Expedia’s experience in China is a cautionary tale for any foreign company entering the market. The company made a number of mistakes, including failing to adapt to Chinese culture and underestimating the competition. However, there are also some lessons to be learned from Morgan Stanley, which has been successful in China.
I’ve been thinking about Luckin Coffee, which was a big story a few years ago in China. It was a digital upstart taking on giant Starbucks. It was Jack Ma’s “new retail” applied to retail coffee. It was a digital innovator. Blah, blah, blah. It was mostly a lot of hype. And the company crashed […]
Growth, ROIC, and growth+sales are all important factors to consider when valuing a digital business. Growth is important because it shows that the business is expanding and has the potential to generate more revenue in the future. ROIC is important because it shows how efficiently the business is using its capital. Growth+sales is important because it shows how much revenue the business is generating from each new customer.
In 2009, Brian Acton and Jan Koum founded WhatsApp to ride the wave of mobile apps kicked off by the launch of the iPhone. The original purpose of WhatsApp was to put a status notification next to your name, to let people know “what’s up”. But the small team noticed three important things that would launch their […]
Take-Away 1: Hello bike-sharing is a marginally profitable, small services business. Its recent shift to ebikes (and subscriptions) is increasing its revenue and making it more defendable. But it is also changing the economics. Take-Away 2: Hello is trying to build a platform business model on its large user base. A marketplace for mobility (like […]
In the tech industry, being a first mover does not always guarantee success. In this episode of Jeff’s Asia Tech Class podcast, Jeff Towson discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover, and argues that later entrants can often have an advantage.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how companies like WeChat and TikTok are changing the way businesses compete for consumers’ attention in the digital age. He argues that the share of the consumer mind is becoming a more important competitive advantage than ever before. Towson provides examples of how WeChat and TikTok are using digital tools to capture the consumer mind, and he discusses the implications for businesses of all sizes.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses Huawei’s financial performance in 2019, as well as the recent fraud scandal at Luckin Coffee. He argues that Huawei’s strong financial performance is a sign of its resilience, and that the Luckin Coffee scandal is a reminder of the risks of investing in Chinese tech stocks. For example, he notes that Huawei’s revenue grew by 19% in 2019, despite the US government’s restrictions on its business.
Jeffrey Towson discusses what Ofo could have done to avoid its downfall. He argues that Ofo made a number of strategic mistakes, including burning through too much cash, expanding too quickly, and failing to innovate. Towson believes that if Ofo had taken a more conservative approach, it might still be in business today.
Jeffrey Towson argues that Chinese startups like Luckin Coffee, Mobike, Didi Chuxing, and WeWork are facing increasing challenges. He says that these companies are facing more competition, regulatory scrutiny, and rising costs. As a result, it is unclear if these companies will be able to achieve profitability in the long run.