Zhaopin.com CEO Evan Guo has a fascinating view of China’s evolving internet ecosystem. He heads the leading online recruiting business in China (+140M active users). So he is riding the top of a very big wave.
But Zhaopin is not part of Baidu, Alibaba, or Tencent. It is living in the spaces between these digital giants. To survive and thrive in this situation means adapting and moving quickly. I thought Evan had a fascinating take on what it takes to win in the Chinese Internet.
My co-professor Jonathan Woetzel (McKinsey & Co) and I were fortunate to have Evan as a guest lecturer in our course at Peking University Guanghua School of Management. And before class, I sat down with him and asked him my standard five questions:
- What is the most important thing happening in online recruiting right now?
- What is the most important thing happening at Zhaopin right now?
- What is the biggest difference between Internet businesses in China and the West?
- What is everyone getting wrong about Internet businesses in China?
- What happens next? What is coming in 2-3 years?
Evan’s answers are shown in the video below (link here. Sorry only YouTube). He also gave a one hour lecture to our students – and I will post that entire lecture shortly.
Thanks for watching.
Cheers, jeff
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I write, speak and consult about how to win (and not lose) in digital strategy and transformation.
I am the founder of TechMoat Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps retailers, brands, and technology companies exploit digital change to grow faster, innovate better and build digital moats. Get in touch here.
My book series Moats and Marathons is one-of-a-kind framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.
Note: This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.
