Xiaomi is an important company. And it has really important strategy lessons. I think there are 5. But the big question that cuts across all of them is: Can the company’s operational excellence compensate for its weak business model? Here’s my take. Lesson 1: Xiaomi’s Foundational Asset Was World Class Tech Management. From its founding […]
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 most of these. I find them to be really helpful for getting a good read on what management is focused on. On what they think the strategic imperatives are. On […]
Shopee / Garena / Sea Limited (SE) was one of the biggest investment opportunities of 2020. With the share price rising 4x during the year. And this followed a similar 4x rise the previous year. I flagged this one early based on its outstanding platform strategy. I covered this in Podcast 29 Can Shopee / […]
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 in digital Asia (including China) for 4 decades. And his Vision Fund and its companies (WeWork, Uber, Didi, Oyo, etc.) are a staple of tech news. But I have long […]
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) Collaboration / coordination and standardization platforms (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams, Adobe) Payment platforms (e.g., MasterCard, Alipay) Learning platforms Here are examples of the first two. But I have not really […]
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, the company was trading in the $40 price range. It is now around $180, with a market capitalization approaching $100B. It has been a rocketship for investors this year. But […]
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 delay). Both companies are using platform business models to invade and expand the payment and financial services space. Fortunately, Ant is further along this trajectory and offers some interesting insights […]
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 social commerce company, it’s a strange animal. And it is currently being taken private and off the US exchanges (maybe). But the company is fascinating and has some really important […]
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 delay). Both companies are using platform business models to invade and expand the payment and financial services space. Fortunately, Ant is further along this trajectory and offers some interesting insights […]
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 (2015). With gross profits in the range of 3.5%. And it looks like revenue for 2020 will fall to around $200M. Market share for its core smartphone business is under […]