I’ve mentioned externalizing capabilities as a strategic move many times. I thought I would detail that out. It’s common strategy in digital business models. And it has been very effective at Alibaba and Amazon in particular. Several years ago, I summarized the evolution of Alibaba’s platform business models in 7 graphics. The Rise of Alibaba […]
I have one B2C “super chart”. It’s a bit ridiculous but stick with me. I think it is actually a good prediction of the future of B2C. The basic idea is that ecommerce is combining with entertainment. We see that in Taobao Live and TikTok already. And this is also being combined with social media […]
The recently merged Gojek and Tokopedia (i.e., GoTo) has gone public in Indonesia. And I finally got a look at their filings (thanks to a subscriber who sent me a translated copy). GoTo is basically what you would expect. It’s a marketplace platform for local services (i.e., Gojek) combined with a marketplace for products (i.e., […]
Grab is a Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery platform that is generating operating cash flow in the digital age. Its two complementary marketplace platforms, mobility and food delivery, share consumers and data to lower costs and increase profits. Grab is positioned to be a leader in the digital operating cash flow space.
Southeast Asian tech giant Grab is facing a difficult choice: should it focus on profitability or growth? This article explores the pros and cons of each strategy and discusses the potential outcomes for Grab. Ultimately, the decision of whether to focus on profitability or growth will depend on a number of factors, including the company’s financial situation, its competitive landscape, and its long-term goals.
Southeast Asia unicorn Grab is now public via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “GRAB”. This is a really interesting company. There is a tremendous amount to like about its business. It has 2-3 platform business models that have strong-to-dominant positions in SE Asia: […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how Uniswap’s protocol is a threat to Coinbase’s PPH marketplace. He argues that Uniswap is more decentralized and efficient than Coinbase, and that it is likely to attract more users and liquidity. Ultimately, the success of Uniswap and Coinbase will depend on a number of factors, including the adoption of decentralized finance, the regulatory environment, and the competition from other exchanges.
A subscriber suggested I look at Russian ecommerce company Ozon Holdings (OZON). It’s outside of Asia Tech Strategy, but I thought it was an interesting company. And it raises an important question about why some countries develop so much faster than others in ecommerce. And that is really the key question for Ozon going forward. […]
Chinese recruiting company Kanzhun has gone public on the Nasdaq. It runs a pretty interesting recruiting platform called Boss Zhipin. An Introduction to Boss Zhipin Boss Zhipin is a marketplace platform for recruiting. So this is a pretty standard platform for connecting job-seekers and companies (and recruiting agencies). In 2020, it had 25M monthly active […]
Pinduoduo (PDD) has really stood out in digital – both for its ability to break into a market dominated by Alibaba and JD and for the stunning speed of its growth. Founded in 2015, PDD has grown to +800M users in six years. It grew to +$9B in revenue. Upon reaching a +$100B market cap, […]