This week’s podcast is about Warren Buffett and combining competitive advantage with compounding. You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya. Here are …Read More »

I recently wrote about Shein and how they are increasing on rate of learning (plus low prices). That article is here. And I characterized their …Read More »

In Part 1 – and in Podcast 90 (Can Dingdong Win in Groceries and Specialty Ecommerce?), I teed up questions about how specialty ecommerce companies …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Dingdong, a specialty ecommerce player in China focused on fresh groceries. It has gone public while still operating profit negative …Read More »

Softbank-backed Dingdong and Tencent-backed Missfresh have both gone public, to minimal investor enthusiasm. Both companies were launched: To solve the difficulties of selling perishable and …Read More »

In Podcast 89 (Truck Alliance’s Fight for Complicated Network Effects), I laid out some of the basic information about the company – and why it …Read More »

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 …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Full Truck Alliance, a B2B marketplace platform for freight and cargo. There are a lot of lessons on the difficulties …Read More »

In the past weeks, I have sent you multiple emails with various types of competitive advantages. Such as switching costs, network effects, purchasing economies and …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Skillz and Electronic Arts. There are some interesting and evolving strategy aspects to gaming – especially as it goes to …Read More »

When you look for big competitive advantages on the cost side, it is usually about economies of scale – when a company with a larger …Read More »

The Didi financials are finally out. And they are an interesting mix of good and bad. Didi has market dominance and tech leadership in the …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Didi’s upcoming IPO. They have released their numbers and it shows market dominance but operating losses. This is my explanation …Read More »

Digital transformation and disruption are usually about attacking the cost structures of established business models. Software companies have long used digital economics to devastate traditional …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about separating networks (an asset) from platforms (a business model) from network effects (a phenomenon). And the three standard types of …Read More »

Network effects are the brass ring of the digital age. Companies and investors, especially venture capitalists, are actively reaching for them. And, like platform business …Read More »

I look for four types of competitive advantages on the revenue and demand side: Share of the Consumer Mind, Share of the Producer Mind and …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about “criticality” as a type of switching cost. And specifically about Wabco, one of Warren Buffett’s companies that has fairly powerful …Read More »

Strategy thinking has traditionally been focused on linear processes that create mostly tangible products and services. It’s a legacy of the industrial age when everything …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about how “traditionally great” logistics businesses like DHL and ecommerce giants like JD Logistics are both doing major digital upgrades in …Read More »

Competitive moats (i.e., structural advantages) tend to be viewed as one thing. But it is usually two. And it is helpful to view it this …Read More »

Take-Away 1: With reports of +1,000 new products being added to Shein every day, there is a lot of speculation that this is a newer, …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about the US-China DTC retailer Shein, which has rocketed upwards in the past months. Analysts are starting to pay close attention …Read More »

Take-Away 1: Chinese ecommerce company Shein is reaching Amazon-level downloads in the US. With similar numbers reported in other countries. And possibly 100% annual revenue …Read More »

Alibaba just released its 2021 financials, along with management commentary. I don’t usually cover earnings announcements but I thought it was worth doing a quick …Read More »

This podcast is Alibaba’s 2020 earnings and the strategy implications. But it is really about how Alibaba is positioned as a “product / service + …Read More »

There is a lot to like about Alibaba (from a strategy and competition perspective). Massive, almost unprecedented, competitive strength. It’s a complementary platform and a …Read More »

Sea Limited is rocking and rolling. Jumping from gaming to ecommerce. Then to payment and financial services. And now to Mexico. There is a growing …Read More »

This podcast is about the super cool economics of Adobe Inc. And how they capture the economics of digital by also building strong competitive moats. …Read More »

Take-Away 1: Adobe Inc. is a good example of many of the strengths of traditional software economics. It has evolved and expanded over decades to …Read More »

On a 2018 earnings call, Elon Musk said he disagreed with one of Warren Buffett’s core investment principles — that companies should use strategic “moats” …Read More »

Competitive advantages can be build on the demand and the supply side. And advantages on the demand (i.e., revenue) side are usually about customer capture …Read More »

It’s easy to get lost in all the factors and phenomena emerging as digital and data technology transform industry after industry. As I have argued …Read More »

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 …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about online-merge-offline (OMO) platforms. A business model that is just emerging in China. I talk about Sun Art Retail and Beike …Read More »

One of the big digital China IPOs of 2020 was KE Holdings. Which does business under the brand names Lianjia and Beike. Lianjia, founded in …Read More »

In Part 1, I wrote about hypermarkets as business models. It is one of the few retail business models I kinda like. But it is …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about the current political risks around Alibaba. But also about the very important concept of Worst Case Scenario. You can listen …Read More »

A subscriber suggested I look at Sun Art Retail as a potential investment opportunity. And, wow, thanks for that. There is a lot of fascinating …Read More »

I recently wrote about Baidu as an example of learning platforms (one of my five platform types). Located here, I said: “My definition for learning …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about how to think tactics that generate short-term growth and results. And we see these coming out of China all the …Read More »

At the suggestion of a subscriber, I looked at Joy Spreader Interactive Technologies. It is a digital marketing company that rose on the back of …Read More »

In Part 1 and Part 2, I laid out Baidu’s core search engine and some of the complexities that have evolved in search over time. …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Baidu and its key strategic questions: Can it thrive as a stand-alone search engine? Against competitors such as Tencent and …Read More »

In Part 1, I laid out some basic theory for Baidu and search engines. I think it was a pretty solid picture for Baidu circa …Read More »

I like search engines. But they are very strange animals. They remind me of giraffes and ant eaters. Unique animals that you can’t really compare …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about my investment checklist. Which is really just 9 questions. Shown below. You can listen to this podcast here or at …Read More »

In November 2020, beauty unicorn Perfect Diary went public in the USA after 4 years of stunning growth. Founded in 2016, the company rose to …Read More »

Fiverr is an Israeli company, so not an Asia tech company per se. But it has a lot of freelancers in developing Asia. And it …Read More »

This week’s podcast is Fiverr and their classic approach to building a marketplace platform (for freelance services). I don’t go into it too much but …Read More »

I like the saying that winning in digital B2C is like catching lightning in a bottle. But winning in digital B2B is more like mining. …Read More »

Baidu-controlled iQiyi (IQ) is one of the big leaders in video in China. And video is the most popular online activity in China’s massive market. …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Huawei’s big operating system initiative. It’s the first serious challenge to Android’s global dominance. And how to break-in with a …Read More »

Huawei is “all in” on building a third mobile operating system and ecosystem. This is the first major challenge to the Android-Apple iOS duopoly in …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about JD Central in Thailand. I had an interesting visit and interviewed the CEO. And it raises a bigger point of …Read More »

In Part 1, I summarized my visit to a media event at JD Central (JDC) Thailand. And I teed up some of the difficulties for …Read More »

Last week, I attended a media event at JD Central in Bangkok. And I interviewed CEO Vincent Yang. This is JD’s joint venture with Central …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about JD Logistics. It’s an interesting case of a capability becoming a service business. And maybe a new type of ecosystem. …Read More »

In Part 1, I described JD Logistics (JDL) as being three things. A unique capability that parent JD can leverage in its retail and marketplace …Read More »

I have been thinking about JD’s logistics operations for like 4 years. I visited a couple of their warehouses. I toured their robotics laboratory. And …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about the Coupang of South Korea. An interesting case of local dominance (geographic) based initially on competitive advantages on the cost …Read More »

The latest big tech IPO out of Asia is Coupang, a likely $50B listing called the “Amazon of South Korea”. More on that annoying phrase …Read More »

Online insurance company ZhongAn was the first mover in “digital meets insurance” in China. A strategy Ant Financial would later refer to in its IPO …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about revenue scale and operating leverage in traditional companies vs. software vs. AI. And these things can be really different. Especially …Read More »

Last week, I wrote about how mindless behavior, chemistry and habits can be demand-side competitive advantages, which I put under the catch-all title of “share …Read More »

I’ve written a lot about Ant Financial (and its delayed IPO) because I think it is a cool example of a zero-human operation. It’s an …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about Roblox and the question of whether this media type will really take off. And I argue this is an interesting …Read More »

I have talked a lot about competitive advantages on the demand side (sometimes called revenue advantages). These are structural advantages that enable premium pricing, repeat …Read More »

Kuaishou Technology is going public in Hong Kong. From the IPO filing, the basic story is that Kuaishou does short videos and live streaming. It’s …Read More »

This week’s podcast is about network effects. And I argue they are actually three effects at the same time. Plus some stuff about So-Young’s marketplace …Read More »

I’ve been teaching a private equity class at CEIBS in Shanghai for like 5 years. I call it private equity but it’s really about how …Read More »

In the last week of the Trump administration, Xiaomi was placed on the US Department of Defense blacklist for alleged ties to the Chinese military. …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is about some of the bigger strategic initiatives at WeChat. Specifically mini programs, search, mini games and WeChat Work. You can …Read More »

This week was the annual WeChat Open Class conference in Guangzhou. And one of the perks of being an influencer-type is I get invited to …Read More »

Shopee / Garena / Sea Limited (SE) was one of the biggest investment opportunities of 2020. With the share price rising 4x during the year. …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is my third on the well-known 7 Powers framework by Hamilton Helmer. I go through the last 4 of his 7 …Read More »

Korean Naver corporation is a confusing digital company. It’s great and it’s messed up. That makes it an interesting target for investing. There is the …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is more on the well-known 7 Powers framework by Hamilton Helmer. I go through three of his 7 powers. You can …Read More »

It’s hard to write and speak about Asia tech without talking about SoftBank and its billionaire Chairman Masayoshi Son. He has been a major player …Read More »

I have listed 5 types of platform business models: Marketplace and transaction platforms (e.g., Taobao, Meituan, Lazada) Innovation and audience-builder platforms (e.g., YouTube, TikTok, Android) …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is on the well-known Five Forces framework by Michael Porter. I go through some of its limitations and where I think …Read More »

I’ve been thinking a lot about mapping companies. On one hand, they are typical “information goods” companies, most of which have had their economics turned …Read More »

Singapore-based Sea Limited, which runs Garena, Shopee and AirPay, is one of the biggest tech investment stories of 2020. In the first quarter of 2020, …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is on the well-known 7 Powers framework by Hamilton Helmer. I go through some of its limitations and where I think …Read More »

Ruhnn Holding is a Chinese company that not many people follow. Based in Hangzhou, tied with Alibaba and vaguely described as a talent agency and/or …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is on Ant Financial vs. Square. And has an introduction to the inside vs. outside view and base rates. You can …Read More »

The market capitalization Square has exceed $100B, which makes it about 1/3 of what Ant Financial / Group was expected to list at (prior to …Read More »

Taiwan-based HTC is fighting for its survival. Since 2015, the company has experienced a massive drop in its revenues. Falling from $4.3B (2015) to $355M …Read More »

This week’s podcast is on Tesla vs. Nio and why first mover advantage is not as awesome as everyone thinks. At least not in tech. …Read More »

In my previous article on Farfetch, I asked the question of whether Alibaba or another Chinese company might buy the company – and at what …Read More »

Luxury marketplace platform Farfetch has had a long courtship with JD, Alibaba and Chinese consumers. In the next update, I’ll go into my thoughts on …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is on Airbnb and what I think people are getting wrong about its business model and future in Asia. Which has …Read More »

Airbnb is heading for its IPO. Their numbers are public and it’s pretty much what we expected. Airbnb is a simple marketplace platform that is …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is on innovation, which often is discussed in fuzzy terms. I present some of the better language used to discuss this …Read More »

Long-term investors search for high quality companies they can buy and hold. They ignore the near-term swings in stock prices and, instead, try to capture …Read More »

  This week’s podcast is more about the fuzzy idea of ecosystems, which I call the new collaboration-based business business models. We have clear frameworks …Read More »

  Correction: I had Michael Jacobides’ name incorrect throughout this episode. My apologies. Podcasting while sick may not have been my best idea.   This …Read More »

Hey. Here are the draft summaries of all the content. One slide for concepts. One slide for companies. The goal is to show how it …Read More »

  This podcast is more about the strange but important economics of digital. And on how digital economics can impact well-established competitive advantages like economies …Read More »

  These are my predictions for the biggest trends in digital China / Asia for 2020-2030. They are all underway already. And most of them …Read More »