pieces to designing the sleeves to the final delivery. That's when I saw there was real potential in this space.
The name itself comes from the same spirit: when you give someone a gift, you usually come with a wish for them. We wanted to be that good friend who always wishes you well and to inspire more people to spread that same warmth through giving.
In your opinion, what makes a corporate gift more than just a gift—something that can truly represent a brand’s values, identity, and appreciation?
A gift sends a message before a single word is spoken, it says, 'we're thinking of you, we see you.' That's what turns it from a freebie into something that shows a customer the brand actually cares. The quality of the gift also speaks volumes, it reflects the professionalism of the company giving it.
That's what makes gifting such a powerful tool: it can carry almost any message a brand wants to send. Want to show you're sustainable? Choose sustainable gifts. Want to show you're design-driven? Choose beautifully curated ones. A gift isn't just an object, it's a way to shape how your brand is perceived.
For A Friend has a name that feels very personal and intimate. What is the story and philosophy behind the brand?
For A Friend was built with my best friend of ten years, and the name comes from something simple: when I do something for her, I want to do my very best. That's the spirit we wanted to bring into the space, treating every customer who walks in like a friend.
Because for a friend, of course, you do your best. We want people to feel seen, welcomed, and to feel the warmth of the space the moment they walk in.
What kind of experience or feeling do you want people to have every time they enjoy a cup of coffee from For A Friend?
Homey, above all. We want every guest to feel welcomed and accepted the moment they walk in, like they're at a friend's home, not just another coffee shop. That's why we train our baristas to be genuinely friendly, so people feel that warmth from the very first interaction.
It carries through to the coffee itself, too. Our menu is designed to be enjoyed every day, not overly strong, with sweetness levels kept balanced so nothing feels heavy or overwhelming. It's coffee you can come back to daily, the same way you'd come back to a friend.
From The Well Wisher to For A Friend, each brand has a different target audience, positioning, and experience. How do you develop the strategy and execution for each brand while ensuring that they maintain their own distinct identities?
Ben & Wyatt, The Well Wisher, and For A Friend are three different businesses, but they live inside one connected ecosystem. My design studio at Ben & Wyatt helps design the visuals for The Well Wisher's gifts and the branding for For A Friend. Ben & Wyatt clients can take their meetings at our For A Friend coffee shop. And For A Friend's merchandise is produced through The Well Wisher.
So instead of competing with each other for attention or resources, each business quietly supports the others and that's intentional. It's how I keep the identities distinct while still making sure the whole is stronger than any one part alone.
As the founder of multiple businesses, how do you balance creativity, strategy, and leadership? When making important decisions, do you tend to rely more on data or intuition?
I focus by delegating operations, not vision. In each business, I have someone I trust running the day-to-day, while I stay focused on the bigger concept and strategy, the direction each brand should grow into.
As for decision-making, I'd say I lean intuitive. But I try to balance that instinct with data financial history, past performance, anything that helps me sense-check whether the direction I'm feeling is actually the right one.
In your opinion, what separates a brand that can truly stand the test of time from one that simply follows trends?
I think brands that last are the ones that genuinely solve real problems, not just brands that look good. A lot of businesses grow fast, but they don't maintain quality once they scale and that inconsistency is usually what breaks the trust they built.
The brands that survive long-term are also the ones that stay adaptable. Trends move fast, and a brand that can't respond quickly to change will eventually get left behind, no matter how strong it started.
In an era where more and more people aspire to build businesses and personal brands, what is the one piece of advice you would most like to give to young entrepreneurs?
Just start with whatever you have, and learn in the process. If you wait until you know everything before starting, you'll never start. Don't underestimate yourself, trust that you'll learn by doing.
And if a business fails, take it as material, something you carry forward into the next thing you build. It's okay to fail. What's not okay is staying still.
After building several brands with very different personalities and purposes, what is the biggest challenge you still want to take on in the future?
Building multiple brands means my focus is naturally divided across three businesses and that's actually my biggest challenge going forward: taking each of them from where they are now to something significantly stronger and bigger.
What I really want is for these brands to grow into something with a nationwide impact not just successful on their own terms, but creating something positive at a larger scale for society. That's a big challenge, but it's the one I want to take on.
What does Magani mean to you?
Honestly, I think it’s all about the comfort. The material feels more like sportswear, light, cool, and flexible. You can wear it for everyday activities without feeling too stiff, while still looking neat and put together.
Click here to follow Benny Bonardy on Instagram.
Click here to follow Coffee For A Friend on Instagram.