Asia Startup Pulse

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Final call for signing up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 on Eventbrite. We will soon be back with the brand-new season.

Today, ASP selected the special episode that Oscar Ramos sat down with venture capitalist and fintech investor Wei Hopeman. After beginning her career in financial services and investment banking, Wei co-founded Arbor Ventures in 2013, the first VC fund specialized in fintech in the Asian ecosystem. She talks to us about the growth of fintech, the benefits of corporate VCs, and how founders and corporate VCs can improve their interactions with each other.

Show notes:
1:28 Intro

2:07 How Wei got into financial services

5:46 Going into investment banking

7:30 The growth of fintech in Asia

9:32 The lack of infrastructure in financial services

12:18 Launching fintech in China

15:18 Benefits of corporate VCs

17:08 Key questions a founder should ask corporate VCs

18:31 Key difference between types of VCs

21:02 Educating corporates in working with startups

23:17 Women in VC

30:16 The future of Arbor Ventures

thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Wei Hopeman, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at Chinaccelerator Website

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast

In this episode, we talk about Peng’s journey as an investor and how he perceives the great potential in Southeast Asia. More importantly, he summarizes a very important trend in SEA’s startup ecosystem, "Technification". We also talk about the impact that China's Internet giants have on SEA through investments and M&A.

Show Notes:

2:26 Peng’s journey as an investor
3:54 Main differences btw seed round and Series A
9:47 More capital investment in SEA
10:52 The most interesting trend in SEA
11:28 “Technification” in China
12:36 The opportunities of “technification” in SEA
15:05 “There is no way for a company to grow that fast without technology”
18:03 The core DNA of a successful founding team
19:26 China’s role in SEA’s service industry
22:58 The role of Chinese and Japanese corporate venture capital in SEA
26:56 The infrastructure development in SEA
28:57 A hard push on deep technology in SEA?

Many thanks to our guest Peng T.Ong; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In today’s episode, we talk with Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture funds. Sanjay also represents Blume on the boards of Arka Venture Labs and the Draper Venture Network. Blume focuses on Seed to Pre-Series A stages of funding and has made over 100 investments across its 10-year history across multiple funds. Sanjay has invested in and advises a wide portfolio of startups including GreyOrange Robotics, Dataweave, Locus, Tricog, LBB, Lulu, Lambdatest, TapChief (acquired by Unacademy), Nektar.ai, and Obviously.ai amongst others.

What is the trajectory for Indian startups expanding abroad? How do they start in India and move to the US and SEA? How can startups build and sell remotely and operate in a virtual world? What are the repercussions of localization when internationalization? Sanjay, as an active investor in the space, brings his experience in answering all these questions and more!

Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast

Show Notes

02:10 Introduction to Sanjay Nath
02:55 Sanjay’s transition from consulting to VC
07:41 The trend of Indian startups expanding overseas
11:20 Overcoming the barriers of cross-border expansion
16:38 How Blume VC supports startups with their expertise and best practices
24:10 Localisation vs Internationalisation from Day 1
28:22 Popular revenue models among Indian startups
31:04 The second-order effect of Covid19 on cross-border expansion
38:22 Opportunities for Indian SaaS companies in China
41:05 Leveraging diaspora and ecosystems to expand to the US and Europe
45:17 Sanjay’s final thoughts

Many thanks to our guests Sanjay Nath; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David Xu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In this episode, we go deep into marketplaces with James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures. James was co-founder and COO of 55tuan, a NASDAQ listed e-commerce group that grew to more than 200 cities and 5,000 employees across China.

Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast

Show notes:

2:43 - Introduction to James Tan
4:21 - Transition from startup founder to venture capitalist
6:06 - Introduction to Quest Ventures
7:20 - Most rewarding achievements of running a marketplace
9:37 - Why James is excited about marketplaces
12:23 - The advantages of a marketplace over a B2C company
15:41 - How to manage and control your marketplace
17:55 - The most innovative marketplace models that James has seen
20:28 - Is a marketplace in Southeast Asia a regional business?
23:21 - The right time for marketplaces to internationalise
25:53 - How should companies localise in Indonesia?
31:31 - Where should Indonesian companies internationalise to
34:13 - When should companies reconsider expansion
35:13 - How to innovate the marketplace revenue model?
40:11 - Does “marketplace” have a higher valuation multiple compared to e-commerce?

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Many thanks to our guest James Tan; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David Xu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Having accomplished his goal of transforming the gaming industry, Johnson Yeh is now turning his attention to his long-time passion: circular economy and sustainability. He founded ROEHL to provide consumers with a more sustainable and convenient lifestyle, starting with a subscription-based home appliance service.

Johnson recently sat down with Oscar Ramos in our Shanghai recording studio. Listen for their discussion on:

Why Johnson left his job at the summit of the gaming industry to pursue this mission
What we can do in a world of planned obsolescence
Economic benefits to a circular economy
How ROEHL is speeding up the rate of green-tech adoption, starting with air-purifying products
China’s leading position in green technology
The most exciting opportunities for new companies in the sector

About the speaker:

Johnson Yeh is the founder and CEO of ROEHL, the world’s first Lifestyle-as-a-Service (L.a.a.S) company. Before founding ROEHL in 2019, Johnson led Riot Games in China, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Under his leadership, LPL and e-sport went through a formidable transformation, becoming China's biggest spectator sport, with viewing numbers increasing by 15 times in 5 years. In 2019, the total number of hours watched reached 4 billion in China alone, surpassing CSL, NBA, and other traditional sporting events.

Many thanks to our guest Johnson Yeh; host Oscar Ramos; producers Sagar Chaudhary and Lace Nguyen; editor David Xu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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“Drones, in itself, is just a dumb flying platform. What makes it intelligent is the analytics and smart sensors; and how that can be disruptive in providing real value to our enterprise clients,” said Kamarul Muhamed, who founded Aerodyne in 2014 and has grown the company into a world-leading drone-based enterprise solutions provider and, more importantly, a pioneer in the use of AI for large-scale data operations and process optimization. Today, we sat down with Kamarul to talk all things drones, the Uberization of agritech, how drone tech has created a new market for technology talents. We also discussed why Southeast Asia, once dominated by traditional agriculture, is so bullish on new technologies, and the wonderful future of the region’s home-grown unicorns.

About the speaker:

Kamarul Muhamed left the corporate world to pursue his passion in technology and digital innovation, founding Aerodyne in 2014 with a specialty in aerial imagery. The company has since pivoted to data intelligence, integrated solutions and now, Drone Tech, Data Tech and Digital Transformation (DT3). Ranked second in the world by Drone Industry Insights of Germany, Aerodyne has over 400 drone professionals operating in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAS) services sector, managing more than 300,000 infrastructure assets with 110,000 flight operations across 35 countries globally.

Show notes:

01:39 Introduction to Kamarul Muhamed and Aerodyne Group
02:29 How the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of agritech
05:52 Contactless technologies to automate infrastructure operations for powerlining and solar farms
07:15 Transforming traditional labor-intensive agriculture jobs into tech talents
10:15 How the Uberization of agritech has created a new micro-economy
13:05 Southeast Asia’s governments are already channeling agriculture subsidy into the adoption of technology
18:36 How Aerodyne tackled the challenges of adoption and scaling a cross-border team
22:00 The future of aerial robotics and AI’s pivotal role in the ecosystem
26:40 Entering the bigger B2C market with the super-app model for agriculture
32:35 What the world can learn from China’s speed of innovation and Southeast Asia’s massive opportunities

Many thanks to our guests Kamarul Muhamed; host Oscar Ramos; producers Sagar Chaudhary and Lace Nguyen; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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Robby Yung is the CEO of Animoca Brands, the developer of a broad portfolio of blockchain games, traditional games, and other products, many of which are based on popular global brands including Formula 1®, Marvel, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Doraemon. Animoca Brands is also a prolific investor with more than 50 investments in NFT-related blockchain companies, including Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity), Dapper Labs (CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot), OpenSea, Harmony, Bitski, and Alien Worlds. Yung previously was the co-founder of Redgate Media, acquired by Inno-Tech Holdings Limited.

Yung recently sat down with Oscar Ramos to talk about all things NFT, digital entertainment, and what excites him about the future of blockchain.

Show Notes

02:35 How Animoca made its foray into blockchain games with Dapper Labs and CryptoKitties
04:25 How blockchain revolutionizes gaming with digital ownership
09:02 Incentives for people to spend more money on blockchain games
11:24 A fully decentralized game is a lot like a democracy
12:50 Behind the rise of NFTs: companies at the intersection of gaming and DeFi such as Sky Mavis
15:52 Could blockchain the third tech revolution?
19:11 Robby Yung's investment philosophy
22:15 How virtual experiences will change the traditional business model
24:21 What we need to speed up blockchain adoption
27:27 Why regulations will increase clarity and transparency
32:16 The attraction of collectibles and art
36:05 The metaverse 10 years from now

Many thanks to our guests Robby Yung; host Oscar Ramos; producers Sagar Chaudhary and Lace Nguyen; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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The open-source model has been a big catalyst for technology businesses across the world. While it is clear how they fit into other business models, it is still unclear what the business model behind an open-source business is. In this episode, we aim to answer that and more. We invited Neil Han, Head of APAC and EMEA for PingCAP, the first open-source unicorn in China, which raised 340million USD in total. Neil is a hardcore software person and a well-connected professional in the software industry across the globe with great operations and management skillset, looking forward to working with a fast-growing company and great leadership team to grow together.

Show Notes:

[1:26] Introduction to Neil Han

[2:39] PingCap’s value proposition

[5:14] Companies that best leverage PingCap’s services

[8:05] The business model behind an open source business

[12:08] Where the community contributors come from

[15:05] Where the customers come from

[17:29] Experience of selling the service to Chinese customers

[2200] Customers as contributors to the product: A case of Square

[26:38] The scope of growth for open-source software in APAC

[30:16] Connect with Neil

Many thanks to our guests Neil Han; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In today’s episode, we invite Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture funds. Sanjay also reprerepresents Blume on the boards of Arka Venture Labs and the Draper Venture Network. Blume focuses on Seed to Pre-Series A stages of funding and has made over 100 investments across its 10-year history across multiple funds. Sanjay has invested in and advises a wide portfolio of startups including GreyOrange Robotics, Dataweave, Locus, Tricog, LBB, Lulu, Lambdatest, TapChief (acquired by Unacademy), Nektar.ai, and Obviously.ai amongst others.

Show Notes

01:35 Introduction to Sanjay Nath

02:20 Sanjay’s transition from consulting to VC

07:06 The trend of Indian startups expanding overseas

10:54 Overcoming the barriers of cross-border expansion

16:03 How Blume VC supports startups with their expertise and best practices

23:35 Localisation vs Internationalisation from Day 1

27:47 Popular revenue models among Indian startups

30:29 The second-order effect of Covid19 on cross-border expansion

37:47 Opportunities for Indian SaaS companies in China

40:30 Leveraging diaspora and ecosystems to expand to the US and Europe

44:42 Sanjay’s final thoughts

Many thanks to our guests Sanjay Nath; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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We invited Chris Lerner, Managing Partner at MSA Capital, to join us to share his experience on starting and running a successful venture fund, and also how MSA Capital has supported startups to grow and expand to different markets. Founded in 2014, MSA Capital is an independent global private equity and venture capital firm with over $1.5 billion assets under management. Most notably, 60% of its 26 early stage investments have become super unicorns.

We also extended the conversation from a “cross-border” perspective by discussing about the potential opportunities for foreign startups and foreign VCs to enter China.

Show Notes:

2:48 Introduction to MSA Capital

5:22 What has kept Chris Lerner living in China

9:12 What makes the Chinese VC industry different

13:10 The DNA of Chinese corporate VCs (CVCs)

15:13 Conflicts happen when startups work with different CVCs

17:38 What takes to launch a VC fund

19:57 Who is investing in VC funds in China

24:40 The difference between RMB funds and USD funds

27:44 How VC funds can exit themselves in China

31:38 The trends of consolidation for financial returns

33:18 What support MSA Capital provides to startups

38:13 Potential opportunities for foreign startups to enter China

41:18 The opportunity of foreign VCs to enter China

42:32 How to contact Chris Lerner

Many thanks to our guests Chris Lerner; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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While Southeast Asia remains one of the hottest markets in the region, South Asia is also catching up, especially with the likes of Bangladesh and Pakistan. The region is also home to some of the fastest-growing tech startups, and today, we venture down south to Bangladesh and talk to the co-founder and CEO of Pathao, Bangladesh's largest tech company which is valued at over $100 million. Pathao is the leading ride-sharing, on-demand logistics, and food delivery platform in Bangladesh. Today, its motorbike and car-hailing vertical alone serves five million riders across five cities in Bangladesh and Kathmandu in Nepal.

How did Pathao come into existence? For a market with typically no culture of motorcycle-taxis, how did you create the need in the market? How did they manage to stand out from the competition even against the likes of Uber? How has their journey been moving from an app to a super app? We talk about all these and more, in today’s episode.

Show Notes

02:20 Introduction to Hussain Elius

03:22 How Pathao came into existence

05:48 What the status quo was before Pathao

08:21 Inspiration behind founding Pathao

11:10 The competitive landscape for Pathao

13:50 The competition against Uber

17:20 Understanding why the “Uber-way” was not the way to go

22:37 Lessons learned from Gojek

25:30 Pathao’s expansion to Nepal

29:05 Evolution of Hussain’s role

32:43 Does mentorship matter?

36:03 Final thoughts

Many thanks to our guests Hussain Elius; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In this episode, we are joined by Ilaria Chan, Advisor on Tech & Social Impact for Grab, one of Asia’s most prominent tech unicorns. Having started her career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs, today Ilaria is a global keynote speaker, private investor, and serves on the Board of Trustees of several humanitarian organizations. We talk all about impact investment and socially conscious startups and the investment ecosystem that revolves around them.

SHOW NOTES

03:14 Introduction to Ilaria Chan

07:04 Ilaria’s expertise in Impact Investment

09:32 Understanding the reality of Impact Invest and Difference between East & West

14:50 Impact vs Profitability: The quandary for social entrepreneurs for raising funds

20:09 How Tech Unicorns are making social impact a big of their proposition

26:05 Tangible impact vs Intangible Impact: Is one less important than the other?

30:22 The “green-washing” trend in impact investment

34:41 Flow of innovation from East to the West

43:44 Connect with Ilaria

Many thanks to our guests Ilaria Chan; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In today’s episode, we invite Ronen Mense, President and Managing Director APAC for AppsFlyer, to help us answer these questions and more. In the last 7 years with AppsFlyer, Ronen has managed to grow the mobile analytics platform from newcomer to market leader in APAC achieving 70% market share, triple digital revenue growth year on year, and building an amazing team of 175+ across 7 offices in the region.

Show Notes:

02:12 Introduction to Ronen

03:13 What is AppsFlyer

05:03 China’s strategic value for AppsFlyer and vice-versa

11:04 AppsFlyer’s value proposition for Chinese startups expanding overseas

14:53 What made AppsFlyer special: The need for independent analytics

20:59 Dealing with competitors: How to create moats?

23:56 Localizing product to suit the China market

27:41 How AppsFlyer stays independent in the Age of Splinternet

34:05 The Success Playbook for AppsFlyer

37:08 Ronen’s Mantra for Success

42:05 How to contact Ronen

Many thanks to our guests Ronen Mense; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today, we are going to dig deeper into marketplaces again with James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures. Prior to this, James was co-founder and COO of 55tuan, a NASDAQ listed e-commerce group that grew to more than 200 cities and 5,000 employees across China.

Show notes:

2:10 Introduction to James Tan

3:48 Transition from startup founder to venture capitalist

5:35 Introduction to Quest Ventures

6:50 Most rewarding achievements of running a marketplace

8:40 What James was excited about marketplace

11:50 The advantages that a marketplace has to serve customers

15:08 How to manage or control your marketplace

17:00 The most innovative marketplace models that James has seen

19:22 Is a marketplace in Southeast Asia a regional business?

22:48 The timing for marketplaces to internationalise the business

25:00 How to localise in Indonesia?

30:58 The next market that Indonesian companies expand to

33:40 When should companies reconsider expansion

34:35 How to innovate the marketplace revenue model?

39:38 Does “marketplace” have a higher valuation multiple compared to e-commerce?

Many thanks to our guests James Tan; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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For this special episode, we invite Mia Deng, Partner at Dragonfly Capital and Co-founder of NFT marketplace TR Lab, to dive deeper into the NFT space and also talk more about Dragonfly Capital’s latest $225 million fund, primarily focused on DeFi and NFTs. We also cover topics around the evolution of the crypto industry and the synergies between traditional VCs and crypto VCs.

Show Notes:

1:29 Introduction to Mia Deng

4:12 How the narrative around the crypto industry has evolved

6:48 Introduction to Dragonfly Capital and their unique proposition

9:19 How traditional VCs are working with crypto VCs

11:10 Crypto is Global from Day 1!

13:21 How crypto VCs work with founders

16:17 Understanding the intricacies of Sequoia China as an LP in Dragonfly Capital

21:14 Building in the bear market

24:14 What is NFT?

25:34 Why are NFTs booming now?

28:39 What industries will adapt NFTs?

32:38 The inefficiency in the NFT infrastructure space

35:12 Is NFT the next ICO?

36:35 NFT in China

38:09 How to reach out to Mia

Many thanks to our guests Mia Deng; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today, we invite our guest Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China and former Investment Partner at 500 Startups, to discuss these questions in detail on our show. Rui has fifteen years of experience in technology and finance, spanning seed stage to pre-IPO investing spread evenly between the U.S. and China.

Show Notes:

1:51 Introduction to Rui Ma

2:01 The anti-monopoly policy in China

3:28 The reason why Chinese Internet ecosystems don’t collaborate

5:03 Does the regulation help with the competition

8:35 The case of Qihu360 and Tencent

11:10 What triggered the recent regulation

13:29 Public reaction towards the regulation

18:30 The regulation’s impact on entrepreneurs

20:17 Will the fine drive new changes in tech giants

24:50 How China is catching up with other markets

28:45 Will the regulation be detrimental to innovation

33:35 How to contact Rui Ma

Many thanks to our guests Rui Ma; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Victoria Hoang is the Data Partner at Bristol Myers Squibb, where she counsels teams on data privacy and cybersecurity law. In her 20+ years of experience in life sciences and management consulting, she has served on several innovation programs working closely with startups. In today’s talk, she covers one of the most important pre-requisite for startups, which is building trust.

Jack Ren is the Managing Director of Eminence Ventures where he is responsible for the firm’s cloud and IT infrastructure investments. Over the course of his career, he has spearheaded China Mobile’s One NET IoT platform and worked for some of the biggest tech corporations including Samsung and Sony. In today’s talk, Jack shares insights around non-market strategic thinking and how firms should factor it in their decision-making.

Show Notes:

[01:43] Victoria Hoang: How to Build Trust with Customers

[13:41 ] Jack Ren: Non-market Strategical Thinking

Many thanks to our guests Victoria Hoang and Jack Ren; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Rui Ma is a former VC-turned independent tech analyst with her experience spanning from seed stage to pre-IPO investing spread between the US and China. She is well versed with the startup ecosystems in the US and China, having previously worked at 500 Startups as an investment partner. In today’s talk, she offers some invaluable insights for startups going across borders and brings light to potential pitfalls that startups must avoid at all costs.

Kal Patel is a seasoned investor and the Resident Advisor at Oxford Foundry and has led the expansion of Best Buy in Asia in the past. He brings with him a plethora of experience working with and investing in startups from all around the world. Even startups that have the most groundbreaking technology oftentimes fail to generate interest from investors early on and in his talk, he shares insights as to how early-stage startups can become more investible.

Nichapat Ark works extensively with Openspace Venture’s Thailand-based startups as well as startups looking to expand into Thailand. In her talk, she shares insights as to how startups can better leverage their investors, an art that every startup founder must perfect.

Show notes:

02:20 - Rui Ma: Important considerations for Chinese startups going global

13:40 - Kal Patel: How can startups become more "Investible"

24:00 - Nichapat Ark: How to better leverage your investor

Many thanks to our guests Rui Ma, Kal Patel, and Nichapat Ark; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In today’s episode, we dig deeper into esports as a business in SEA with Allan Phang, the Regional Head of Marketing PR at EVOS Esports and former Head of Esports at AirAsia.

Show Notes:

02:50 Allan Phang’s experience in esports

09:00 Introduction to EVOS Esports

12:21 Debunking common myths about professional esports

14:08 Career lifespan of professional esports players

17:55 The role of game publishers in the industry

20:40 Ramifications of breaching gaming etiquette and rules

22:15 Other players and opportunities in the esports ecosystem

25:37 The relationship between global game publishers and local tournament event organisers

28:29 Southeast Asia’s unique position in the esports industry

33:10 Brands’ attitudes towards esports events

36:40 Different revenue models in esports

38:32 The next big thing in esports in SEA

39:50 How to contact Allan

Many thanks to our guests Allan Phang; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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This is a special episode which we recorded live on Clubhouse with our guest Aaron Tan, Founder of Carro, one of the biggest used-car marketplaces in Southeast Asia.

Show Notes:

0:00 - Introduction to Aaron Tan

1:32 - Aaron’s motivation to founding a startup

6:01 - The supportive ecosystem around Carro

8:19 - The importance of “Trust” in a business

8:50 - The reasons behind starting an automotive marketplace in SEA

13:35 - Inspiration from Chinese business models

19:21 - Understanding the heterogeneity in the markets

21:15 - Aaron’s experience on how copying the same model across SEA doesn’t work

25:39 - How to build and scale a two-side marketplace

30:37 - The role of Carro in the marketplace

35:17 - Carro’s expansion playbook across SEA

44:20 - What the future holds for Carro and Southeast Asia

Many thanks to our guests Aaron Tan; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In this episode, we invite Mukesh Bansal, Founder and CEO of Phable, a healthcare startup from India that recently raised a $12 million Series A; and Riaz Mehta, Founder and CEO, of allrites, Asia’s leading B2B marketplace for film and TV content. Our guests bring with them a cumulative 40+ years of building, and running businesses across Asia. We dive deep into what makes experimentation a pre-requisite to running a successful startup and how small changes can have a colossal impact on the business.

Show Notes:

2:26 - Introduction to Mukesh Bansal and Riaz Mehta

5:56 - Experimentation in a startup context

9:54 - How the healthcare industry encourage/discourage experimentation

13:08 - Source of inspiration in deciding about what and how to experiment

20:49 - The The Minimum Viable Experiment

25:58 - Framework for prioritizing action items

31:41 - Should founders go against their own beliefs and convictions

41:14 - How COVID has impacted experimentation

46:47 - Actionable advice to aspiring entrepreneurs

Our 8x8 Global Speakers Series event is taking place on April 10th, where we bring 8 amazing speakers to share their insights in 8 minutes on building, running, and scaling businesses across Asia. Join us online via Zoom or offline in Shanghai.

RSVP here: https://chinaccelerator.com/8x8-speakers-series/

Many thanks to our guests Mukesh Bansal and Riaz Mehta; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today, we invite Shao Lee, Partner at Global Founders Capital, who spearheads their China operations. We talk about GFC’s investment thesis and their unique proposition of Geographical Arbitrage. We dive deeper into understanding the Chinese ecosystem and the drivers of enterprise SaaS in China. As a leading investor in the TMT/ SaaS space, Shao shares his insights on how GFC evaluates enterprise SaaS companies in China.

Show Notes

01:19 - Introduction to Shao Lee and motivations to become a VC

04:18 - What is Global Founders Capital?

05:53 - Bringing the Rocket Internet model to Asia

10:19 - GFC’s Geographical Arbitrage

13:00 - How to discover new business models?

14:45 - Why is it time for Enterprise investment in China?

17:10 - Trends in Chinese companies overseas expansion

19:00 - GFC’s investment decision-making process

20:34 - Founder’s pedigree in the decision-making process

25:45 - Late entrant to China: Is the market still worth entering for VCs?

27:40 - China’s competitive value proposition in global market

32:24 - VC Trends for 2021: The Rise of Enterprise SaaS

35:22 - The drivers of Enterprise SaaS

38:24 - Evaluating Chinese Enterprise SaaS companies

Many thanks to our guest Shao Lee; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today, we invite one of our special friends Matthew Brennan, author of “Attention Factory; The story of TikTok and China’s ByteDance”. He is often featured in global media and has delivered presentations on Chinese digital innovation to global firms such as Google, Tencent, DHL, etc. Having monitored the Chinese tech ecosystem closely for a number of years, Matthew is well-positioned to answer our questions, dig deeper into ByteDance’s remarkable success, and share his insights on the mobile-tech environment in the East and West. We will also discuss the digital marketing schemes partaking in all startups and all kinds of business sizes. Last but not the least, some key insights on future tech innovations that can be observed from the ByteDance case.

You can find the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Attention-Factory-TikTok-Chinas-ByteDance/dp/B08L3NW6VM/

Show Notes:

02:09 Introduce Matthew Brennan

03:20 Why ByteDance is able to build a global product, TikTok

05:57 TikTok, the product and technology

09:42 TikTok’s from-zero-to-one journey

16:30 TikTok’s monetization model and their new initiatives

22:20 Lessons from the success of ByteDance

30:40 Contact Matthew

Many thanks to our guest Matthew Brennan; host Ryan Shuken; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Attention Factory: The Story of TikTok and China's ByteDance

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Show Notes:

1:54 Peng’s journey as an investor

3:22 Main differences btw seed round and Series A

9:15 More capital investment in SEA

10:20 The most interesting trend in SEA

10:56 “Technification” in China

12:24 The opportunities of “technification” in SEA

14:33 “There is no way for a company to grow that fast without technology”

17:31 The core DNA of a successful founding team

18:54 China’s role in SEA’s service industry

22:22 The role of Chinese and Japanese corporate venture capital in SEA

26:20 The infrastructure development in SEA

28:25 A hard push on deep technology in SEA?

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Our first guest is Michael Friedman, CFO of Xinhua Pictures. Mike previously held the position of Director at Shune River Capital where he was responsible for investment, financial analysis, and risk management. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

Our second guest today is Aaron Choi. Aaron is the VP of Global Business Development for Kava Labs, a blockchain solutions platform providing DeFi services such as stable coins, bonds, and lending to crypto users across many blockchain networks.

Show Notes:

[02:43] What happened with GameStop?

[13:59] Centralisation vs Decentralisation. Is GameStop the pivotal moment for DeFi? What are its merits and demerits?

[34:55] Closing Remarks

Many thanks to our guests Michael Friedman and Aaron Choi; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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2020 is over, finally! Happy New Year to everyone! In today's episode, we would like to give you a quick recap of China Startup Pulse in 2020 and also make a major announcement in the end.

Show Notes:

00:00 Catch up with Oscar and Ryan

06:38 Episodes featuring founders

22:14 Episodes featuring investors

30:40 The big announcement

Big, big, big thanks to our hosts Oscar Ramos and Ryan Shuken; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today we’re bringing you the final episode of our Chinaccelerator 8x8 Global Speakers Series where we invite some of the most accomplished members of the global startup ecosystem to share key lessons for startups in eight minutes or less.

Show Notes:

02:18 - Yara Paoli

11:30 - Adam Najberg

19:27 - Shamik Talukder

Our first speaker is Yara Paoli. Yara is the former VP of Growth at Skyscanner (acquired by Ctrip) and is currently the Co-Founder and Chief Growth Scientist of Growth OS, a growth enabler company. Having contributed to growing Skyscanner from a 32-employees small startup to a GBP 1.4 Billion valued company with over 1,000 talented people working across 60+ markets, Yara is the perfect guest to talk about growth mindset, which she talks about in this episode.

Our next speaker is Adam Najberg, Global Head of Content at Alibaba Group and Former Global Director of Communications at DJI. Having been in the field of journalism and PR for over 25 years, Adam has amassed a wealth of experience in storytelling. Today, he talks about why storytelling is important for startups, and how someone else could tell their stories if startups don't do it themselves.

Finally, we have Shamik Talukder, co-founder of Be Tagged, an influencer marketing company, and the founding member of the largest Radio FM Network in India, Radio Mirchi, and former Vice President at Viacom 18 Media. In his talk today, he shares two important lessons that the covid19 pandemic has taught him and how he believes that could help startups.

Many thanks to our guest Benjamin Qiu; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Airbnb, undeniably the world’s most popular vacation rental online marketplace, just went public recently. In just days, Airbnb’s valuation has exceeded $100 billion and now eclipses even some of the world’s largest hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt.

This episode is a blast from the past, where we revisit our conversation with Sean Pan, the former Head of China Operations at Airbnb, who had overseen the transformation of Airbnb’s strategy, management system, and branding in China since 2015 when the company only had 6 employees!

Today, China has become one of the most important markets for Airbnb where the company is seeing exponential growth. Airbnb, or Aibiying, as it is better known in China managed to not only survive in the China market but also growing from strengths to strengths, something that most international startups have failed to do when they enter China.

In this episode, Sean mentions one of the key obstacles confronted by many foreign companies who want to localize in China is the communication problem between the global and China team. How did Airbnb manage to successfully tackle this issue? What efforts does the company put in to build internal trust?

Show Notes:
[01:26] Introduction to Sean
[05:33] The Philosophy behind Airbnb’s office in Beijing
[06:30] Building and maintaining Airbnb’s unique Culture in China
[08:09] How to foster a commitment to China from the global Team?
[12:00] Key finding for Airbnb’s success
[15:38] Managing the relation with head-quarters
[16:12] Evolution of Airbnb’s China strategy
[18:03] Creating a China-specific brand
[22:38] Challenge foreign entrepreneurs are facing in China
[26:00] Is there an opportunity for foreign companies in China?

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This is the second episode from our Chinaccelerator 8X8 Global Speakers Series, where we bring 8 influential speakers to share their insights and experiences in 8 minutes. We have some great speakers lined up for this episode.

In today’s episode, we bring 3 exceptional speakers with their insights.

Show Notes:

02:25: Mikaal Adbulla

08:04: Lily Liu

19:57: Vu Van

First up, we have Mikaal Adbulla, co-founder and CEO of 8 Securities, Asia’s first mobile-only investing service and robo-advisor, that was recently acquired by SoFi. For entrepreneurs, constraints are everywhere: from finding capital to finding the right team. But only if you have experienced those constraints, are you able to learn how to be creative, agile and focused. In today’s talk, Mikaal shares how having excess capital could be a constraint for startups.

Our second speaker is Lily Liu, an angel investor and also co-founder of fintech startup Earn.com, which was acquired by Coinbase. In her talk, she breaks some of the biggest myths of being a CFO and explains how being a Chief Financial Officer is more about managing risks holistically and their role in a company’s long-term sustainability.

Last but certainly not least, we have Vu Van, co-founder ELSA Corp, one of the world’s best and smartest English pronunciation app, powered by AI. Given what the company does, it is easy to assume that Vu Van is a technical genius. But the interesting fact is, Vu does not come from a technical background. She draws from her own experiences to explain why having a tech background is not a pre-requisite to building a tech company and how not having such a background could be a blessing in disguise instead.

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Welcome everybody to another episode of the China Startup Pulse. We have a special one today. We are back with our Chinaccelerator 8x8 Global Speaker Series with eight influential speakers from all over the world to share their insights for startups in eight minutes.

In today’s episode, we bring not one but two incredible investors to share their insights in building and investing in global businesses, bringing different perspectives drawn from their own careers. Stay tuned for insights from Shannon Kalayanamitr and Per Welinder.

Show Notes:

02:30: Shannon Kalayanamitr

12:05: Per Welinder

Our first guest is Shannon Kalayanamitr, Partner at Gobi Partners. She has made her mark in the tech world building businesses such as Orami/ MOXY, Lazada, and PPTVThailand] and driving the ecosystem through tech investments as CEO of the IKIGAI GROUP and 5GCatalyst Technologies, in Southeast Asia.

In today’s talk, Shannon brings a very unique approach to viewing M&As and marriages. Like marriage, M&A is a long-term commitment. And like marriage, M&A also requires a lot of work in order to be successful. Shannon gives some interesting insights that are applicable to both marriages and M&As.

Our second speaker is the legendary skateboarder Per Welinder, who many people may know from the movie, Back to the Future. Per is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist focusing on culture, lifestyle, and consumer technologies. He has co-founded influential skateboard and lifestyle brands including Birdhouse, Flip, Baker, etc.

In today’s talk, Per shares his story of how he transitioned his career from being a professional skateboarder, starting his own skateboard company, to becoming a venture capitalist and investing in lifestyle companies and the lessons he learned along the way. He is sure to entice the audience with his entrepreneurial insights as he has done with his skills on the skateboard.

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Dr. Yongqin Zeng a Senior Director & Innovation Lead in Philips Venture. Her long and rich career has seen her do over a decade of research in academia before joining the private sector where she has done it all. She led multiple research departments in different industries, drove several venture projects that led to the creation of two new business units, and also facilitated over 10 Open Innovation projects involving universities, hospitals, and of course startups. Dr. Zeng’s work on Open Innovation is also featured in the book “Innovation in China” published by MIT in 2016.

In this episode, Dr. Zeng helps us dive deeper into innovation and R&D from the perspectives of academia, corporations, and startups.

Show Notes

2:24 Introduction to Dr. Yongqin Zeng

3:18 Moving from research in academia to research in the corporate world

4:30 Difference between R&D and Innovation.

7:00 Do all inventions drive innovation?

11:27 How monetization shapes the R&D pipeline for corporates.

18:28 Deep dive into healthcare startup ecosystem: The competitive advantage they possess to deliver results

20:51 Synergies between healthcare startups and hospitals: China trend vs Global trend

23:00 Strength of Open Innovation in healthcare ecosystem outside China

24:55 Models that will shape the future of open innovation

28:16 Open innovation models improving UI and UX in the healthcare industry

32:35 Getting in touch with Dr. Yongqin Zeng

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Today, we will invite one of our old friends Benjamin Qiu, Partner of Loeb & Loeb, an international law firm based in the US and Asia. He has over 15-year experience in working with high growth companies in China and big VC firms such as GGV and Sequoia Capital. He is the perfect person to answer our questions and expand on the future outlook of the post-covid startup world. We will also talk about the relationship between China and other Asian markets including Southeast Asia and India, and how the recent events will change the way that China invests in those regions.

Show Notes:

02:01 Introduce Benjamin Qiu

02:41 More Chinese tech companies got listed in overseas markets

05:02 China’s financial policy reforms

08:42 How the pandemic has impacted investors’ investment deals

12:54 Reasons behind the fast market recovery in China

16:05 Trends about China going to Southeast Asia

20:43 The impact created by the geopolitical intensions between China and India

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Our guests:

Remington Ong
Remington is Partner at Fenbushi Capital, one of the earliest and most active blockchain-focused venture capital firms, where he has managed investments into over 40 leading startups around the world leveraging blockchain technology to disrupt a wide range of industries, such as finance, healthcare, supply chain, and consumer goods.

Ray Yang

Ray is Partner at Marathon Venture Partners, a China-based early to growth stage fund focusing on digital healthcare transformation. Prior to Marathon Venture Partners, Ray was MD at Northern Light Venture Capital and Investment Director at Orchid Asia Group Management. Many of his investments have achieved listings on major stock exchanges or achieved exit via M&A, such as Burning Rock Riotech, a Chinese biotech company went public on NASDAQ.

William Bao Bean

William is General Partner at SOSV. a US$740m+ venture capital fund known as “the accelerator VC”. He is also the MD at Chinaccelerator, SOSV’s global Internet accelerator and the first accelerator to launch in China in 2010 and MOX, the mobile-only accelerator platform with 130m smartphone users in SE Asia. Before SOSV, William was one of the founding MDs at SingTel Innov8 Ventures and Partner at Softbank China & India Holdings.

Show Notes:

01:00 Talk with Remington Ong

06:41 Talk with Ray Yang

14:00 Talk with William Bao Bean

Many thanks to our guests; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Show notes:

02:26 Educating overseas brands about the China market in Shangpin

05:03 The reasons why overseas brands rejected Chinese platforms in early days

08:05 Shangpin partnered with banks to build trust with customers

10:30 First time brought Topshop to China’s online space

13:22 Online consumers for high-end brands in China

16:37 The role of Shangpin in providing unique user experience

19:17 The importance of after-sales customer service

22:04 The biggest changes in China’s luxury ecommerce space

28:32 China’s innovation that is brought to the rest of the world

30:53 How the overseas perceives the innovation from China

35:00 The new definition of luxury

Many thanks to our guest Claire Chung; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Our guests:

Helen Wong

Helen is Partner at Qiming Venture Partners and a founding team member at GGV Capital. Qiming is an early to growth stage venture capital firm, which currently manages four USD funds and three RMB funds with over $1.7 billion in assets.

Helen’s successful exits at Qiming include Mobike (sold to Meituan), Luojiswei (unicorn valuation, sold to Tencent), and Lagou (sold to 51jobs). Helen was awarded by Forbes as Top100 VCs in China in 2018.

Gary Yang

Gary is Founding Partner at SkySaga Capital and Director of the China Venture Capital Association. Graduated from Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in China and the world, Gary is an experienced investor who led the investment of dozens of companies, including Yanjiyou, a well-known bookstore chain brand in China, Pencil Media, an upcoming tech media focusing on startup news, and more.

SkySaga Capital is an early to growth stage venture capital firm, with a focus on industrial upgrades such as consumption upgrade and supply chain upgrade, and deep tech such as AI and biotech.

Jeff Chi
Jeff is Founding Partner at Vickers Venture Partners and Former Chairman at Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association.

Vickers is a global venture capital firm with US$700 million focused on early-stage investments in Asia and beyond. The firm announced in 2017 that it has raised US$230 million to invest in startups around the world, with a particular focus on deep tech across the globe and impact investments in emerging markets. Vickers has 8 offices around the world and is one of the largest venture capital firms in Singapore and Shanghai.

Show Notes:

01:04 Talk with Helen Wong

06:14 Talk with Gary Yang

10:19 Talk with Jeff Chi

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During this week’s episode, we will discuss the value of design in early technology startups with Yiying Lu, the award-winning artist behind the Twitter Fail Whale and Dumpling emoji, named as “Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business” and Microsoft's “Top 10 Emerging Leader in Innovation”.

Show notes:

02:08 Introducing Yiying Lu

03:00 How design helps with product experience

05:30 The role of emotional needs in design

10:50 Design as a strategic tool for tech companies

14:40 How early stage founders should pay attention to design

19:50 Own a cross-cultural mindset

27:33 Failed campaign examples when foreign companies enter China

31:50 Yiying’s cross-cultural campaign cases

Many thanks to our guest Yiying Lu; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Our guest today is Sophie Yao, the China General Manager of Pegasus Tech Ventures, which some people may know for their notable investments like SpaceX and Airbnb. Sophie currently manages a $1 billion fund that predominantly focuses on pre-IPO deals.

Show Notes:

1:48 Introduction to Sophie Yao

2:59 The CVC 4.0 Model

4:33 Rationale behind corporate partnering with single LP funds

6:58 The $1 billion pre-IPO fund, what it is and why Pegasus invests in pre-IPO deals

8:04 Risks associated with pre-IPO deals

9:46 Pre-requisites in a pre-IPO deal. How do you measure returns?

12:28 Role of the pre-IPO investor in supporting companies

13:40 Evaluating potential investments

16.14 Next wave of IPOs from China

20:58 Revenue vs Technology: What matters more in deep tech investment

23:12 Does investor behavior shape the type of companies in China?

24:36 China’s STAR market and how it has performed so far

26:15 Companies doing well in the STAR market

26:45 Alibaba Ant dual IPO: Inflection point in Chinese companies' perspective on IPOs

28:41 Foreign companies listing in STAR market

29:23 US-China deteriorating relations and impact on internationalization of Chinese tech startups

31:29 Luckin’s impact on the perception of listed Chinese companies

34:36 Lessons for Series A or B founders

36:54 Pegasus’ area of investment and how to contact Sophie

37:53 Pegasus’ Incubation program

Many thanks to our guest Sophie Yao; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In today’s episode we are joined by Kevin Lee, CDO at IKEA China; German Torrado, Managing Director at Genetsis E-commerce; Alexis RICHEZ, Venture Development and Partnerships at ZTP (The innovation arm behind one the largest retails groups in Europe including companies like Decathlon, Leroy Merlin our Auchan); and Abel Zhao, Co-founder and CEO at TravelFlan.

Our guests come with a particular angle on data and digitalization. With their wealth of experiences, you will gain insightful learnings on how to use data to innovate within your organization especially in a post-Covid19 world.

Show Notes

[02:11] Introduction to Kevin Lee and understanding what Ikea is doing with data and insights
[03:48] Introduction to German Torrado and Genetsis E-commerce
[04:48]Introduction to Alexis Richez and ZTP
[06:21] Introduction to Abel Zhao and TravelFlan
[09:17] Is data the new oil? How is IKEA getting value from data today?
[13:46] Awareness of data among brands and the relevance of data in their agenda
[16:56] What is the readiness level of companies? Are they really aware of how much value they can derive from data? Are they talking about data is the new oil but have no idea what it is exactly or are they ready to extract value from data?
[20:50] Reaction from brands about data that is hard to get
[22:53] Most relevant obstacles in the present time to drive digital transformation
[35:35] Impact of GDPR for businesses
[37:35] Getting key stakeholders to buy into the “Data is the Future” narrative and Performance metrics when implementing a data strategy

Many thanks to our guest Kevin Lee, German Torrado, Alexis Richez and Abel Zhao; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Our guest today, Neo Lv, is one of the company’s co-founders and today’s COO.

Show Notes:

02:11 Introduction to Neo Lv and Citybox

04:47 Unmanned retail hype in 2017 & what makes Citybox unique

08:54 Monetize data

12:51 How Citybox sustainably gets profitable among the strong competitions

18:27 Competitions bring new growth opportunities

24:47 How Citybox built their first generation of the smart vending machines

29:08 The future of unmanned retail

33:45 Compare China with other markets globally

Many thanks to our guest Neo Lv; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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In this episode, we have with us Cao Yin, Founding Partner of Digital Renaissance Foundation, a Shanghai-based company that is helping to accelerate the future of digital governance by consulting, incubating and financing projects in the blockchain ecosystem and investor in the first DeFi project launched in China.

Show Notes

[1:55] Introduction to Cao Yin

[8:46] What makes crypto and blockchain so different? Hype vs Reality?

[13:15] DeFi use cases

[17:10] Winners and Losers from DeFi

[21:26] How DeFi affects the government

[25:04] Risks of DeFi. What can go wrong?

[29:10] Chinese government’s view on DeFi

[32:19] Opportunities for DeFi startups today

[33:58] Chinese DeFi investors

[36:27] Contact Cao Yin and Digital Rennaisance Foundation

Many thanks to our guest Cao Yin; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today, we have Greg Pilarowski, Founder of Pillar Legal, a boutique law firm with offices in Shanghai and San Francisco that provides legal support for technology and entertainment companies with an interest in China and the US. Before founding Pillar Legal, Greg was General Counsel at Shanda Interactive Entertainment, at that time China’s leading interactive entertainment company.

Show Notes:

02:20 Introduction to Greg Pilarowski

04:40 Working in Shanda Interactive Entertainment

07:20 The birth of the free-to-play model

10:10 Gaming regulations in China

12:22 Two key regulations that you must know

14:46 Criterium for selecting games

20:24 The regulations on gamification

21:55 Resources to secure your games approval

24:35 Do new game updates need constant approval?

25:40 How can foreign game companies enter China?

29:48 Chinese companies taking games outside of China

31:34 The acquisitions strategy of Chinese game companies

32:50 Contact Pillar Legal

Many thanks to our guest Greg Pilarowski; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today, we have with us Bertrand Schmitt, Co-Founder & Chairman at App Annie, a leading mobile market data and analytics platform with data on over 8 million apps and thousands of websites. App Annie is one of the most trusted names in mobile data analytics.

Show Notes:

1:53 Introduction to Bertrand Schmitt

4:55 Early days of the mobile ecosystem and the problems within

6:28 Evolution of mobile operators' role in the industry

8:57 Centralization of content distribution in the mobile space

9:59 Apple vs Android ecosystem

10:59 Getting into the world of analytics and inspiration behind App Annie

12:26 Beginning of the China Story

14:55 Deciding to go into entrepreneurship in mobile analytics

16:30 Mobile analytics: Global problem or local (China) problem?

17:37 Perception of AppAnnie in the global market

18:57 Was China a critical element of success?

21:00 Experience of overseas fundraising from China

25:05 What triggered the move from Beijing to San Francisco

28:26 Learnings/ findings working across multiple geographical locations

32:06 Instrumental roles that made a difference to the company

33:12 Critical moment of evolution in China’s mobile industry/ecosystem

37:00 Lessons for entrepreneurs

Many thanks to our guest Bertrand Schmitt; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today we talk with Donna Li, a digital marketing veteran, who was part of the team that launched Alimama, the digital advertisement division of Alibaba, which is also the largest player by revenue in the digital advertising space in China.

Show Notes:

02:06 Introducing Donna Li

03:25 How did you get started in digital marketing in China

06:06 Digital marketing in China at around 2010

10:15 Transition from Yahoo to Alibaba

13:12 Advertising: Taobao’s monetization model

18:26 Alimama: Cash Cow for Alibaba

22:15 Is Amazon following a similar playbook?

25:50 New inventor: Bytedance

29:55 Advertisement as a business model for early-stage startups

34:10 Build digital measurement currency at Nielsen

35:42 Challenges for startups

Many thanks to our guest Donna Li; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Our guest today is Mikaal Abdulla, Co-founder and CEO of 8 Securities, a zero-commission mobile-only securities platform that was recently acquired by SoFi. From bootstrapping the business to raising an impressive 1st round of $8 million followed by successive rounds to finally being acquired by SoFi in April, Mikaal and 8 Securities have turned a full-circle.

Show Notes:

1:41 Introduction to Mikaal Abdulla

2:31 Motivation to Start 8 Securities

4:12 Raising the first round of $8 million

7:50 How to measure traction

8:52 The importance of understanding customer needs

17:33 Finding the balance between consumers' needs and CEO's expectations

20:38 Going mobile: a pivotal moment

28:10 Surprising discovery entering into new market

32:32 Connection between funding and breakthroughs

34:40 Learning from constraints

38:11 SoFi acquisition

39:50 Advice to founders

Many thanks to our guest Mikaal Abdulla; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Our guest today is Stephen Wang, who co-founded Rotten Tomatoes, a leading entertainment website focused on movie reviews and news, and most recently led the user growth and engagement at WeChat in the past 6 years until 2019. At WeChat, he managed a team of product managers and engineers to help scale WeChat from 300M to 1B users in China and around the world.

Show Notes:

2:15 Welcome Stephen Wang

2:50 How different WeChat is as a product from the western perspective

5:37 What makes WeChat instrumental for people’s life

12:42 Innovation inspired by Tencent team culture

16:10 Product design in China (Examples: Douban, Weibo and Xiaomi)

21:50 What makes China a special ecosystem for digital product development

25:30 WeChat’s killer features: WeChat payment, Red Packets, Mini program

32:35 Balance privacy protection and user growth

39:20 Skills needed for talents in Tencent

43:35 Are Chinese companies hiring more international talents

49:10 The major shift of product management philosophy in China

Many thanks to our guest Stephen Wang; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Our guest for today, Fritz Demopoulos is the Founder of Queen's Road Capital. He has been an entrepreneur and investor within the media and internet industries for over 15 years. He co-founded Qunar.com, China’s largest travel internet company; and Shawei.com, China’s largest sports internet company. Fritz also had senior positions at Netease and The News Corporation. As an expat witnessing the exponential growth of China since the late 1990s, he brings a very unique and interesting perspective of internet in China and the determinants of success for early internet founders.

Episode Notes:

02:30 Introduction to Fritz Demopoulos

03:05 Internet in China in 1997

05:15 How Fritz decided to come to China

05:44 What stood out in the Chinese business environment

07:33 The Dotcom Bubble and its Impact on China

09:12 The Major Driver of Business Growth in China

12:13 The Evolution of Early Internet Businesses in China

13:42 Appetite for Monetization

17:00 Value Addition over Monetization

18:41 User Interface in early 2000s

21:36 The First Generation of Chinese Internet Founders

24:35 Fritz's leap into entrepreneurship

26:48 Differentiating a Business and Standing Out of the Crowd

31:03 Raising Capital as a Foreigner in China

32:58 Inflection Point for China Internet that Changed Everything

35:11 China's Role in Global Tech

39:04 What keeps Fritz busy now

40:00 Fritz's Investment Thesis and Areas of Investment Interest

41:30 How to contact Demopoulos

41:55 Advice to Everyone

Many thanks to our guest; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today we’re bringing you the final episode of our Chinaccelerator 8x8 Global Speakers Series where we invite some of the most accomplished members of the China startup ecosystem to share key lessons for startups in eight minutes or less.

Our theme for this episode is entrepreneurship insights. Our two speakers today bring with them a plethora of experience to share with our listeners. Stay tuned for the insights from Yaw Yeo and Cheryl Goh.

[01:51] Yaw Yeo

[17:30] Cheryl Goh

Yaw Yeo is the General Manager for International Product and Business for Alibaba Cloud. Prior to Alibaba, Yaw was responsible for new market expansion in the Asia-Pacific region for Twilio (NYSE:TWLO). Yaw started working with Twilio as an investor in 2012. He joined Twilio as employee #1 in Asia-Pacific in 2014 and witnessed Twilio’s growth from a startup of 50 employees to a publicly-traded company of 2,500 employees.

Cheryl Goh is part of the founding team at Grab. Starting in Kuala Lumpur as a one-man marketing team, she has set up the marketing practise across Southeast Asia for Grab over the last six years. Today, she leads marketing in over 300 cities, covering all of Grab’s business verticals including transport, food, payments and logistics. She oversees Grab’s marketing efforts across the region, leading a team of over 500 marketers across Southeast Asia. In 6 years, Cheryl has built the Grab brand into a household name across Southeast Asia, and played a critical role in the company’s growth and progression from ride-hailing, into the region’s leading superapp. Under her leadership, the marketing team has led the development of demand shaping platforms which drives Grab’s growth using technology and automation. She also manages Grab’s social impact programme and published Grab’s first social impact report earlier this year.

Many thanks to our guests; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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[02:50] Patrick Lee

[11:48] Fritz Demopoulos

[21:54] Patrick Riley

Patrick Lee is a serial entrepreneur best known for being a co-founder and former CEO of Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com), a leading entertainment website focused on movie reviews and news. He is an advisor to a number of startups including Casetify, ChargeSPOT, Instaread, Kiwibot, Oishii, WePloy, and Zeuss Technologies; and a mentor at a number of organizations including SOSV, Berkeley SkyDeck, Blue Startups, and Founder Institute.

Fritz Demopoulos has been an entrepreneur and investor within the media and internet industries for over 15 years. He co-founded Qunar.com, China’s largest travel internet company; and Shawei.com, China’s largest sports internet company. Fritz also had senior positions at Netease and The News Corporation

Patrick Riley is the CEO at GAN and Managing Partner and Co-Founder of GAN Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund. Most recently, he was on the executive team at Techstars, where he oversaw its business development. He started his career working for W.L. Gore and Associates and moved into the leadership of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. Patrick left the Red Cross to manage the West Coast sales and operations for a venture-backed healthcare company that had an exit before joining Techstars and GAN.

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Welcome everybody to another episode of the China Startup Pulse. We have a special one today. We are back with our Chinaccelerator 8x8 Speaker Series this year with eight influential speakers from all over the world to share their insights for startups in eight minutes.

In this week’s episode, our speakers will share their experience and insights as to how startups can weather through the storm that is the Coronavirus pandemic. Our three guests bring different perspectives given their diverse backgrounds.

[02:13] Edith Yeung

[11:47] Yiying Lu

[18:36] Abel Zhao

Edith Yeung is a General Partner at Proof of Capital and advisor to 500 Startups. Previously, she was the GM at Dolphin Browser where she helped the company grow from 0 to 150 million app downloads. She has also led operation roles at several Fortune 500 companies.

Yiying Lu is one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. She is the artist behind the globally celebrated Twitter Fail Whale and the dumpling emoji. She has worked with hundreds of tech startups and entrepreneurs around the world, sharing her experiences and educating them about creative innovation.

Abel Zhao is the co-founder and CEO of TravelFlan, an award-winning AI and big data solutions company, empowering Fortune 500 companies including Samsung and China Mobile.

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Our guest for today, Tu Le is the founder and Managing Director of Sino Auto Insights, a Beijing-based business intelligence and advisory firm that specializes in helping mobility companies develop tech-focused and innovative products and services. With over 20 years of experience in the industry from pure automotive to pure tech and finally combine both experiences together in China, he has very interesting insider perspectives to share with us.

Episode notes:

02:03 Introduce Tu Le

03:04 Define Mobility

03:45 How mobility impacts other industries

05:20 How China becomes one of the largest markets for mobility

08:40 More adoption of electric motorcycles in China

12:54 The brutal battle between the traditional automakers and new technologies-powered EV brands

17:53 Xiaomi and Apple to join the competition

20:25 Will few leading players occupy the whole EV market in the end?

22:40 Tesla gets massive support from the Chinese government

24:55 Supply Chain for production

29:00 Startups that traditional automotive players like to work with

34:55 Opportunities to achieve profitability

37:30 Contact Tu Le

Many thanks to our guest Tu Le; host Oscar Ramos; producer Eva Shi; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today’s guest Sam Cai is a legal and policy expert in Internet-related legislation, intellectual property rights and WTO rules, involved in different Chinese and international institutions. Currently he acts as Deputy Director and Chief Researcher of Cyberlaw Center at one of the largest tech companies in China.

Episodes Notes:

02:00 Introduce Sam Cai

02:45 What is Prism Think Tank

03:20 How China Internet regulations have evolved

04:53 Three approaches to regulate new technologies

08:02 Why China takes a relatively open approach for new things

09:47 What is “Internet +”

12:00 Are regulations different for foreigners and local players

13:30 Regulated cases in e-commerce

15:30 Legal and policy issues around data privacy and Artificial Intelligence

19:04 GDPR’s impact on the industry globally

23:15 Opportunities for foreign companies

24:35 The game app Plague Inc was forbidden during COVID19

26:30 A license-based regulation model

29:10 Future regulations and policies in Europe, the US and China

20:15 New government plan in China - “New Infrastructure”

31:00 The role of regulations in the internationalization of Chinese companies

31:56 Suggestions for foreign companies coming to China

34:34 How to contact Sam

Many thanks to our guest Sam Cai; host Oscar Ramos; producer Eva Shi; editors David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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01:50 Impact investing in emerging markets

04:20 How COVID-19 impacts the impact investing

09:48 How COVID-19 impact entrepreneurs to adjust their business

12:30 How startups can get the attention from impact investors

15:48 SE Asian startups tend to solve their local Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) problems first

16:53 Impact investing from China to Southeast Asia

18:31 What startups deliver social impact

20:51 Asian organizations with a global vision of gender equality

23:00 What encourages the changes for female entrepreneurs

26:25 How to contact Paul Meyers

*About Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

“The SDGs, as they’re known, set quantitative and qualitative targets and delivery timelines for impact-focused action through 2030. From eradicating poverty (Goal 1) to ensuring the availability and management of clean water access (Goal 6) to combatting climate change (Goal 13) and others." (Paul Meyers)

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Paul Meyers; producer Eva Shi; editors David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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01:46 Introduce Peter Mao

03:11 Introduce Panda Capital

05:35 The geographic focus for investment

06:17 How to react to the current downturn

07:49 Is it now a bad timing for deep technology companies?

11:07 The industries that can thrive from the COVID-19 crisis

12:51 The risky companies to invest

14:22 Three types of companies that are risky but full of opportunities

19:17 Are Chinese VCs looking for more obvious winners?

22:21 How to evaluate risks

25:30 How Peter evaluates founders and teams

27:20 The business metrics Peter care about

30:00 Deal breakers for Series A companies

35:50 Why Panda Capital has a different investment strategy

41:05 How to contact Peter

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Peter Mao; producer Eva Shi; editors David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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02:26 Welcome Tim

03:08 What is Snapask

06:08 The tutorial market and how Snapask got started

06:27 Snapaks operates in 8 markets

07:00 How the COVID-19 impacts the remote education

08:10 The vision and the first version of Snapask

11:28 Finding the profiles of users

12:30 The stereotypes of asking questions in Asian culture

14:00 Targeting at parents or students?

20:00 The tutors on Snapask

25:00 Investors care about the supply-demand balance

29:00 What is the next for Snapask

31:30 How will COVID-19 impact the future of education

35:00 How to contact Timothy Yu

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Timothy Yu; producer Eva Shi; editors David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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02:13 Who is Bruce Bateman

09:54 Starting up in Asia is different from that in Silicon Valley

12:00 Design for manufacture and its challenges

14:30 The coronavirus outbreak is pushing forward the technologies

15:20 What will smart cities look like in the future

19:50 The cars industry is working on their intelligent innovation for smart cities

23:06 Transportation is one of the easiest problems to solve today

23:44 The education demands of different people

28:00 “The technology we are developing today will develop the smart city in the future”

29:34 The overhyped concept of “smart city”

35:00 How will technologies help to take care of old people

39:18 How to contact Bruce

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Bruce Bateman; producer Eva Shi; editors David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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02:00 How Lucas got into food delivery in the early days

06:30 Customer acquisition for online service

08:50 Offline flyers was a weapon for Waimaichaorenn

11:20 How to increase the conversion rate of online and offline campaigns

18:40 Leading the team in China as a foreigner

22:10 How to attract the best talents

27:03 Motivate employees to work from offline to online during the virus outbreak

31:10 Lessons learnt after hiring someone who did not fit the team culture

36:04 What keeps Lucas busy now and what is xixilab

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Lucas Englehardt; producer Eva Shi; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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01:47 Welcome Monte to the podcast

02:13 How Monte got into gaming

04:01 Transition to business

06:30 What drove Monte to the US

09:30 Adoption of games in Asia

11:57 Drivers behind creating new games

16:15 Asian games focus more on functions

19:50 Playing video games is an easy way to fill in boredom

23:31 Challenges to implement gamification

25:03 “The core asset of gamification is fun”

27:15 Why kids like playing games rather than study

28:30 “Most gamification activities are superficial”

34:29 How to make the process pleasurable

36:50 Is VR a must-have for games?

41:11 The technology that will change the game industry

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Monte Singman; producer Eva Shi; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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02:12 Introduce Joseph Constanty

03:08 Introduce NIU Technologies

03:37 How Joseph ended up working in mobility

04:40 Urban transportation problems in emerging markets

07:38 The position of China in the global electric vehicles industry

10:45 NIU was firstly launched and sold through online crowdfunding campaigns

13:04 The e-scooter customers

15:08 NIU’s history

18:38 The best practices of bike sharing

21: 23 The “technology” gene of NIU

22:43 How NIU uses data to improve the user experience

25:53 NIU’s playbook of internalization

30:24 Different data policies in different countries

32:00 Challenges when a Chinese brand expand to overseas markets

35:20 Is China a leader in the global mobility industry

38:15 Model to work with overseas distributers

40:13 NIU’s unique go-to-market approaches

43:23 “Cars are the enemy of our cities”

46:40 How to contact Joseph

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Joseph Constanty; producer Eva Shi; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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02:07 Introduction of David Chen

03:45 Strikingly's experience in Y Combinator

05:00 What is Strikingly

05:30 Why Strikingly went to China and their advantages

08:40 Build a local presence in the Mobile-Only China market

16:31 It took 3 years to launch a local product

17:24 How the name 'Strikingly' was born

21:10 How Strikingly localized in China

26:31 Products’ differences for Chinese and global users

30:30 Special needs from Chinese users - WeChat mini program

35:39 Regulations of building websites and WeChat mini programs in China

36:46 How to hire in Shanghai

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest David Chen; producer Eva Shi; editors David and Geep; ; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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01:59 Introduce Jonathan Wu

02:41 About GrowingIO

05:23 Why Jonathan started the company

08:25 How Jonathan decided to take the sales role

09:50 How GrowingIO got the first client, Liepin.com 猎聘

12:50 How to train the sales team

16:13 It takes 12 months for a new sales person to be mature

17:20 How to onboard the clients and understand pain points of adoption

21:05 How to select clients

23:27 Mature Internet companies build their own data platform

26:35 It’s necessary to add services on top of the software

29:26 Classify products and services for different clients

33:12 How GrowingIO has scaled the sales team

36:08 Connect with the decision maker to close the deal

37:38 Contact Jonathan

Many thanks to our guest Jonathan Wu, host Oscar Ramos; ; producers Eva Shi; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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01:53 About Alex and KAWO

02:37 What brought Alex to China

03:45 How Alex started working for a technology company

05:26 What has KAWO achieved

06:28 What makes dynamic social media ecosystem in China

11:06 Challenges that western brands have in China

14:56 Social media is way more influential than it was

19:28 Localization: trust the local team and listen to users

20:01 Brands are also facing risks from publicity

25:40 Startups being impacted by the PR crisis

27:20 The reason why there were more PR crises

29:24 KAWO’s competitors and challenges

Many thanks to our guest Alex Duncan, host Oscar Ramos; ; producers Eva Shi; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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[2:08] Introducing Alvin Chiang
[3:13] About Gululu
[4:22] How Gululu chose which problem to solve
[9:40] Design thinking in Chinese internet companies
[10:38] Lean startup methodology and iteration
[12:03] Technology infusion theory and acquiring users
[14:05] How Gululu uses IoT to keep users engaged
[17:00] Gaming vs. gamification
[19:18] Cooperating with parents
[21:43] Bringing Gululu to life and building a team
[23:50] How Gululu acquired their first users
[26:37] What Alvin learned at Alibaba
[28:13] Expat vs. local Chinese users
[29:41] Market education
[32:33] Gululu stickiness
[34:00] What opportunities are out there for entrepreneurs?
[38:01] How to find Alvin and Gululu

Many thanks to our hosts Ryan Shuken and Oscar Ramos; our guest Alvin Chiang; producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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01:16 Innovation in the US and China

04:39 The landscape of the travel Industry in China

06:54 Chinese innovation with global potential

07:49 Exciting travel innovation practices

10:20 Hype around new technology

11:30 China as the early adopter market

13:40 Exploring offline activities

14:07 Acquiring customers in lower tier cities

18:13 From “Ctrip” to “Trip.com Group”

19:30 Ctrip expanding to emerging markets

20:25 The collaboration models with startups

23:12 Running pilots

26:03 Pilots in B2B space

27:24 User experience

29:40 Early stage investment

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, our guest Margaret Feng, producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu, editors David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator, and sponsor People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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What factors are RMB investors considering that USD investors are not? What can the difference between Chinese VC firms and American VC firms tell us about the innovation and entrepreneurship lanscape in these countries? As venture capital funding slows down in China, how is this affecting entrepreneurs?

Today we are lucky to have the perfect person to answer these questions: Victor Chao, Partner of the RMB fund at SAIF, a leading private equity firm in China. Victor has lived and worked all over the world, and so he has a great perspective on how understanding VCs can help us understand the state of innovation in a country.

[1:20] Introducing Victor Chao and his journey to the VC world
[6:40] SAIF Partners history and growth
[8:11] Difference between private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investment strategies
[10:20] Difference between American and Chinese PE/VC investment
[14:20] What makes the China market unique: speed, mobility, and more
[16:55] Who are the investors for USD and RMB funds, and how do they impact investment strategies
[22:30] How exits and investing stages differ for USD and RMB funds
[25:15] How do different fund types influence what industries investors are looking at
[27:14] The RMB investment cooldown in China and how it is impacting investment strategies
[30:00] For a PE/VC firm, does size or performance matter more?
[32:10] How should entrepreneurs navigate today’s investment landscape
[35:40] How can entrepreneurs stand out for investment firms like SAIF

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Victor Chao; editors David and Geep; producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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This is the third and final episode from our Chinaccelerator 8x8 Speakers Series. Twice a year, we invite some of the most accomplished and thoughtful members of the China startup ecosystem to share key lessons for startups in eight minutes or less.

Our theme for this episode is partnerships and relationships in the startup world. We have three fantastic speakers who will talk about this theme from different angles: Jill Tang, Shameen Prashantham, and Catherine Kang.

[1:55] Jill Tang, Building Community-Based Startups
[9:55] Shameen Prashantham, "Dancing With Gorillas": How Startups and Large Companies Work Together
[18:29] Catherine Kang, How to Choose a Co-Founder

Jill Tang is a serial entrepreneur, community builder, and business KOL. She is the co-founder of Ladies Who Tech, China’s first and largest community dedicated to promoting gender diversity and inclusion in STEM. She is also the co-founder and managing partner of Cosmic Venture, which combines lean methodology and proprietary algorithm to assess brands with real time market validation.

Dr. Shameen Prashantham is an Associate Professor of International Business & Strategy at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. He previously taught at Nottingham University Business School and Glasgow University Business School, after earning his PhD from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, UK. His research focuses on how new ventures and large multinationals partner with each other.

Catherine is a leading professional in the Health and Beauty, Luxury Goods, High-end Service and Retail industry with more than 20 years of experience in Sales, Marketing and General Management. She is now the founder and CEO of PHISKIN, a leading brand on female anti-aging therapy, functional cosmetics, beauty cosmetology and plastic surgery.

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guests Jill, Shameen, and Catherine; editors David and Geep; producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today we’re bringing you the second episode from our Chinaccelerator 8x8 Speakers Series. Twice a year, we invite some of the most accomplished and thoughtful members of the China startup ecosystem to share key lessons for startups in eight minutes or less.

Our theme for this episode is investor insights. Our theme for this episode is investor insights. We have three people with very different perspectives on Asia investment: Shirley Mao, Paul Meyers, and Katherine Lui.

[2:18] Shirley Mao, Finding Opportunities Overseas
[10:10] Paul Meyers, Doing Well By Doing Good (Impact Investing)
[21:35] Katherine Lui, How to Ruin Your Fundraising

Shirley Mao is Executive Director and Head of India Investment at Xiaomi Technology. Previously she was the Managing Director of PreAngel Partners, a one billion RMB fund focused on early stage mobile internet startups. Shirley has an extensive experience in investments and financial risk management.

Paul Meyers, a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building the startup ecosystem in Asia. Paul is currently an Advisor at ADBVentures, helping to build the Asian Development Bank’s emerging market impact fund. He previously ran Telstra’s muru-D early stage accelerator program in Asia, and was Southeast Asia EIR for SOSV’s MOX - The Mobile Accelerator.

Katherine started her professional life with KPMG. In 2005 Katherine co-founded Centerstone Partners, a cross-border private equity firm. Later she carried out financial due diligence on over 100 up-and-coming technology companies. Inspired by these fast-growing companies, Katherine created CanCan 看看, which provides automated CFO services to tech/internet companies.

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guests Shirley, Paul, and Katherine; editors David and Geep; producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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We have a special episode today, it’s the Chinaccelerator 8x8 Speakers Series! Twice a year, we invite eight speakers to share key lessons for startups in eight minutes or less. This time, our speakers include serial entrepreneurs, investors, professors, and more. They are some of the most accomplished and thoughtful members of the China startup ecosystem, so we are thrilled to bring you their insights.

This week, the theme is entrepreneurship lessons. We have three talks from successful founders who have experience building companies from the ground up. Stay tuned for insights from T.R. Harrington, Sarah Keenlyside, and Guy Sivan!

[2:08] T.R. Harrington, 8 Startup Lessons in 8 Minutes
[13:15] Sarah Keenlyside, How to Hire Better
[20:32] Guy Sivan, Growth Simplified

T.R. Harrington is the current Program Director at MOX – the Mobile Only Accelerator. He is also a startup mentor, an angel investor, and the founder and CEO of Darwin Marketing which was successfully acquired by iProspect in 2016.

Sarah Keenlyside is Founder and CEO Bespoke Travel Company. She was recently nominated for the 'Most Pioneering Woman in Travel' Award by the Telegraph Newspaper, and an 'Inspiring Woman Award' in the British Business Awards.

Guy is a serial entrepreneur in China. In 2010, he sold his third startup's core technology to a publicly listed company. He is currently the co-founder of Vericant, a company that helps US schools better understand their Chinese applicants through on-demand video interviews.

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guests T.R, Sarah, and Guy; editors David and Geep; producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared and Himalaya. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Navigating the world of B2B in China is tough business, especially when you are dealing with giant state-owned enterprises. It can be even more difficult when you are foreigner. As a result, most foreign entrepreneurs focus on the B2C space, yet a few have found the key to creating successful B2B companies.

One of these businesspeople is today's guest, Olivier d'Arros. Olivier started his career in venture capital, and then co-founded 4 technology companies, all in B2B applications. He is now Managing Partner at MAVIE Technologies, an investment banking boutique with a focus on cross-border transactions in healthtech and industry 4.0.

In his many years working in China, Oliver has seen firsthand how B2B has evolved, and there's plenty to learn from his experience. Join us for this week's episode, as we dive into China's B2B landscape.

[2:23] Starting a B2B business in a short period of time
[4:56] Why B2B is an interesting space for startups to explore
[7:46] Increasing competition forcing companies to innovate or die
[9:29] What industries have the most opportunities in China?
[11:28] Why startup founders are afraid of the B2B space
[14:07] Jobs in China at risk of automation
[16:14] Do B2B companies find value in paying for software?
[17:30] Software value and the influx of robotics technology into China
[20:07] Why was it easier to sell to state-owned enterprises?
[22:33] IP protection issues in state-owned enterprises
[26:57] Trends in Chinese technology expanding overseas

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, our guest Olivier d'Arros, editors David and Geep, producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu, organizer Chinaccelerator, and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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To many people in the West, China is thought of as a copyer rather than an innovator. However, according to today's guest Richard Turrin, there are many areas in which China is out-innovating even the most advanced Western countries. Richard says "Innovation is really about people and how they relate to new technologies," and in China both companies and people develop and adopt new technologies at an astonishing rate—they are "some of the best users of technology on the planet."

This innovation isn't only happening on the tech side, but also in the corporate space. Richard is the former head of IBM’s Cognitive Studio and author of the book ‘Innovation Lab Excellence’, with over 20 years experience in innovation in both China and the West. During this conversation, he also shares insights on why innovation labs become ineffective. Big corporates all around the world are spending massive amounts of resources to connect with startups. Yet, there are still doubts about the tangible impact of many innovation labs.

Tune in for a provocative conversation on the mistakes innovation labs make, and the differences in attitude towards innovation in the West and China.

[01:24] Intro of Richard Turrin
[02:23] Why some Innovation Labs work well and others don’t
[03:40] A short History of Innovation Labs
[04:09] Why best-practices are more suitable for Innovation Labs than fixed rules
[05:27] Are Innovation Labs unable to attain their goal or are they failing to actually set goals?
[06:56] How fear of competition is an obstacle to Innovation Labs
[10:41] Innovation in China & Difference in attitude towards innovation in the West and in China
[12:02] Chinese companies biggest advantages
[15:52] The growing trend of Chinese Innovation aimed at the whole World
[19:55] The three major reasons why people might not be thinking about China?
[25:29] Difference between R&D and Innovation
[28:00] Push vs Pull innovation strategy
[30:05] Blockchain in China
[32:19] People’s Bank of China supported Cryptocurreny
[35:17] Message to companies who are not thinking about China
[37:43] Contact Information Richard Turrin

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, our guest Richard Turrin, editor David and Geep, producer Matthew Wu and Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Every technology has a human impact. Live streaming is certainly no exception. In China, live streaming platforms have connected millions of viewers with a small number of idols who receive massive amounts of donations—but at what personal cost?

Hao Wu, knows more about the societal impact of live streaming than anyone else on the planet. In his award-winning documentary, People’s Republic of Desire, he explores why live streaming has been so successful in China and examines the effect that these platforms have on both viewers and creators.

In this episode, Hao Wu and Chinaccelerator Managing Director Oscar Ramos cover all aspects of live streaming: from the business models and the future prospects of the industry, to the social consequences of this technology.

Show Notes:

[1:17] Hao Wu’s journey from tech executive to independent filmmaker

[3:50] Introducing Hao Wu’s documentary People’s Republic of Desire

[6:38] Overview of live streaming in China

[7:57] How to become a successful live streamer, and the livestream agency ecosystem

[10:40] Differences between live streaming in China and vlogging in the US

[11:22] The audience: Who’s paying live streamers and why?

[15:00] Live streaming outside of China (US, Middle East, emerging markets)

[18:04] The profitability of live streaming business models in China

[21:43] Misunderstandings that Europeans and Americans have about tech in China

[23:16] Is technology making people happier? Are live streamers happy?

[29:31] Live streaming platforms and regulation

[31:30] Outro and where to find Hao Wu’s documentaries

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Hao Wu; producers Eva Shi and Matthew Wu; editors David and Geep; organizer Chinaccelerator; sponsors People Squared and Himalaya App. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

Please take a moment to review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC (https://nusic.fm/)

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In the gaming space, China's strength is taking technological innovation and applying it to the market. This is the claim of Richie Zhu, Partner at Makers Fund and lifelong gamer. Makers Fund is a venture capital fund specializing in the interactive entertainment market, which includes gaming, live-streaming, interactive storytelling, virtual content, and more.

In this episode, Richie and venture capitalist Oscar Ramos take a comprehensive look at China's interactive entertainment industry, with a focus on the gaming space. They discuss how the US-China trade war is impacting the global gaming industry, what technology has high potential to take off in China, and ways that foreign gaming companies can enter China successfully.

Show Notes:

[1:24] Introduce Richie Zhu

[3:22] Makers Fund: investment philosophy and team

[6:47] How to evaluate companies for potential investment

[9:00] China innovation inside the gaming Industry

[10:18] Innovative business models in China

[13:24] Technology with high potential in China

[14:37] AI singularity in the Interactive Entertainment Industry

[15:59] How US-China trade war is impacting the global gaming industry

[17:00] Opportunities for foreign gaming companies to enter China

[18:52] Emerging trends in the gaming industry

[22:17] Get in touch with Richie Zhu

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, our guest Richier Zhu, producer Eva Shi, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC (https://nusic.fm/)

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Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)—or "influencers" as they are often called—are a vital part of online marketing today. And their reach is only getting bigger: According to an iResearch report, last year the number of KOLs in China with a fanbase of over 100k was increased by 51%, of which 23% have over 1 million fans. According to Weibo big data, the KOL market is valued at over 100 billion RMB.

The KOL industry in China is more advanced than anywhere else in the world, according to today's guest Hillary Han. Hillary runs a KOL training program at iResearch, one of the country's leading market research firms. In today's episode, we're doing a deep dive into the industry, from the basic concepts, like how brands utilize KOL resources, to practical suggestions about KOL marketing on different platforms. Hillary not only has experience working with many KOLs, but also she is KOL herself, so we're thrilled to have her as our guide to this fascinating topic.

Timestamps:

[01:30] Introducing Hillary Han

[02:30] What is iResearch

[03:19] What is KOL

[04:18] The importance of KOL marketing

[05:48] The differences between Chinese KOLs and Western influencers

[07:30] Monetizing your presence on social platforms in China

[08:58] KOLs signed with MCNs

[10:30] China’s advantage of understanding the KOL industry and the variety of platforms

[13:00] Why there is no Youtube in China

[14:00] The powerful KOLs in China and how much money they make

[16:15] When to use a KOL for your own brand

[22:35] How to choose the right KOL

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Hillary Han, editors David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator, and sponsor People Squared. Make sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC (https://nusic.fm/)

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Getting your app off the ground in China is tough. No matter what industry, internet companies not only need to have a great product, but they also must use data, analytics, and growth hacking to gain an advantage on the competition.

In this area, there are plenty of lessons to learn from Ximalaya App, the biggest audio sharing platform in China with 530 million users and 73% market share. This podcast platform and content marketplace has dominated the Chinese “pay-for-knowledge” industry, which last year was valued at seven billion USD. A crucial reason for Ximalaya’s success is their smart use of data, from extensive A/B testing to an almost obsessive analysis of usage and bounce rates.

At the center of this effort is Tian Sun, the Vice President of Business Intelligence Center at Ximalaya App. She has spearheaded Ximalaya’s efforts to utilize data on a daily basis to improve their app’s user experience and help creators make great content. This is a great conversation for anyone interested in how an industry-leading company is using data in exciting and efficient ways.

Timestamps:

[02:36] Introducing Tian Sun

[03:42] What is Ximalaya?

[05:49] What makes podcasting in China different?

[06:51] How people use Ximalaya

[07:54] How Ximalaya uses data, analytics, and growth hacking

[10:44] Using data and A/B testing to improve the customer experience

[12:18] Data and customer acquisition

[14:09] How Ximalaya launched a paid content marketplace and how young Chinese people consume content

[18:14] The rise of audiobooks, micro-lessons, and more

[19:54] Steps Ximalaya took to succeed in the “pay-for-knowledge” industry

[23:38] How platforms help content creators and KOLs

[25:29] Biggest trends in podcasting in China

[26:49] The future of Ximalaya and a new AI speaker

Contact Tian Sun at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tian-sun-17243485

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Tian Sun, editors David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator, and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC

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Many foreign startups have tried to enter China, most have failed, yet a minority have flourished. Airbnb is one of the few living the China Dream, as after only 4 years it is winning the China home-sharing market.

In this episode, we invited Sean Pan, Head of China Operations at Airbnb, who has overlooked Airbnb’s transformation in their strategy, management system and branding since 2015, when Airbnb only had 6 people in the China team. As he mentioned, one obstacle confronted by many foreign companies who want to localize in China is the communication problem between the global and China team. How does Airbnb put efforts into that and build up the trust internally? Find the answer in this episode!

Show Notes:

[01:26] Introduction of Sean

[05:33] The Philosophy behind Airbnb’s office in Beijing

[06:30] Building and maintaining Airbnb’s unique Culture in China

[08:09] How to foster commitment to China from global Team?

[12:00] Key finding for Airbnb’s success

[15:38] Managing the relation with head-quarters

[16:12] Evolution of Airbnb’s China strategy

[18:03] Creating a China specific brand

[22:38] Challenge foreign entrepreneurs are facing in China

[26:00] Is there an opportunity for foreign companies in China?

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Sean Pan, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC (https://nusic.com.cn/)

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996, 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week. You must have heard about 996 a lot in the past few months. This buzz has triggered discussion around the balance between work and life, employee engagement, productivity and the working environment, etc.

“996 is a signal of going backward, not forward,” said today’s guest Alicia Tung, Chief Operating Officer at Great Place to Work, Greater China. She stressed the importance of having a clear value and purpose to motivate employees in their work and pointed out the fact that 996 working hours are not necessarily leading to better efficiency. Alicia shared her observations about the working environment differences in China and overseas countries, how overseas entrepreneurs can fit into Chinese working culture and how founders can create a great place to work for their employees.

Founded in 1990, Great Place to Work is a global people analytics and consulting firm that helps companies of all sizes produce better business results by focusing on the work experience for every employee.

Show notes:

[01:29] Introduction of Alicia and Great Place to Work

[04:13] Having the right reasons before starting a business

[05:28] Understanding/Identifying the concepts: co-working space vs shared office

[06:47] How different is Great Place to Work in China and the rest of the world?

[08:21] Same value, different implementations

[11:18] How does the profile of those companies who care for their employees change over time?

[13:02] Challenges and concerns for local companies

[20:28] The magic number: 996

[23:57] Does 996 achieve efficiency?

[26:10] Opportunities and challenges for international startups coming to China

[29:35] Best places to work in China

[30:27] Creating an open working environment for women in China

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Alicia Tung, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

Contact Alicia Tung: www.linkedin.com/in/aliciatung/

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share the favorite moment with your friends!

Check more exciting episodes on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/the-china-startup-pulse/

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC (https://nusic.com.cn/)

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“I was feeling completely drained, drained of energy and mental strength. Just being empty going through the days trying to cope with my daily work.” This is just one story we heard from entrepreneurs. While entrepreneurs are determined to change the world, they often don’t realize they are losing sleep and endangering their mental well-being during the process. Even worse, societal stigmas surrounding depression and anxiety prevent them from acknowledging their symptoms, much less getting the help they need.

In this episode, we invited Enoch Li, author of "Stress in the City: Playing My Way Out of Depression” and Founder of BEARAPY to share her own struggles with mental health and the importance of taking care of employees' mental wellbeing. Mentors and investors also need to take on the role of creating a healthy environment for entrepreneurs.

BEARAPY was founded with the mission to reduce burnout and mental health issues in the community through helping adults access their inner playfulness. Their work with startups and small companies and how to implement a healthy workplace culture, what it means to be playful in the company and what it means to care about mental health of employees can be found in Enoch’s book.

Show Notes:

[01:40] Introduction of Enoch and BEARAPY
[03:23] The idea behind BEARAPY and its contribution to the community
[04:34] Burnout and mental health challenges in China
[05:57] Lack of awareness in China inhibits mental health care
[07:15] Traditional Chinese approach to mental health
[08:00] China “996” culture results in what consequences and impact
[10:38] High turnover affects the awareness of mental healthcare in business
[12:21] Mental health and wellness responsibility: employee or organization?
[13:58] How to recognize mental health problems
[15:32] Individual approach to cultivating wellbeing for entrepreneurs
[17:27] Redefining and using ‘play’ for positive mental health
[23:30] Investor role in mental health and wellbeing
[29:57] Check out Enoch’s book: "Stress in the City: Playing My Way Out of Depression”( http://bearapy.me/books/)

To connect with Enoch and BEARAPY, follow the WeChat account Bearapy小熊创意法.

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken and Oscar Ramos, guest Enoch Li, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

Music Credits: Adam Place founder of NUSIC (https://nusic.com.cn/)

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Random seating at the hot desk area, flexible working style in a diverse environment and open interactions in a borderless office – these are just the tip of the iceberg as to what a co-working space actually entails! In this episode, Yintao Feng, Founder of MIXPACE, a Chinese co-working space brand, will give us a detailed breakdown of the co-working landscape and people’s working experience in China.

To curate a well-connected community is not something you can do with a snap of your fingers. In China, the situation is very different from the west. You need an active community manager to orchestrate these activities and break down several layers of ice before people are comfortable with one another. This interaction is vital as most of the guys there are street-smart and resourceful when it comes to dealing with the challenges in today’s market.

Currently, MIXPACE has more than 20 sites in Shanghai and Beijing with more in the pipeline. MIXPACE received A round investment in 2017 and B round investment of 400 million RMB in 2018.

Show notes:

[01:53] Introducing Yintao Feng

[04:28] His perspectives on starting a company in China

[05:18] Rising trend of urbanization

[06:57] Connecting to Chinese customers with new technology

[08:32] Biggest mental shift from corporate to startup

[09:55] Comparing rules and regulations inside and outside of China

[10:57] His unusual transition from banking to co-working space

[13:05] Catching a glimpse of the co-working scene in China

[16:14] What are the benefits for small companies?

[18:53] Bringing attention to the “996” phenomenon

[20:35] Switching of working style from corporate to startup

[22:15] Having more interactions: helpful or harmful?

[25:05] Lets talk about the second tier cities

[26:28] Improving user’s experience through technology

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken and Oscar Ramos, guest Yintao Feng, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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More thoughts are required when cultivating the relationship between the brands and users, from a level of “friendship” to being part of a one big “family”. As such, how can businesses deliver better experiences in this environment? Our guest Michael Lai has a diverse background with over 10 years of consulting experience in the areas of branding, interaction design, service design, and experience design. We will learn more from this interview in terms of how he understands the importance of segmenting your customers, maintaining your perspective and moving at the right speed in today’s society.

TANG is an experience strategy and design consultancy focusing on helping clients build a holistic ideal experience for their customers, whose clients have included Fortune 500 companies, startups, nonprofit organizations from financial, consumer electronics, automotive, and education industries.

Show notes:

[03:38] Introduction of TANG

[08:36] Desire for “consumption upgrade”

[11:35] Maintaining your perspective in a fast-paced society

[15:25] Most interesting learning from Michael’s book: “The relationship model”

[18:16] Human resources vs technology component in China

[21:03] Innovate in China, implement it elsewhere out of China

[23:50] Types of companies that are working with TANG

[28:04] Moving at the right speed: speeding up or slowing down

[31:25] One lesson for startups: segmenting your customers

[34:48] Knowing more about Michael’s book

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken and Oscar Ramos, guest Michael Lai, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website https://chinaccelerator.com/china-startup-pulse-podcast/

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share the favorite moment with your friends!

Check more exciting episodes on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/the-china-startup-pulse/

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Welcome back to the FINAL episode of Chinaccelerator 8X8 Speakers Series 2019 Spring with Maggie Tan, Former Co-head of Strategy & Planning, Uber China, Russell Flannery, Chief Editor of Forbes China, and Michael Lai, Partner & Dean of X Academy TANG.

Now, stop for a second. Hold your breath and imagine yourself burning 20 million RMB per hour. Unbelievable? That’s what Uber and Didi actually did. Ultimately, burning money is a choice and Maggie advised that one should do the math before venturing into it. How do you actually pitch your company to the media in an impactful manner? For this, Russell provided us with some sage advice on how to stay ahead of the pack and carve your existence successfully. Lastly, the final chapter of this speaker series ends with a book. Michael revealed the essence of x-thinking, and how lessons learned from writing a book could also be applied to the domain of entrepreneurship.

Don’t miss out the amazing insights they shared in this episode!

Show Notes:

[01:53] Maggie’s talk (Maggie’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DYCH0b4Qrai4BxiTu7cB)

[10:40] Russell’s talk (Russell’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DS21l40Qrai4Bxiku7cB)

[26:40] Michael’s talk (Michael’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DSU0GocQrai4Bxieu7cB)

Many thanks to our speakers Maggie Tan, Russell Flannery, and Michael Lai, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

https://chinaccelerator.com/chinacceleraor-8x8-speakers-series/

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Welcome back! We are heading to the 3rd episode of Chinaccelerator 8X8 Speakers Series with Alvin Graylin, China President of HTC, Neil Liang, Chief Product Officer & Co-founder of The Carevoice, and Lucas Englehardt, CEO of xixilab.

Price, Product, Place, Promotion. Sounds familiar? Wait till you see how Alvin raised the bar for this business strategy by doubling it to 8Ps. The path of entrepreneurship, in all its variation, still holds some key principles for those who wish to embark on it. “The simpler u made your customer journey, the more likely your customers will actually repeat that journey,” remarked by Neil. In fact, good customer experience can even be regarded as a baseline that either makes or breaks your business. Finally, Lucas believed in the power of focusing on one thing that works. No buzzwords, no fancy terms. We are going to do things one step at a time and examine for ourselves the beauty in simplicity.

Don’t miss out the amazing insights they shared in this episode!

Show Notes:

[01:50] Alvin’s talk (Alvin’s presentation slides: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DSzVz24Qrai4Bxii1LQB)

[12:43] Neil’s talk (Neil’s presentation slides: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/De8gdOAQrai4BxiY1bQB)

[19:19] Lucas’s Talk (Lucas’s presentation slides: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DZJhjl4Qrai4BxiT1bQB)

Many thanks to our speakers Alvin Graylin, Neil Liang and Lucas Englehardt, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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This week, we shall continue with the second part of Chinaccelerator 8X8 Speakers Series with Lu Guo, Founder and CEO, USHOPAL, Jane Lin-Baden, Managing Partner of APAC, Publicis Group and Yintao Feng, Founder of MIXPACE.

What does it take to be a capable CEO? Lu recalled how she had to raise a few hundred million RMB within a period of 12 months during her coldest winter. Despite all those setbacks, she managed to get the results done and keep the company afloat. Fear of pressure, fear of being unnoticed and fear of falling. Aside from the fear, Jane also revealed to us the secret of flying high above the crowd and bringing out the best quality of yourself even when no one is watching at all. Yintao walked us through the time when he experienced a culture shock after returning back to China. Sharing his transition from corporate to startup, we can get to learn how he adapted to this new environment and what were his techniques in managing and working with people.

Show Notes:

[01:50] Lu Guo’s talk (No slides)

[10:01] Jane Lin-Baden’s talk (Jane’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DdBZIIsQrai4Bxigr7EB)

[19:22] Yintao Feng’s Talk (Yintao’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DdTJ8uEQrai4Bxikr7EB)

Many thanks to our speakers Lu Guo, Jane Lin-Baden and Yintao Feng, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Last month, we just hosted Chinaccelerator 8X8 Speakers Series where we invited 8 of our mentors - serial entrepreneurs, industry experts, and investors - to share their personal stories about entrepreneurship in Beijing and Shanghai, from where we selected several talks for our podcast listeners who couldn’t join us in person. Today we would like to present the first 3 talks delivered by Dirk Eschenbacher, Co-founder of Zanadu Travel & Media, Rhea See, Co-founder & COO of She Loves Tech and Jaeson Ma, Co-founder of 88rising.

What comes first into Dirk’s mind when he looked back on his startup journey is an important lesson he learned - knowing your customers and focusing on the problem, not the solution. As a female entrepreneur, Rhea zeroed in on the female community and suggested entrepreneurs not to accept the conventional image and sell themselves short. Jaeson Ma brought the house down with his passion and vision to represent Asia media in mainstream culture the right way.

Check out more suggestions they shared in the episode.

Show Notes:

[02:01] Dirk Eschenbacher’s Talk

[09:00] Rhea See’s Talk

(Rhea’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DUf9NkoQrai4BxjqkK4B)

[15:50] Jaeson Ma’s Talk

(Jaeson’s presentation slide: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DZ4JsIQQrai4BxjwkK4B)

Many thanks to our speakers Dirk Eschenbacher, Rhea See and Jaeson Ma, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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What is your first impression when you think of a co-working space? Ricky Adam and Frederic Bazin envisioned it to be an open community of developers in a shared physical space focused on creating successful engineering team.

It may sound ironic but the process of building software would necessitate social activities, and this requires a wide range of talented people. Coderbunker is right now having huge momentum and getting other non-developers into this community as well. The question is: could this business model be happening in other industries and become a game changer in the future of work?

Show notes:

[2:48] How does Coderbunker define community?

[4:36] How to maintain a community

[5:50] Recommended traits for those who want to be in it

[8:52] Take care of the people first, followed by the project

[13:04] Portfolio of people in this community

[14:59] Difficulty in finding project owners

[16:19] Getting the talented people onboard

[18:26] Examples of big companies trying out this working style

[20:54] Is this the future of all work?

[22:47] Working onsite vs working remotely

[26:30] Will this happen in other industries too?

[27:47] Spreading of this model to other areas of a company

[29:11] Growing a worldwide network

[30:57] What about the issue of copycats?

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken and Oscar Ramos, guest Ricky Adam and Frederic Bazin, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Tencent Music, China’s answer to Spotify, filed for U.S. IPO with its soaring valuation at approximately $20 billion in 2018. What is happening in China music and entertainment industry?

Today we have Kenny Bloom who has 40 years experience in the global entertainment media space as the “Zero-man” for Warner in China to walk us through the history of China music industry from the 1980s until now and share his observations from every angle of the market. Once controlling 85% of the international music market in China and producing the #1 Chinese rock star Cuijian, Kenny is telling us the next big opportunities to succeed in this competitive market.

“If you think you can come to China and become a concert promoter, don’t come; if you want to start a record label, don’t come; but if you get innovative technology, this is a really great place to use as a launchpad to test.”

Show notes:

[2:53] Introduction of Kenny Bloom

[4:42] Reception and Censorship

[7:12] What were the Unique Opportunities that Kenny Saw?

[11:22] Having a Simple Business Model that Actually Works

[15:25] Evolution and Valuation of Baidu and other Big Boys

[21:05] Is there Room for Creativity and Ideas in Today's Music Market?

[24:08] You Just Don't Make Money off the Content

[28:06] Getting Visibility in a Massive Chinese Market

[29:14] Consumer is the Biggest Winner

[31:40] What are the Opportunities in this Industry Now?

[34:07] Chinese Bands and Music Outside of China

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken and Oscar Ramos, guest Kenny Bloom, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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With his five-decade experience co-founding and investing in over 90 IT companies, Yossi is unofficially titled with “Israeli hi-tech godfather” and twice received the Prime Minister Award for life achievements in the high tech area. He is also the creator of ICQ, the world’s first instant messaging company, which inspired many messaging products including QQ in China.

We are honored to have Yossi to be on China Startup Pulse Podcast today where he shared his thoughts about the copycat, innovation, IP protection, Israeli tech ecosystem, and Chinese startups. As he mentioned, “We have to evaluate the whole picture...not just good or bad to be a copycat".

MWC Shanghai 2019 4YFN Startup Event now is opening 1000 free tickets to Chinaccelerator and China Startup Pulse fans! Fill in this form to reserve your seats in advance: www.wjx.top/jq/35116917.aspx

Show Notes:

[01:45] Introduction of Yossi Vardi, Founder of ICQ

[02:26] Transition from a Geek to an Investor

[05:02] What is ICQ?

[07:40] Why is ICQ so Special?

[10:15] Is Copycat a Cause of Concern for Ecosystem in China?

[13:00] How much can We Protect Companies that are Trying to Create New Things?

[15:11] Make in China, Clone for Others?

[17:51] Israel & its "Deep Complicated Technologies"

[20:54] Barriers for Startups Entering China & How to Overcome Them

[25:11] Further Expansion of Chinese Startups Across the Globe

[27:51] The Impressive Chinese Phenomenon

[28:30] Essential Fundamentals of an Economy in the Long Run

[29:44] Future Plans by Yossi Vardi

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Yossi Vardi, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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247tickets is a leading social commerce platform for entertainment in China, which just secured $2M in Series Pre-A led by Artesian Venture Partners with the participation from SOSV and Haitao Capital, and the company’s annual revenue in 2018 reached $4.9M. Greig Charlton, CEO at 247tickets and alumni of Chinaccelerator, joined us to share 247’s growth story today. After listening to this episode, you will understand how the new idea was born, how to deal with your competitors, the biggest challenge to run a business in China, and also how difficult it is to fundraise in China. In the future, 247tickets plan to utilize AI technology for personalizing the user experience.

Show notes:

[1:15] Introduce Greig and 247

[2:54] How did 247 start in Shanghai

[6:30] Why those existing platforms couldn’t solve the problem

[10:40] Traditional e-commerce VS Social Commerce

[12:50]Why social commerce has been more successful in China

[14:30] The market was too niche?

[17:53] User profile

[20:17] The team behind the product

[21:50] Find the right people to join your team

[24:10] Challenges to run business in China

[29:35] Work with other well-funded competitors

[33:31] Fundraising in China 

[38:10] Future for 247

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Greig Charlton, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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95% of exits are acquisitions rather than IPO. Also nearly a half of them are before Series B. In today’s episode, we invited Benjamin Joffe, who is a partner at the leading global hardware accelerator HAX and has made nearly a thousand angel investments, to share his insights about exits. Here you can find out the big differences between exits in China and exits in the rest of the world, how Chinese companies develop the acquisition playbook globally and also for entrepreneurs, how you can plan your exits and the better way to integrate yourself into another corporate body.

Check out Benjamin’s articles about exits: https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/31/what-every-startup-founder-should-know-about-exits/

Show Notes:

[2:02] The reality about exits

[3:00] The big differences between exits in China and exits in the rest of the world

[4:27] Motivations for Chinese companies to start exploring acquisitions

[6:09] Are Chinese companies looking for new things that are not in China

[7:52] Specific phenomenon across Chinese M&A activities

[11:20] Chinese acquisitions in China

[13:09] How founders plan exits

[15:28] How founders should change the strategies based on the feedback

[17:56] The typical exits happen before Series B

[19:19] Sell your company before you close the round or do it right after

[21:30] Competitions and options among corporates

[24:42] Chances of International corporates seeking M&A opportunities in China

[28:27] Founders’ challenges about potentially selling a company to Chinese buyers

[32:03] Founders should be careful about the information disclosure in the due diligence process

[35:19] How founders make themselves visible to potential buyers

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Benjamin Joffe, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review and share with your friends!

Email us: team@chinastartuppulse.com

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One way for startups to grow or even exit is to work with corporates. Are corporates looking for financial return or strategic values while working with startups? For entrepreneurs, what are the challenges and opportunities to have corporates as their shareholders? How do overseas corporates see the chances in China? In this episode, we invited Andrew Gaule who has almost 20 years experience in Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) to analyze both sides of the table and delivered insights and suggestions for corporates and startups.

Show notes:

[1:10] Introducing Andrew Gaule

[4:57] The land of corporate venture capital (CVC)

[7:50] Challenges to have corporates as shareholders

[11:13] The motivation of CVC - financial return and strategic values

[19:15] How to protect startups’ advantages

[21:50] Things that CVC are doing wrong when approaching startups

[24:10] Corporates to think about China

[28:30] How to leverage the innovation in China for the rest of the world

[32:40] Challenges of CVC in China

[38:08] Concerns for startups to work with Chinese investors

[39:24] The impact of Trade War

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Andrew Gaule, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review on the podcast platforms and share with your friends!

Email us: eva.shi@chinastartuppulse.com

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Many people don't believe that the senior care is a big healthcare need in China. Our guest for today, Mark Spitalnik, CEO of China Senior Care, is actually one of the first movers in this area from 2009 to educate the market, bring the international experience to China and also localize the product for the aged in China. As he mentioned, the fact is “Chinese customers don’t know what senior care is” rather than “they don’t want it”.

In addition, he also shared how he started the company, the initial challenge he was facing and also the untouched opportunities to look at in China.

China Senior Care provides senior healthcare services to promote the health, happiness, and independence of residents in China. It offers geriatric care services for the aged. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Hangzhou, China.

Show notes:

[1:30] Introduction and Mark’s experience in China

[4:30] How the single child policy influenced the China society

[5:10] Introduce China Senior Care

[6:18] First challenges Mark had to face while building up China Senior Care

[9:10] How Mark introduced the product to Chinese customers even though people did not believe senior care is a giant healthcare need in China

[12:00] How to educate the market

[15:14] How localized the product is

[16:00] How the dynamic of the team helped with the product and service

[19:10] The biggest needs coming with more Chinese people saving money

[24:00] The opportunities that are untouched in China to look at

[26:20] Contact Information and sign off

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Mark Spitalnik , editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

If you like us, please give us a 5-star review on the podcast platforms and share with your friends!

Email us: eva.shi@chinastartuppulse.com

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The second episode of the 8X8 Speakers Series is about lessons learnt from failures from the perspective of an investor, a successful entrepreneur and a tech expert.

The first talk in this episode is delivered by Sophie Yao, China Regional General Manager of Fenox Venture Capital, who shared 3 most “effective” ways to screw up a startup based on her experience working with startups. Problems include no market needs, wrong timing, management issues and also the way you spent the money, etc.

We also have Gen Kanai who used to grow communities of tens of thousands of Firefox users across Asia, to share the lessons he got from Firefox’s failures. Currently, he works as the Director Of Strategic Partnerships at Animoca Brands.

Prakhar Khandui (PK) is a serial entrepreneur who sold his company Pulse to Tencent-backed Hike Messenger in India. He also delivered 2 mistakes and 3 failures he learnt in this episode, for example, selling the startup too early is not a good choice.

Chinaccelerator’s 8X8 Speakers Series invite 8 of Chinaccelerator mentors - serial entrepreneurs, industry experts and investors - to share their personal stories about entrepreneurship twice a year in Beijing and Shanghai.

Show Notes:

2:05 Sophie Yao’s talk

13:39 Gen Kanai’s talk

23:16 PK’s talk

Many thanks to our speakers Sophie Yao, Gen Kanai, and Prakhar Khanduj (PK), editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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8X8 Speakers Series is back! Today, we are happy to present you the first 3 talks selected from Chinaccelerator 8X8 Speakers Series events in Autumn 2018 about how knowing yourself matters while running your business. Em Robin, Founder of Inner Circles, is a female entrepreneur for 8 years who shared “Entrepreneurship is about sharing what you created”. Founder of Beijing Mindfulness Centre Dalida Turkovic shared her personal journey including how she experienced the depression and financial crisis. Andrew Schorr, Founder of Grata, delivered his insights about how crucial it is to be honest with yourself, have passion and experiment.

Show Notes:

01:44 Em Roblin’s Talk

10:57 Dalida Turkovic’s Talk

22:12 Andrew Schorr’s Talk

Many thanks to our speakers Em Roblin, Dalida Turkovic and Andrew Schorr, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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Happy New Year everyone! Today we invited Sean O’Sullivan, Founder and Managing General Partner of SOSV, the fund behind Chinaccelerator, to start the Year 2019 for China Startup Pulse and our listeners. In this episode, Sean shared his experience in China and provided his analysis of the investment trends in biotech, food tech, hardware, and software areas. Also, he pointed out the role of China in the global technology ecosystem and the impact that US-China trade war will have on startups and investors.

Sean’s entrepreneur life started in 1985 as a founder of MapInfo, bringing street mapping technology to personal computers. MapInfo went on to become a $200 million public company. He is also the co-creator of the term “cloud computing”. Now, Sean is managing SOSV, a Venture Capital firm which is running 6 accelerators in the world supporting investments in over 700 startups.

Show notes:

2:20 What brought Sean to China in the 1990s

3:24 Start in Dalian

6:20 Examples in Food Tech

12:20 Chinese investors’ growing interest in Biotech companies

13:57 Investing in the education industry

16:41 Other important areas in China, such as machine learning

18:57 Hardware accelerator HAX’s Chinese portfolio

21:25 The perceptions of Chinese technologies from investors out of China

24:25 How the US-China trade war impacts the startups and investors

26:38 Sean’s opinions on the fast-growing Chinese software companies such as TikTok

28:10 Sean’s predictions about China in 2019

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Sean O'Sullivan , editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

Again, thanks to all of our listeners for the support in 2018 and the team is looking forward to providing more insights in 2019.

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In the second episode of our series on due diligence, we learn from Blockchain Founders Fund about how they evaluate blockchain startups and what they specifically look for in the due diligence process.

Recording from Money 20/20 China in Hangzhou, our host Oscar Ramos had an in-depth discussion with Aly Madhavji and Mansoor Madhavji, partners of the Blockchain Founders Fund, who shared their insights about their due diligence process, strategy and preferences when evaluating blockchain projects, and the examples how they work with early-stage projects, which is also illuminating for other startups. Here are some keywords they mentioned: Trust, product, traction, finance, etc.

Show Notes:

01:32 Introducing Aly and Mansoor

03:00 Portfolio and their Investment Strategy & Philosophy

06:10 How do they work globally?

07:21 Stages of Investment

07:35 First Step in Due Diligence for Blockchain

10:37 Transparency and Trust Matters

11:54 Checking Background and Company’s Strategies

13:30 How do companies react to your due diligence and how does that matter

14:38 Bringing in External Parties to the Due Diligence Process

15:23 Other Important Areas for Due Diligence

16:48 Product Evaluation in Blockchain Companies

19:06 Role of Stress Test

20:10 Measuring Traction and Evaluating Analytics

22:08 Financial Due Diligence

25:52 Their Perspectives on Startups Outsourcing Key Team Roles (e.g. CFO)

27:41 Do they look into Cliffs?  28:55 Additional Tips from Aly and Mansoor

30:29 Due Diligence in East Asia

32:37 Contact Information and Signing Out

Contact them!

Twitter: @BlockchainFF

Twitter: @aly_madhavji

Email: mansoor@blockchainff.com

Companies mentioned:

https://www.cryptyk.com/

https://every.shop/

https://www.taloflow.ai/

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Aly Madhavji and Mansoor Madhavji , editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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Entrepreneurs looking for funding can not escape from the due diligence from investors. In order to have more founders to understand the process of investment due diligence, we are introducing a new and special series, where we talk with investors about due diligence.

Recording from Money 20/20 China in Hangzhou, Oscar Ramos talked with Carman Chan, Founder and Managing Partner of Click Ventures who successfully invested in Spotify, Meetup and many tech companies.  

In this episode, Chan shared insights on how they evaluate traction, team, product as well as what founders should have prepared for investors, the proper plan for companies to work on and lastly the differences in Asia versus the West regarding due diligence.

Show Notes:

1:32 Carman Chan’s strong background in data and mathematics

2:08 Introducing Click Ventures, investment thesis and projects

3:38 Due Diligence process

4:25 Importance of company metrics

6:36 Best tools to measure traction

8:30 Red flags Carman met in the process

10:30 Due Diligence in product

12:47 Product roadmap

13:20 Importance of the founding team

14:04 Missing team members

15:07 Team related problems in Due Diligence

15:55 Other parts Carman evaluates including advisors, founder vesting plan, etc

17:22 Relationship with co-investors in Due Diligence

18:25 Differences in Asian Companies compared to those from other countries

22:11 Contact Information and Signing Off

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What’s the differences between Chinese market and international market in terms of User Experience (UX)? What’s the key principles to localize your design for Chinese market? Samuel Jesse is the right person to talk with who co-founded a UX research lab UXSPOT in Shanghai. With 10 years of experience in UX, we talked with Samuel about his experience working with Chinese clients as an International designer, UX practices for Chinese consumers, Why mobile is crucial and more about product localization. Here’s a short quote from Samuel , “when something is [well] designed, it gives that perception of trust, it transfers that perception of quality.”

Show Notes:

00:00 Introduction & Summary

01:20 Introducing Samuel Jesse

2:00 Moving from Beijing to Shanghai

2:46 Working with Chinese Clients

3:40 Shanghai vs Beijing Environments

4:31 Initial UX Design Projects with Local Clients

6:14 Change in Chinese attitudes towards UX

7:31 A UX Research Lab in China

9:10 UX Approach and Test in Chinese market

10:21 Importance of Mobile

11:14 Differences between Chinese consumers and international market

12:48 Issues in Translation

14:10 User Verification for Mobile Users

14:45 UX Best Practices in China

16:20 Establishing Trust through Design

18:08 Good Design in China

19:40 International and Chinese UX Differences From Design Perspective

20:40 Implications of Familiarity with Local Companies

22:55 Copy-Cat Culture in China

25:03 Chinese Companies going International

26:34 Over-Localization

27:33 Contact Information and Sign Off

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Samuel Jesse, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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PK is an Indian entrepreneur and angel investor in social network, content and live-stream space who built, grew and finally sold his startups InstaLively and Pulse to Tencent-owned company Hike Messenger. After selling them, PK came to China for new opportunities and challenges where he started being a consultant for Various Startups which helps China-India Startups and VCs in building the next billion Internet users in Indonesia and India, as well as mentoring founders for Chinaccelerator.

In this episode, PK shared his journey about selling startups to Tencent and also delivered insights about the China-India startup and investment ecosystem, including the challenges to localize Chinese companies in India and how the Chinese data drive model works in India, etc.

Show Notes:

1:00 Introducing PK

1:37 Introducing InstaLively

2:51 Process of Tencent Buy-Out

6:57 Experience with Mergers and Acquisition

9:28 Transition with Hike Messenger

10:10 Difficulties from culture differences

11:50 Due Diligence

13:30 Alignment with the new team

15:02 Moving to Beijing and the experience in China

17:20 China-India tech ecosystem

20:45 The Belt and Road Initiative in China

23:01 Advantages and obstacles of Chinese investment and startups in India

26:05 Challenges for Chinese companies to localize in India

28:20 What works in China doesn’t necessarily work in India

30:19 Will Indian companies be able to come to China?

31:38 PK’s future plans

32:20 Contact PK (Full name: Prakhar Khanduja)

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest PK, producer Eva Shi, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Liulishuo is an AI-powered English language learning platform operated by the AI firm LAIX founded in 2012 and it went public on New York Stock Exchange in Sept 2018. We are lucky to have Ben Hu, Co-Founder, CTO and Head of Adult English of Liulishuo to share the first 6 months of starting the company, their early successes, the growth, as well as his insights about managing a team from 5 to 200 people. “Empathy and strategic thinking together make the management easier.”

As of June 30, 2018, Liulishuo has over 83.8 million registered users and 7.2 million average monthly active users in 175 countries. The average daily time per user is 60+ minutes.

Show Notes:

0:00 Summary

1:24 Introducing Ben Hu

2:13 What is Liulishuo?

4:25 Artificial Intelligence’s Evolution and Change

6:56 Ben Hu talks about the product launch and first version of Liulishuo

9:05 Length and process from ideation to first launch

10:44 Ben Hu shares about Liulishuo’s beta experience

11:15 Engagement with Liulishuo’s beta user experience

11:55 Metrics used in Early Days

13:19 Ben’s advice for past-Ben, in the Early Days of Liulishuo

15:16 Practices for entering Chinese Markets

19:17 Management in Liulishuo’s expansion

22:10 How Hu developed management skills?

24:00 Decision-making in Management

25:36 Ben Hu’s management framework for unlocking potential

28:34 Exciting technology in Education Space

30:43 Wrapping Up and Closing Thoughts

31:35 Contact Information and Job Postings

31:52 Close Off and Partner Appreciation

Feel free to leave a comment! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Ben Hu, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com.

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Drew Kirchhoff is a product guy. After studying finance in the USA and working for a diamond investment firm in China, Drew became one of the most successful product managers to publish the game Crossy Road in the market achieving more than one hundred million downloads.

“A great product manager makes a great CEO”. After being a product manager, he co-founded Yoli which allows users to learn English directly through WeChat. He shared how he and his co-founders found the market opportunities driven by the advent of WeChat, how they launched the company, developed Yoli WeChat mini-program and later, he explored deeper in the technical area to improve the product.

Show Notes:

1:20 Drew’s background and his experience in China

5:50 Working in a mobile gaming company

7:50 Brought the game Crossy Road to the market

10:28 Performance of Crossy Road worldwide - 9/10 kids were playing the game

11:38 Product management to being a WeChat Mini-program entrepreneur

12:02 How WeChat changes Chinese business

14:00 Formation, MVP launch and goal of Yoli

21:40 Importance of Mini-programs for User Experience

24:00 Relationship with funding and development

26:30 Competing with huge competitors in the market

26:52 Exciting developments in Yoli’s language education service

30:50 Understanding Conversion Rates - from product to business

33:30 Drew Kirchhoff’s contact information

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Drew Kirchhoff, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Today we have invited Philip Beck, who has had more than 40 years experience in the social media and marketing industry in and out of China. He commented on China’s digital transformation and how it is infusing innovation into China’s startup space.

He continued on to discuss how agencies and big companies have created opportunities for new startups to capitalise on those opportunities and the changing profiles of startup founders that are building new companies

1:03 Philip Beck intro

2:44 Social media industry in 2004

4:16 Hongkong in 2014

5:18 Not copycats, but local Chinese version

7:10 Why Renren was a hit

8:14 What was the media planning strategy back then

10:14 Red envelop phenomenon

13:52 Digitalisation of media

15:52 New innovation in marketing in china - access to consumer data points - built a very strong consumer profile

Tencent and alibaba

Look alike profile

20:29 How does Taobao and Tmall make money

23:14 What else is happening in the media marketing space for startups

25:50 Large agencies making acquisitions

28:14 Robin 8’s changing team profile

30:07 Changes in founders’ background

31:35 How to connect with Philip

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Philip Beck, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi & Summer Xia , organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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The system of human perceptions is multi-faceted and voice is one of the perceptions that people pay the most attention to in Artificial Intelligence areas. Sogou established a speech recognition team in 2012 to explore technologies such as intelligent voice and machine translation. Now it is obviously a leader in the Chinese voice technology field.

In this episode, we’ve invited Chen Wei, the Chief Scientist of Sogou Voice Interaction Technology Centre, to introduce the technological breakthroughs in speech recognition, machine translation and speech synthesis behind Sogou translation products.

Chen Wei and his team also developed the Zhiyin OS system which is a system with multi-modal perception capabilities including speech recognition, handwriting recognition and lip-reading ability. The edge of this technology also extends to areas such as hardware and visual identification.

Perks for our listeners: You can find a promotion code to get free tickets for NewCo Shanghai 2018 in this episode. Limited tickets and first come, first serve. https://chinaccelerator.com/newco-shanghai-2018/

Show notes:

01:23 Introduce Chen Wei

02:14 His interest in voice AI technology

03:17 Simultaneous translation demo in Chinese, English and Spanish

04:56 The job of the Voice Interaction Technology Centre

04:49 The technology breakthroughs of the translator

06:09 The technology challenges of speech recognition in 42 languages

12:44 How does the Sogou input method work

15:10 Explain the meaning of “Zhiyin” in Chinese

15:39 The reason that Sogou creates a new system Zhiyin

16:40 Realize AI technology in different Sogou products and develop Zhiyin system for different partners

18:24 Why Sogou produces a translation hardware device

19:37 Other interfaces for translation except for the voice

21:21 Future projects, such as lip recognition and virtual anchor

24:07 Potential partnerships

24:41 The gap between the industry and the universities

25:22 How to contact Chen Wei

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Chen Wei, editor David and Geep, producer Eva Shi, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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You must have heard of the Chinese social commerce legend Pinduoduo, the fastest-growing mobile shopping platform featuring “team purchase” and social sharing function in China which became a $23 billion empire in under 4 years.

For this week’s episode, we invited Nicolas du Cray, an early investor of Pinduoduo and Partner at Cathay Capital - Innovation Fund to talk about Pinduoduo and Social Commerce in China. Nicolas shared how he decided to invest in this company, analyzed the strengths of Pinduoduo, and the challenges of internationalising the social commerce model. He also answered many questions collected from our listeners.

Show Notes:

0:00 - 1:24 Welcome Back to China Startup Pulse

1:26 - 2:00 Introducing Nicolas du Cray

2:06 - 3:16 Du Cray’s experience in China

3:16 - 3:49 Shift from Engineering to Venture Capital

3:49 - 4:27 What is Cathay Capital?

4:28 - 5:21 Importance of Venture Capital to Multi-National Corporations

5:22 - 7:25 Cathay Capital’s Investments and Trends in Chinese Innovation

7:26 - 8:28 Value of Foreign Venture Capital to Chinese Start Ups

8:30 - 9:06 What is Pinduoduo?

9:07 - 11:43 Social Commerce, Pinduoduo, and WeChat ecosystem

11:44 - 12:46 Cathay Capital Innovation and their Investment in Pinduoduo

12:47 - 15:22 Audience Question: History of Pinduoduo and Cathay Capital

15:22 - 17:53 Audience Question: Pinduoduo’s Innovation in E-Commerce

17:54 - 19:06 Growth Trigger of Pinduoduo

19:07 - 20:14 Pinduoduo’s Business Model and Competition in China

20:15 - 22:05 Audience Question: Challenges for Pinduoduo’s model going Abroad

22:05 - 23:05 Future of WeChat’s platform

23:06 - 23:35 Audience Question: Future of Pinduoduo

23:36 - 24:27 Does Nicolas use Pinduoduo?

24:31- 25:50 Signing Out and du Cray’s Contact Information

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Nicolas du Cray, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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As an early pioneer in cross-border commerce, Lu Guo chose to leave a multinational company and jump into the jungles of entrepreneurship. She shared her belief behind building her startup Shopal which aims to help global brands to build a strong presence in China through a data-driven process. She also shared her early stage business life in an accelerator - Chinaccelerator. Here is a quote from her: “The scary piece is that you only believe in system”.

Shopal is a solution provider for online and offline retailers in China which has secured RMB200 million (US$29.17 million) in a series B+ round in September 2018. Chinaccelerator SOSV invested in Shopal as one of Batch 7 companies.

Show notes:

01:06 Introduce Lu Guo

02:00 First experience in cross-border commerce space

03:37 What is Shopal and stories behind Shopal

07:23 The concept of “TP”

07:57 Lu’s motivation to leave the comfortable zone

10:31 Differences between being an entrepreneur and working in corporates

13:47 As a Vice President in Johnson&Johnson

16:30 What triggered Lu to jump into the jungle of entrepreneurship

18:50 Change and opportunities in the commerce industry

22:29 How Shopal helps global brands in China

24:20 The biggest technology breakthrough for Shopal

26:23 Data driven process

27:23 The future of Shopal

29:11 Business and life in Chinaccelerator

31:00 Contact Shopal

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos and guest Lu Guo, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Many opportunities and challenges are found in the startup world under the impact of globalization. Today, we have invited Omid Scheybani, former Global Head of Partnerships and Business Development at ofo to share the challenges of Chinese business going international from the perspective of management, product and brand, and also opportunities for overseas talents working in China.

Ofo is a leading bike sharing company in China, which was valued at up to $2 billion and had over 62.7 million MAU (monthly active users) in 2017.

Show Notes:

0:00 Welcome Back and Introduction

1:50 Introducing Omid Scheybani

2:50 How Omid came to China and why he stayed

4:45 Chinese perceptions on Global Markets

8:15 Chinese Technology Going Global and shift in Chinese exports

12:27 Diversity in Chinese Business and need for International Talent

14:57 Omid’s Advice on working for Chinese companies

17:55 Challenges in Internationalization for Chinese Businesses

19:25 Adapting to Chinese Business Norms and Treatment of International Talent

20:25 Perspectives of Chinese products in International Markets

26:34 Lightning Round Questions

29:19 Spread of Chinese Products to Foreign Markets

33:31 Omid’s Contact Information

Omid's website: omidscheybani.com

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, Ryan Shuken, and guest Omid Scheybani, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Mindfulness as a tool for businesses has been growing in the West and is now starting to come to China. Brandon Mehrgut, of Shanghai Mindfulness, explains what mindfulness meditation is and how beneficial it is to the Chinese start-up culture and community. Practicing mindfulness can help improve attention, focus, and stress. It has also been practiced by important people and businesses, such as Steve Jobs and DiDi. Join us, and listen to how mindfulness can improve your business.

Shanghai Mindfulness is an English-speaking mindfulness organization. It was founded by Brandon Mehrgut and has become China’s largest mindfulness community. Shanghai Mindfulness helps overworked, stressed out people find peace and balance.

Show Notes:

0:04 Introducing Brandon

1:40 Explaining Mindfulness Meditation

2:36 Why is Shanghai interested in mindfulness?

3:09 Mindfulness application to Entrepreneurs

4:18 How can entrepreneurs practice mindfulness?

5:12 Reasons for entrepreneurs to seek mindfulness training

7:00 Silicon Valley-style mindfulness and China

9:37 How do hard-working, Chinese start-ups adapt mindfulness?

14:07 Who are the pioneers promoting mindfulness?

15:19 Mindfulness Arrives to China

17:40 Shanghai Mindfulness’s work with DiDi and other Chinese Companies

19:38 How does management implement mindfulness?

22:25 What is the data behind mindfulness?

25:55 How to contact Brandon Mehrgut

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Brandon Mehrgut, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Chinese companies are exploring many initiatives to achieve business sustainability, including Ele.me‘s RELAB and Meituan’s emphasis on environmental protection. Ofo, Mobike and many Chinese bike sharing companies ever generated a large amount of attention and discussion on whether they are leading a sustainable lifestyle or just creating e-waste mountains. You can see many opportunities in different industries in China to experiment and implement your idea of sustainability. Today, we have Richard Brubaker, expert in business sustainability, to share his perspectives.

Collective Responsibility is a Shanghai-based firm to design and develop corporate responsibility, sustainability, and leadership strategy for corporates, nonprofit and academic institutions.

Show notes:

01:20 Introduce Richard

02:06 What makes Shanghai special

03:44 Why sustainability is a very important thing in China

06:19 How sustainability in China is relevant with the rest of the world

10:44 Is sustainability leading the born of China innovation

13:05 Chinese consumers are amazing early adopters. Is Shanghai a perfect lab for sustainability?

15:13 Is the booming E-Commerce industry in China sustainable?

18:16 How do you see that ele.me launched ele.me Lab because of the impact of sustainability

22:05 Are these bike sharing companies truly leading the sustainable lifestyle?

25:00 Mobike’s GPS functionality helps improve the sustainability

28:08 How consumers think about sustainability

34:14 How can a founder start thinking about sustainability in the user experience and core of the company

38:00 In the space of sustainability, which industries in China are more friendly for foreigners

40:20 How to contact Richard

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Richard Brubaker, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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The buzzword “New Retail” has swept through China for over one year. What challenges does it bring to the traditional retail industry and how can international brands cope with the new retail concept? Today, we have invited Stephane Monsallier, founder of shops for the future. He shared with us his views on the very exciting concept that was born in China and is now rapidly spreading to the rest of the world.

Shops of the Future helps international brands navigate the new innovation in the retail space in china.

Show Notes:

1:27 Introduction

3:13 How things have changed in China

4:30 Changes in retail industry and how mobile payments are disrupting the industry in China

7:08 International brands coming to learn in China

8:56 Relevancy for all brands or brands that have presence in China

10:00 China is not an easy market

11:50 Hema experience in China

13:17 New retail wave of startups

15:39 Not too much about technology, but mindset change is key

17:00 Embrace the wave of new retail

19:10 The China speed

21:31 Importance of business thinking

22:45 Traditional Chinese retailers

24:49 Convenience stores

26:41 New retail changes consumer habits

28:28 How to reach out to Stephane Monsallier

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Stephane Monsallier, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Many founders believe an IPO is the only option for an exit. Today, we sit down with Bruno Bensaid, co-founder of Shanghaivest, mentor at Chinaccelerator, and long-term player in China’s startup ecosystem to share his insights on early exits and acquisitions by corporate bodies. Here’s a short quote: “All options should be on the table from very early on”.

Shanghaivest helps build and execute investment, expansion, fundraising and exit strategies for companies in China and Overseas.

Show Notes:

01:10 Introduce Bruno

01:52 How Bruno made transitions from engineering to business

03:48 Is go public the only ultimate goal?

8:19 All options should be on the table from the very early on

10:40 How’s the acquisition market in China and how it involves

11:55 More transactions in gaming and healthcare industry

12:33 What are those Chinese buyers? What acquisitions are they looking for?

17:35 Local corporate VCs are more active than Google - they have a large range of investment possibilities

19:13 The early exit doesn’t mean that founders get less return. Do you see early exit is good for founders in China?

22:30 You need to think about your exit early.

Check out the article: “Why founders need to prepare for exits” https://medium.com/sosv-accelerator-vc/why-founders-need-to-prepare-for-exits-97766d865410

25:01 Example of App Annie

29:03 Why does it make sense to consider an early acquisition in China and what’s the criteria for corporates to decide on acquisition

36:06 Contact Bruno

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Bruno Bensaid, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Slush is one of the fastest growing events and communities for startups globally, bringing together both local and international companies to help inspire and support youth to pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship.

Today, we welcome Chen Wang, the person who helped the event break into the Chinese market, starting with Beijing in 2015. With Slush Shanghai coming up next month (September 7 to 8), Chen talks to us about the challenges of entrepreneurship, including maintaining good relationships with the government, protecting intellectual property and other essential tips to prospering in China.

Listen to the end for a special surprise for our dedicated listeners, on behalf of Slush China!

Show Notes:

01:30 Introduce Chen

02:23 What’s so special about Slush

06:15 Finding support and security in Finland

08:40 Global Community in Shanghai

11:05 The Chinese roots of Slush

13:03 The importance of government relations in China

15:31 Advice to organizations coming to China

18:58 Intellectual property concerns

19:51 The Chinese presence at Slush

24:25 Contact Info

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Chen Wang, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Fintech has come a long way in China, from barely being recognized to one of the fastest growing markets in the region. As the world’s leader in Fintech technology, China is a breeding ground for Internet finance companies, and accordingly, investment in the industry. With millions of users and an ever-growing number of fintech unicorns, the future of Internet finance looks exceedingly bright in China.

Today, we present another special episode recorded live at RISE Conference 2018, where Oscar Ramos sat down with venture capitalist and fintech investor Wei Hopeman. After beginning her career in financial services and investment banking, Wei co-founded Arbor Ventures in 2013, the first VC fund specialized in fintech in the Asian ecosystem. She talks to us about the growth of fintech, the benefits of corporate VCs, and how founders and corporate VCs can improve their interactions with each other, as well as many other topics.

Many thanks to RISE Conference 2018 for gathering global elites in Hong Kong and supporting China Startup Pulse to present good quality content for our listeners.

Show notes:

1:02 Intro 1:40 How Wei got into financial services 5:20 Going into investment banking 7:04 The growth of fintech in Asia 9:06 The lack of infrastructure in financial services 11:52 Launching fintech in China 14:52 Benefits of corporate VCs 16:42 Key questions a founder should ask corporate VCs 18:05 Key difference between types of VCs 20:36 Educating corporates in working with startups 22:51 Women in VC 29:51 The future of Arbor Ventures

As always, thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Wei Hopeman, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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On this day 2 years ago, China’s ride-hailing industry experienced a major turning point - Didi purchased Uber’s China operations and Uber took a 20% stake in Didi. So far Uber has expanded in more than 449 cities and 66 countries. Today, many companies are still trying to elbow into this crowded industry.

In this episode, we are lucky to have Sam Gellman as our guest, the first international Uber employee that took care of the company’s expansion in Asia and China. Sam shared his past experience in redesigning Uber’s playbook to adjust to China’s unique ecosystem, channels for communication and user acquisition. Despite knowing only a bit of Chinese, Sam was assigned to create a Chinese name for Uber. Fortunately, the Chinese name 优步 turned out to be one of the most well-received foreign company names. As the person who worked on market localization for Uber, Sam also shared how they took the company from nothing to a massive exit within 3 years.

Also check out Uber CEO and Co-Founder Travis Kalanick's statement on the merger: https://www.uber.com/newsroom/uber-china-didi/

Many thanks to RISE Conference 2018 for gathering global elites in Hong Kong and supporting China Startup Pulse to present good quality content for our listeners.

Show notes:

Intro 1:44 Coming to Hong Kong with Goldman Sachs 2:40 Scaling Uber to Europe 8:30 The most surprising part of launching in Asia 10:08 Choosing a Chinese name for Uber 12:35 The key lesson learned from Uber 17:31 Having a global footprint while still improving your product 23:31 What’s keeping Sam busy 25:30

As always, thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Sam Gellman, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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China is obsessed with data. But how can you access it, and leverage it to your benefit? Kenneth Cheung shines a light on how you should be using data to market yourself or your company, and shares with us the “golden rule of WeChat marketing”. From initially acquiring data to actually learning how to use it properly, Kenneth walks this integral process while talking about his work in consulting on brand management and KOL influencer marketing in China. He also talks about the power of mini-apps, the first principals of market, and much, much more! If you want to market your brand on WeChat to its maximum potential, this is a can’t-miss episode.

Show Notes

1:42 Introduction 3:02 Describing China’s business ecosystem 5:11 China’s obsession with data 7:45 The process of doing a data search 11:00 Getting around closed systems 14:00 WeChat as a future platform for e-commerce 18:27 The power of mini apps 22:50 A crash course on KOLs 27:18 Lightning round questions

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Kenneth Cheung, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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What do investors look for in startups? This week, we have invited Jörn Helms, Senior Advisor at the Bank of Taizhou and Country Director for China with Portier Technologies. Portier is a smartphone platform for luxury hotels allowing guests to access the internet as well as order hotel services thereby increasing hotel revenues. With an extensive background in small business landing (as the former VP of Bank of Taizhou) and angel investing, Jörn is experienced with both large companies and small startups entering China.

From his first days in Taizhou, when he had to re-learn Chinese because of the local dialect, to his time as a mentor for Chinaccelerator, Jörn has personally crossed borders and found success in a new environment. Hear what he has to say about succeeding in the China startup scene from the perspective of an investor!

Know more about Bank of Taizhou: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-11-15/military-drills-help-china-s-best-bank-toughen-up-its-staff

Show Notes: Jörn’s background 1:44 Banking Career in China 3:16 The principal of “see and touch” 12:39 Being a mentor 15:29 Breaking the China barrier as a foreign investor 21:03 Lightning round questions 23:20

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Jörn Helms, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

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Both new startup founders and veteran business owners may often find themselves confronted by conflict, whether they’re personal, familial, or business-related complications. This week, our mentors share some of their own personal experiences in conquering these obstacles and their words of wisdom on what helps a company succeed.

Join us for our 8x8 Series Finale, where our final three speakers emphasize the value in venturing out into the unknown to revive passion and to crush fear, stress the importance in organizing a proper IP strategy for a business in China’s vast market, and offer strategic advice to help better the life of a startup. We hope you enjoy!

Show Notes

2:53 Nishtha’s talk on committing to the uncomfortable

12:22 Ziv’s talk on intellectual property

19:55 James’ talk on the Tao of startups

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Nishtha Mehta, Ziv Rotenberg, and James Lalonde, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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Being a good entrepreneur is a multi-faceted skill. Proficiency in one aspect does not guarantee overall success, but failure or inefficiency in one discipline could cost you your business. Our guests this week provide sage advice on topics ranging from securing funding to proper networking.

With years of experience in the China Startup scene, this week’s guests speak from the heart on their mistakes and lessons learned: how they sought the wrong advice, pursued the wrong business ideas, and how you should deal with the problems you will inevitably face while building your business. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur or someone struggling with their first start-up, this episode is worth a listen!

Show Notes

2:07 Trevor’s talk

12:33 Rich’s talk

19:46 Kenneth’s talk

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Trevor Owens, Rich Bishop, and Kenneth Cheung, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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Being an entrepreneur is often defined not by one’s success, but by the way one deals with failure. This week’s three guests have all used their past experiences, both positive and negative, to find success in their current endeavors.

From a past career as a skateboarder to the challenge of overcoming a midlife crisis, this week’s speakers have experienced a unique set of highs and lows which have enhanced their focus, creativity, and self-awareness, among other things. Make sure you don’t miss this episode!

Show Notes

2:20 Ilya’s talk

9:54 Tim’s talk

17:42 Curt’s talk

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Ilya Cheremnikh, Tim Coghlan, and Curt Shi, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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This episode’s guest is a pioneer and innovator in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency: Emurgo senior advisor and Chinaccelerator alumnus Darren Camas! He talks about his career and experiences in crypto, an industry for which he has been at the forefront since the beginning. He stresses the importance of having responsible business practices, the inability to plan for luck, and other lessons learned. Also interesting is his discussion of Cardano, the revolutionary generation 3 blockchain technology, which pushes improved scalability, interoperability, and sustainability. This podcast is sure to be thought-provoking and informational to both blockchain enthusiasts and those less accustomed with the industry.

Show Notes:

01:50 Darren Camas’ background

02:48 Discussion of Darren’s career in crypto

04:57 An overview of Darren’s role of senior adviser at Emurgo

14:21 Lessons learned and advice

27:43 Predictions for the future

30:07 Recommendations on the market

32:33 Darren’s contact information

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Darren Camas, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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In this episode, we have invited Florian Bohnert, head of global partnerships for Mobike. As an entrepreneur, Florian developed an interest for Asian culture and the East very early on and has been leading Mobike’s global expansion journey, especially in China. He stresses the importance of being in the country where you want to expand your business and letting passion drive you. He also touches upon the positive impact mobike has on people’s health other than the obvious convenience it has brought to people’s lives.

Show Notes:

1:35 Florian intro

3:09 what is mobike

6:20 how mobike expands globally

8:09 Florian’s entrepreneurial journey

12:00 Asian pop culture and East

15:19 French tech movement

17:00 challenges and Chinese colleagues

20:40 Let passion drive you

22:00 be in the country you want to expand your business in

23:40 Learning chinese is important

24:57 How mobike has built success globally

30:25 Mobike's model

35:20 positive impact mobike health

43:52 opportunity in China

47:22 lightning round of questions

51:30 how to connect with Florian

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Florian Bohnert, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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Running a business is an exciting and rewarding process, but at times, can also be very stressful and fraught with many pitfalls. In this episode, Mike Burns, Founding Partner of Asia Growth Solutions, talks about his experiences as an executive coach, business coach, and strategy consultant in China. He highlights the challenges his clients often encounter and gives crucial advice to leaders of all levels. This includes the importance of having a good support network, the need for strong personal values compatible with business, and the 4 key issues most leaders face! With prior leadership experience at Walmart and General Electric, Mike’s advice is invaluable to all those trying to navigate the difficult task of starting a successful business in China.

Show Notes:

1:53 Introduction of Mike Burns

3:33 What does Mike do

4:12 Adapting to China

5:32 Importance of having a strong network

9:01 Experiences in executive coaching and development

13:14 4 key issues leaders most often face in China

28:05 What Mike is working on right now

29:35 Important advice to startups

33:59 Mike’s contact information

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us. If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it.

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Mike Burns, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator

and sponsor People Squared. Make sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Blockchain is hot. However, what we do not know is whether ICO is a viable way for entrepreneurs under the dual effects of legal regulations and market booms. Robin8, a data-driven influencer marketing platform utilizing AI and Big data, raised 3.6 million USD and also closed ICO in 6 weeks. Miranda Tan, CEO and Founder of Robin8 joined us to introduce how she developed Robin8 in China, raised money after meeting over 100 investors, and met blockchain in the end.

She shared many factors she considered for the fundraising and ICO. For example, how consistent product and repeated pitch practices helped her to raise ICO in a short time. Not stopping at talking about the positive sides of ICO, she also noticed the drawbacks. Can’t wait to share this episode with you! Click to listen to it!

Show Notes:

01:32 Introduce Miranda Tan and Robin8

02:53 Connection with Chinaccelerator and China

05:53 Develop Robin8 to an influencer search engine in China

08:50 Chinese investors move faster than the western but they invest in certain type of company

11:20 Learn from mistakes while fundraising for your company

14:10 Get values from meetings with investors

14:20 What was the Catalyst to do ICO

21:51 Blockchain is regulated, especially in China.

23:24 Biggest takeaways from doing an ICO in 6 weeks

26:07 How to leverage blockchain when they heavily relied on big data and AI technology

31:30 ICO: positive or negative?

37:00 Work as a female CEO

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Miranda Tan, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

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In this episode, we have invited Casey Lau, Co-host for the largest tech conference in Asia - RISE.

Unlike traditional conferences, RISE has helped break down social barriers not only by its highly intellectual talks, but also by a lot of workshops, drinking, networking events. Casey talked about how RISE has developed as the world class conference in Asia. More interestingly, he analysed the trends he has observed in Silicon Valley versus China and compared their different approaches to innovation. "China is gonna innovate faster due to necessity and the West takes a while to have that traction" Casey mentioned.

0:38: Casey Lau intro

9:55: Growing community and maintain quality

18:30: Trends in innovation

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Aiming to build diverse culture and mindset in the whole ecosystem, Jan manages Startup Grind China & APAC as the Community Director. Startup Grind is the world's largest entrepreneurship community connecting more than 1 Million entrepreneurs in over 365 cities, among which over 80 cities are in China. In this episode, Jan shares how Startup Grind China grew up to a successful program, his focus in managing community and most importantly, his perspective on opportunities for startups and investments in China. Can't wait to listen to it! Cheers!

Show notes:

02:42 Introducing Jan

03:54 What brought Jan to China

08:47 What's Jan's first experience with Startup Grind and How he became the Community Director

11:20 How was the community when Jan joined

15:10 Jan's focus of managing the community

18:04 In terms of having people help you in the community, what's the difference between what Startup Grind does in Silicon Valley and that in China?

23:48 What's the next step of Startup Grind?

25:32 Which city will Jan stay? Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen...

26:26 The opportunities in China are better?

27:50 How to contact Jan

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Jan Smejkal, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

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Are you struggling to form a team and curious what influence team dynamics?

Alan Clayton, roaming mentor of SOSV took us through a journey on team building, diversity and people development. Having worked with over 700 startups analysing the relationship between founders and how a diverse set of founders attribute to the future success of the company, Alan provided us some deep insights into the important elements on building and maintaining a functioning team.

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our special host Oscar Ramos and Ryan Shuken, our awesome roaming mentor Alan Clayton, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

0:25 Alan Clayton Intro

1:54 roaming mentor

7:40 Diversity Matters

11:45 HBDI

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The increasing demand of mobile UI/UX and the gradual openness of the society to freelancers have led to the rapid development of China's design and creativity industry. Tezign, as a data-driven design platform, helps companies connect and match designers in different scenarios. In this episode, we invited Tezign's co-founder and chief product officer Steve Wang to share his observations in China's design ecosystem and his judgments on future opportunities. He particularly shared how Tezign, as a bridge between foreign designers and Chinese companies, has promoted the development of creativity ecosystems both at home and abroad.

Show Notes:

02:06 Steve Wang Introduction

02:53 How Tezign started

03:46 17 Million designers in China

04:10 More designers in tech companies

05:56 The improvement of creativity and design in China

07:00 More foreign designers in China

07:28 Utilizing user data to improve the mobile UI/UX

09:58 What's the motivation for foreign designers to work with Chinese clients

13:19 What are the obstacles for those foreign designers in terms of communication and Tezign's solutions

17:11 Leveraging AI technology and human power

18:30 Are there still opportunities in China design community

21:05 Freelancing industry in China is developing but...

22:15 Supply and demand for freelancers in China

24:20 Contact Tezign

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our special host Oscar Ramos and Ryan Shuken, guest Steve Wang, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

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When you ask foreigners why they come to China to start a business, many people will say that because the Chinese market is very large and they marvel at China speed. But the key to the problem is not what brought you to China, but why you have stayed in China for so long. Today we have a special podcast with 3 "Laowai" guests who have been in China for over 10 years and are respectively leading the frontiers of venture capital accelerator, corporate innovation and entrepreneurship in Shanghai. They stated that compared to other cities, Shanghai is so different and crazy. From their mouths, you will hear China's great changes in the past decade in the eyes of foreigners. Let's listen to it!

Host: Graham Brown, Host of Asia Tech Podcast

Guests: Oscar Ramos, Chinaccelerator Partner and Program Director

Kapil Kane, Director of Innovation at Intel

Geoffrey Handley, Founding General Partner of Haitao Capital

Show notes:

01:45 Introdcution

02:33 Why Oscar came to Shanghai

04:00 Shenzhen VS Shanghai

05:54 How was Shanghai before 2008 Olympics

09:28 Kapil's first arrival in China

13:33 Why did you stay in China

16:35 Do engineers think of technology differently after they come to China

18:09 Mobile revolution in China

18:38 What makes Shanghai startup ecosystem special - Being open-minded

21:15 Easy access to everyone in this ecosystem

23:00 Geoffrey joined the chat

25:12 Geoffrey's connection with China

27:09 Is this a good place for technology development

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our special host Graham Brown, guest Oscar Ramos, Kapil Kane and Geoffrey Handley, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

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With more than 8 years of experience at the world’s leading gaming companies, Kevin Yu decided to stay in China and build Sidechef, “Netflix for recipes” after his first startup exit. Realizing people’s passion for food and cooking, Kevin is determined to unlock the inner potential of people and used the lessons from gaming industry to food industry. In this episode, Kevin shared many interesting insights on building a team, fundraising and building investor relations in China, and elaborated on the simple idea of never give up.

Show notes:

0:30 - 2:57 Kevin Yu Introduction

3:00 - 4:19 Building a team

4:54 - 6:32 Pivot to food industry

10:50 - 12:13 Team rotation

12:40 - 17:13 Fundraising and building relationships

22:42 - 26:38 marriage between food and tech

26:47 - 26:50 Connect with Kevin Yu

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With 11 team members working and living in 5 different cities, Fei Yao and her company QLC are redefining working, learning and living. After leaving a traditionally successful career path as a management consultant, Fei founded the remote internship platform QLC. In this episode, she shares her view of the growing demand of people changing their jobs, and advocates the idea of lifelong learning and co-living.

Show Notes:

01:46 From a traditional career path to her first startup

07:08 Changing from online furniture to redifining the future of work

10:01 The startup ecosystem in Shanghai

12:11 Why people need the future of work globally

17:21 How the way we learn is changing and the future of education

18:54 Lifelong learning to keep you refreshed

21:47 Learning through QLC

22:34 Working with Uber and Linkedin

24:11 The example of the future of living

29:00 Contact QLC

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our special guest Fei Yao, host Oscar Ramos, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

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“Entrepreneurship helps me to define who I am,” says Brian Tam, the founder of a creative and innovation consultancy named Let’s Make Great. Realising the need for creative thinking and innovation in China, Brian shared with us how he started his self discovery adventure in China and later catalysed his ideas into creating “Let’s Make Great”. He also touched upon how innovation in China has involved, the changing perceptions of innovation in China and his take on how to approach it.

Aspiring to sparkle the creative spirits in more people, Brian has helped many corporations to find the right mechanism to be creative.

Show Notes:

1:43 Brian Tam introduction

6:43 What brings Brian to China

9:38 Coming to China with a strategy and vision to be more creative

14:08 The importance of team dynamic

16:40 How Innovation in China has evolved

21:53 When innovation meets corporations

25:21 The right mechanism for creativity

30:18 Changing perception of innovation in China

33:27 PROTO and how to connect with Brian

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our guest Brian Tam, host Oscar Ramos, editor David and Geep, and sponsor People Squared.

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Venture Capital tends to shut the door if you don't have a team, a product and some customers due to too many risks. Increasingly, entrepreneurs in China with just an idea are having difficulty in getting money and help. Focused on the ideation stage before accelerators and incubators, Albert Liang, CEO and Founder of IGENESIIS, is dedicated to inspiring people to become founders through a 4-month process with their mentor community and courses on skills, resilience, and core values.

Ideation programs is an emerging trend around the world, especially in Silicon Valley. Having started the first ideation program in China, Albert has many incredible insights about how to "maturalize" your idea into a business in Chinese market. As a serial entrepreneur, Albert also has prospective insights about why the current environment is ready for IGENESIIS and how investors are likely to respond to this opportunity.

Show Notes: Jump ahead to topics

02:08 Albert Liang Introduction

04:34 What IGENSIIS is and how to "maturalize" your idea into a business

06:23 Why the environment is ready for IGENSIIS

08:23 Face the risky world and start the stepping stone program

10:08 Why Stared IGENSIIS

11:15 Ideation is an emerging trend all over the world

15:44 Hopes for the Ideation Program

25:06 How investors will react

25:52 Suggestions

27:08 Contact IGENSIIS

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our special guest Albert Liang, host Ryan Shuken, editor David and Geep, and sponsor People Squared.

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When independent, young professional women struggle to find the right network, resources and support, what dilemma are they facing? In this episode, Michelle Li, founder and CEO of Sorority China, the first and one of a kind community and sisterhood in China for independent women, has all the answers. Coming from a single child background and having experienced living in a supportive sisterhood in school, Michelle tells her story on how she started creating a sisterhood for women entrepreneurs, growing mentors and changing the gender dynamic in China.

Michelle empathises with these women in dilemma and also shares with us some good suggestions for female entrepreneurs from her perspective.

Show Notes:

00:15 Introduction of Michelle Li

2:00 How and Why Michelle starts a community for like-minded women

9:40 Difficulties faced as a woman founder

16:50 How did Sorority China become successful

24:09 Thriving in Chinese market

26:50 The Future Ahead

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When trust has become the biggest issue in the Chinese healthcare market, how do you tackle the market and rebuild trust? In this latest episode, Sébastien Gaudin, CEO and Co-Founder of the CareVoice shared with us his experience tackling one of the biggest market in China - healthcare. His solution, “trip advisor” for healthcare, helps bring private healthcare trust and a sense of peace of mind with very simple ideas.

Recently raised 2M to bring its cost, quality transparency app to China, Sébastien Gaudin tells his story on how he started tackling healthcare business in China, rebuilds trust and pivots when needed.

Show Notes:

0:23 Sébastien Gaudin Introduction

2:40 How Sébastien started the CareVoice

2:54 Trust as the biggest issue

5:28 Time to Pivot

12:34 Having a Chinese Co-Founder

25:26 Next Step for the CareVoice

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Assumptions will never become facts untill you validate it. How to validate your idea? Design helps. Grace Ng, Co-Founder of Lean Startup Machine shared how and why she built the Javelin Board and many interesting ideas about optimisation in design needs for questions. As a female entrepreneur, she has also observed how the global scene is opening up to women in technology ecosystem.

When you're focusing on the design, the biggest design challenge is to validate the customer's problem. Grace has really good ideas about how to build your startup and integrate design into what you do, talk to your team, design for success, and make it happen.

Show Notes: Jump ahead to topics

02:24 Grace Ng Introduction

04:18 How Grace started design work in startups

09:35 The framework works effectively in International startups

12:34 Differences between Chinese entrepreneurs and International teams

14:24 More opportunities for female entrepreneurs all over the world

17:39 Drop your ego out of the door

21:14 Become the biggest support for your co-founder

22:06 The next step for Lean Startup Machine Methodology

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Building something that doesn't exist is what some entrepreneurs thrive on. The risk, challenges, and potential drove Archie Hamilton to pioneer an entire industry in China. Archie Hamilton founder and CEO of Split Works, started in 2006 to help build the music festival industry in China. Realizing that there was no audience here, he started to make up the rules and fought to understand his audience while learning how to survive, and built one of the greatest music festivals in China.

We talk with Archie about what it was like to jump into China, risking it all to build an international music festival scene. Archie talks about how to make up your own rules, be lean, and how the hard lessons of China business made him a better CEO. This is a great episode for the dreamers and believers who want to build their own empire in the East.

Thanks as always to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode. A huge thanks to our Producer, Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu, and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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Step 1: Validate your assumptions! Startups all over the world make the same mistake; they build a startup based on assumptions, with no data to validate a need. Trevor Owens, Co-Founder of the Lean Startup Machine, and author of The Lean Enterprise takes us through his winning method. His vision: "I want to create more millionaire entrepreneurs; if you really want to start a unicorn, it really helps if you already built a successful company, it really helps even more if you have a few million in your bank."

China's start-up scene is energised by top down support and heavy competition. Trevor shares his secret to help startups validate and pivot to beat the competition. The focus is on building a company which impacts your consumers life; the money is a by product, not the goal. Listen in for the lean startup method from the master himself.

Show Notes: Jump ahead to topics

2:00 Trevor Owens Intro

7:00 Invalidating ideas using the Lean Startup Method

14:00 Why Trevor has brought LSM to China and why it works so well in China

18:15 China is the only real Silicon Valley Competition

24:00 Lightning round question - How to do the method now

26:50 contact Trevor Owen direct!

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PayPal and Pinterest; recognised instantaneously and an embodiment of the Unicorn Startup. This week, recorded Live!, and 3rd part series from Chinaccelerator's 8x8 event in Shanghai, Peter Davison, serial unicorn investor, breaks down the journey of these superstar startups having invested and built up both Pinterest and Paypal. David Chen Co-Founder of Angelvest, the first and largest seed investment group in China, also sheds light on how success is defined by the investor and the secret to getting funded in the East.

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If you don't plan, then plan to fail. This week, Geoffrey Handley challenges the assumption that start-up failure is good and emphasises how founders shouldn't settle for mediocre wins.

Having co-founded 5 companies with his brothers, and invested in 30 (including acquisitions from Twitter, Salesforce and AOL!), Geoffrey is able to switch between the perspective of an investor, entrepreneur and mentor. He offers advice on selecting mentors strategically, as part of a grand master plan, and underlines the importance of ignoring the doubters and beating the odds with a bold, scary vision.

A very happy one year anniversary to the China Startup Pulse! A special thank you to our Producer Vivian Law and previous Producers Darren O'Connell and Qi Liu, Production Editor David Xu, our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, syndication partner Technode and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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Founders talk about hard work, as much as good luck. This week, Arthur Hayes, Co-Founder of Bitmex, tells us why to build something that makes money right away, the importance of having supreme confidence in your own vision as an entrepreneur, and cuts right to the core of what bitcoin enables the World to do -financial inclusion and more open trade.

From a corporate banking background, to being awarded Asia's No.1 Tech Startup in 2016, Arthur shares why Asia innovates so well and explains how bitcoin is just the first contender in a future made up of digital currency.

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Living China comes hand-in-hand with having Wechat -one does not function without it. With payment solutions, business accounts, taxi services and more, Wechat's efficient utility services are far surpassing the likes of Whatsapp and Facebook messenger. This week, we podcast Live! From the Chat conference -China's largest Wechat conference for the international community, hosted in Shanghai by China Channel and Walk the Chat.

From the leafy rooftops of the conference, we caught up with Andrew Schorr, Co-Founder of Grata, and Edaan Getzel, Co-Founder of Rikai Labs after their speeches on stage, to share their thoughts on why we shouldn't celebrate too myopically the successes of Wechat, how chatbots can be built with personalities, and also contrary to it's name, why artificial intelligence actually lacks intelligence.

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Wechat hacks are the new cheat sheet for optimising user and business growth. This week, recorded Live! from Chinaccelerator's 8x8 event in Shanghai, Jenny Zhu, Co-Founder of Open Language, shares how to fine-tune content strategy, avoid cheap tricks, allow users to buy what they love, and the importance of tracking campaigns for sustained growth.

Want to join our next September 8X8 event? Then click to join us at Beijing or Shanghai -and all for FREE! This year, 8x8 Shanghai will also capstone NewCo Shanghai, a new kind of event experience -a mashup of an open studio tour and a business conference with the vibe of a music festival.

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"Mobile payments in China are at least 3-5 years ahead of Europe." This week, Tobias Pfütze, Consultant at Mediaman Shanghai, Partner at China Fintech, and G20 delegate for the Young Entrepreneurs Summit, makes a strong case in arguing how Fintech in Asia is not only different from everywhere else, but in fact, proves that China is leading the World in Mobile Payment Solutions, with the Fintech crown jewels of Wechat Wallet and Alipay.

The end of copycat China, as we discuss examples of process innovation in China, how the Chinese are more open to digital solutions, and whether the lack of regulations has actually benefited the market. Want to geek out on Exchange-traded Funds, VIE structures, or simply want to hear about the disruptions in the Chinese Fintech innovation space? Then listen in to this superstar CA mentor's podcast!

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Throughout time, superheroes have had a common set of attributes: unmatched resilience, defiance against doubters, and generally making the World a better place. Superhero Entrepreneurs are no different! This week, we welcome two awesome storytelling film makers, SiokSiok and James Fong, recorded Live! from Chinaccelerator's 8x8 event in Shanghai, as they share how to market yourself as a Superhero Entrepreneur in a movie style narrative.

A bite-sized guide to extracting the 'geek talk', storytelling your business model and investment deck so that normal folks can understand your idea.'Live by discipline, not by mood'. Many a quote-bomb to takeaway from this episode.

Want to join our next 8X8 event? Then click here and register for either Beijing or Shanghai -and all for FREE! This year, 8x8 Shanghai will also capstone NewCo Shanghai, a new kind of event experience -a mashup of an open studio tour and a business conference with the vibe of a music festival.

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TechCrunch -the leading technology media platform, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups and reviewing new Internet and tech news. What better way than to pick the brains of Ned Desmond, COO of TechCrunch, who joined us Live! at Shanghai's TechCrunch 2016 Conference! Ned chats to us about the hottest cross-border startups, the $6billion USD which TechCrunch companies raised, and also looks back on the biggest challenges TechCrunch faced. We also discuss the cultural phenomenon of Silicon Valley, its representation in popular media, and the impact this image has had on global startups. It doesn't matter whether you're in Silicon Valley or Silicon Alley in Beijing, this episode has something for every curious entrepreneur, investor or listener!

Thank you again to Ned, everyone at TechCrunch and Tech Node for their support, and our team, Producer Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu, our sponsors Chinaccelerator and People Squared and most importantly you, our listener! If you would like to contact us please send an email to team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Start-ups aren't all tech nerds and T-shirts; some evolve into elegant and classy enterprises, paid to essentially throw glitzy parties from the rooftops of China's hottest cities. This weeks guest, Stephane de Montgros, shares how he uprooted from France, moved to China, and co-founded China’s leading luxury hospitality events management company, Riviera Events, and The Hotelier Awards!

Pivoting from a working revenue model which catered for Shanghai's party nightlife, Stephane talks about how he took the risky leap to specialise exclusively on high-end luxury brands, the struggles that came with staying true to an entrepreneur's vision, underlines the importance of building trust and guanxi, and talks about the key reasons for keeping goodwill.

Thanks to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode. A huge thanks to our Producer Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu, and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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Hindsight is 20/20. This week, Kevin Chen, tells us the hard lessons learned since ‘committing career suicide’; quitting his corporate life with Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, to building multiple start-ups before co-founding Italki, a leading language learning social network that connects students and teachers for language exchange and paid tutoring, which recently closed a US$3million round of funding.

“Stay true to your vision –the investor doesn’t run your company, you do.” Kevin shares his learnings on recognizing bad deals, filtering out advice, and 'zooming out' to understand the different perspectives and motives of investors, entrepreneurs and advisors.

Also, if you haven’t been to a Techyizhu event yet you're missing out on the hottest gatherings in Shanghai for the start-up community, including the bi-annual Barcamp and many more. Kevin is one of the founding fathers of Techyizu and touches on why they've been so successful with their non-profit and volunteer-only strategy and how you can get involved.

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Disruptors within the manufacturing space are forcing a change to the old adage 'Made in China'. This week’s guest, Jacob Rothman, Founding Partner of Platform88, tells us exactly how technology has caused manufacturing in China to pivot. Platform88, a manufacturing network that brings ideas to life, is at the forefront of this movement.

From his young dreams of becoming a Rabbi, to experiencing a previous exit, to owning his own factory in China that directly supplies companies like Walmart and Canadian Tire, Jacob discusses the manufacturing obstacles that start-ups often face, the evolution of manufacturing, and how factories are more willing to accept MOQs (Minimal Order Quantities) and manufacture on demand, with good quality, rather than mass produce at low quality.

Thank you to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode. A huge thanks to our Producer Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu, and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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Blockchain isn’t entirely synonymous with bitcoin. Want to know how to differentiate Blockchain vs. Bitcoin in under 30 seconds? Then tune in with Remington Ong, Partner of Fenbushi, a $50million fund, that is headquartered in Shanghai and specifically invests in early-stage Blockchain technology startups.

From an MBA to Merrill Lynch, as well as a Chinaccelerator Alumni, Rem tells us what investors look for in pitches, discusses smart contracts, and how Blockchain is applicable in almost every vertical to the extent where we’ll all be using Blockchain without even knowing it within a decade!

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Known for amazing bagels and craft lattes in Shanghai, David Seminsky tells us about his whirlwind China adventures including his early days at Apple and sharing an office with Steve Jobs, to accidental China jail time, to founding a string of successful brick-and-mortar businesses: Sumerian Coffee, Boom-Boom Bagel and everyone's favorite curbside pub Dogtown!

Podcasting alongside two of the cutest sidekick pups (no, not Todd and Ryan), David shares how he balances risks and opportunities in business, overcame the challenges of local competition, lawsuits, and employee management, yet still considers China the next frontier for business.

Thanks to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner TechNode. A huge thanks to our Producer Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu, and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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Ever wondered who operates the internet? This week, Tudou’s first foreigner CTO, Steve Mushero, tells us how he uprooted from the Valley, moved to China, and co-founded China’s 1st and leading cloud service, ChinaNet Cloud - essentially running the backend to the World’s largest internet user base!

Connecting giants such as Amazon and Alibaba to their online audiences, Steve shares how he makes cross border IT transactions faster, and the importance of adaptability to target the Chinese market. Successfully raising 9 million USD from local investors, Steve discusses the difference between negotiating local and foreign investment, sourcing trustworthy local leadership, and predicts how the QR code phenomenon might expand beyond Chinese borders.

Thanks to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode. A huge thanks to our Producer Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu, and of course to you, our listeners – Thank You!

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Building a startup is hard enough but going solo in China, without a Chinese co-founder, is exactly what Ronan Berder, CEO and Founder of Wiredcraft, did. This week we talk about how he bootstrapped his company from the ashes of a failed startup into a global DevOps company, with huge international clients such as the UN, CNN, Starbucks and the Worldbank.

Embracing the path less travelled, Ronan shares his struggles, the pivots, and staying lean as a start-up, and how he literally lived out of a dufflebag in AirBnBs for 3 years. He also takes us through how investment decisions effect your growth process and his latest success powering the recent election in Myanmar.

Thanks as always to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner TechNode. A huge thanks to our Producer Vivian Law and Production Editor David Xu

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Failing in China’s harsh start-up climate is an all too common occurrence for those foreigners with the guts to chase middle kingdom success. If success is met however, one must then begin the arduous task of then just keeping the door open. Successfully exiting? Folklore. This week’s guest, TR Harrington shares with us the hard things he learned along the way: breaking up with business partners, optimising deal terms with stakeholders, raising money just before the financial crisis, and how he managed to complete his journey on a high by being acquired by iProspects!

Understanding the highs of serendipity in Shanghai, TR discusses how to pivot your business, the change in the marketing landscape and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right hidden or co-founders.

Thanks to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode. Thanks to our Producers and Editor, Vivian and David, and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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Entrepreneurs worldwide have a set of common values. Do work you love. Embrace change and risk. Build things that matter. Make a positive impact. This week’s guest, Lucio Pentagna Guimaraes Neto, tells us how he pivoted from his Brazillian legal, MBA and corporate CEO background, to sailing the world, end up in China, self-learn 3D modelling, and go onto founding Shanghai’s first collaborative maker space, XinFab.

Crazy about machines, Lucio discusses how he merges his passion for 3D printing with his farming heritage. Now building a “hack-vacation” in South Portugal, Lucio discusses his latest project –a getaway for do-ers; get your own work done, do sustainable farming and surf on the side –who needs mainstream Bali.

Thanks as always to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode. A huge thanks to our Producers and Editor, Vivian, Darren and David, and finally our listeners –Thank You!

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We've discussed the value of Guanxi when starting up in China, but there is another cultural phenomenon here commonly known as "giving face". This can be one of the most difficult pills to swallow for foreigners starting up in China but can prove to be an extremely valuable asset for those that can pull it off well. This episode really dove deep into how to mitigate your frustrations with some of China's systems and bureaucracy, and where to look for opportunities in them instead.

Jared has demonstrated the "cowboy attitude" perfectly in his path to China, leaving behind a great corporate offering post MBA, liquidating his assets, and bringing his wife and two kids to China on a whim of interest in the Middle Kingdom. Now a family of 6(!) Jared is growing his newest child Cinnaswirl into one of Shanghai's hottest brick-and-mortar startups.

Thank you to our sponsors, Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode! A huge thanks to Vivian, Darren, David who help us make the show and everyone who listens! Thank you!

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China is the largest market place for internet lending in the world, almost quadrupling the rest of the world combined at nearly $60 billion in 'originations' (where loans are being 'originated'). We discuss why this is the case talking about the 'black economy' in China that has moved online, and the lack of the ability to gain credit or obtain a proper credit score. We also talk about the role that internet banks are going to play in this field helping small to medium businesses obtain loans in the future.

Tharon also educates us on the proper terminology in which to use when discussing P2P which should be referred to as internet financing, marketplace lending or, her favorite, inclusive finance, because we're helping to finance each other.

A huge thanks to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner Technode!

And as always, thanks to our team, David, Darren, and Vivian.

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Stanford before it was cool; Yahoo! before internet mail and search; Walmart e-commerce in China: To say Mr. Lee has been ahead of the game would be a serious understatement. Joining BTCC as CEO in 2013, Mr. Lee has grown BTCC to become China’s no. 1 Bitcoin giant, and one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world.

Tune in with us as we mine through the ins and outs of blockchain technology, discussing why China can’t keep it’s hands off Bitcoin, and why, in the opinion of Mr. Lee, it is forever here to stay.

Thank you to our sponsors, Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and our syndication partner TechNode, and thank you to our team, David, Vivian, and Darren.

Email us at Team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Milo is an expert in advertising, who knows how to bridge the gap between big business and the solutions startups bring to the table. He is an Expert in Residence at Chinaccelerator who helps teams develop their story and message. He has worked at many of the big names in advertising and brings his experience and approach to startups in today's cast.

Beyond crafting your message for impact and reach, the most important part of your pitch is understanding your audience better than anyone else. Milo talks about how advertising is changing in China and what is needed to stay ahead of the curve, innovation.

Thanks to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People-Squared, and syndication partner Technode.com

Please leave a review on iTunes and write us at team@chinastartuppulse.com

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Greg gives us insight into how he has raised money from leading investors, SOSV and 500start-ups. He tells us his passion for informing and inspiring the marketplace through client obsession to boost their net promoter score. Greg, as “a chief everything officer”, shares how to run a start-up like he runs ultra-marathons and why entrepreneurs should “start before they are ready!”

Greg Nance, ultra-marathoner, ultra-motivator and entrepreneur out of Cambridge University in 2012 joins the podcast and brings exciting news! Today Greg announces the launch of Dyad (formerly ChaseFuture), a mentorship driven education service helping young people discover their strengths, chart professional development goals to prepare for job search through mentorship.

Enjoy!

Big thank you to our sponsors Chinaccelerator, People Squared, and technode. Thanks to David, Darren, and everyone that helps support this podcast.

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This week we dive into the legal landscape of starting up in China with the man who helped Kai Fu Lee put together the $500 million U.S. dollar fund, incubator and accelerator, Innovation Works. Benjamin left California to become an IP lawyer in Beijing in 2006, then post Innovation Works Benjamin joined Cooley LLP in China before recently joining Loeb & Loeb, so he has an incredible amount of experience and knowledge that he brings to the podcast.

We discuss the state of IP protection in China given the concerns over getting 'copied' when entering China, and what are the most important documents and agreements to focus on at an early stage. We also lightly touch on the state of corporate law in China today and its history, as well as uncovering terms such as Most Favored Nation that seem to pop up regularly in investments docs here in China. An amazing cast with an amazing guest; we hope you enjoy!

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After a successful blogging career with Mobinode Gang then turned it into the first full-blown tech and startup online news site Technode. Ganglu also runs TechCrunch.cn, the China version of TechCrunch, and is a fixture in startup journalism in China. We tap into his incredible experience covering news and trends in China looking to better understand where the ecosystem has come from, where it is, and where it's going.

We also announce a new partnership with TechNode who will now be syndicating The China Startup Pulse! A great cast with tons of insight, so sit back and enjoy.

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Buckle up as we welcome one of China's top entrepreneurs David Chen, CEO of Strikingly.com. Having quit Goldman Sachs and his studies at the University of Chicago, despite his parent's wishes to the contrary, David never gave up on his dream and followed it to Silicon Valley despite not getting into Y-Combinator on his first attempt.

David has very much followed the Lean Start-up methodology in his rise to fame. He shares valuable insights on his own lean path to success, eventually landing a spot in Y-Combinator, one of the world's most renowned accelerator programs in Silicon Valley. David never gave up, admitting this was one of the key attributes top accelerators like Y-Combinator look for in founders. We hope you enjoy.

A huge thank you to our sponsors Chinaccelerator and People-Squared and to our crew, Darren, David, Qi, and Chrystal.

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A treat for the China Startup Pulse as we welcome the man behind one of the most successful VC funds in the world. Sean tells us about his passion for music, engineering and humanitarian work as well as MapInfo, Sean's first start-up that put street mapping on personal computers (that subsequently went IPO).

Sean talks about his experience launching Chinaccelerator, the first start-up accelerator in China and his broader goals with SOSV. Innovating on previous VC models, Sean launched a series of global accelerators and is a key industry thought leader and investor in entrepreneurial ecosystems.

A huge thank you to our sponsors Chinaccelerator and People-Squared and to our crew, Darren, David, Qi, and our newest member Chrystal.

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Stephany Zoo joins us on this week's show bringing energy and insight to the art of networking. Founder of The League of Extraordinary Women, Co-Founder of BUNDSHOP, Founding Partner of LeagueX, SH Director of UN Charter School World Acadamy for the Future of Women, (the list continues)...we dip into a variety of topics to hear about Stephany's vast experiences.

You can learn a lot! From keeping tabs on people while maintaining a wide network, setting up a business in China and pursuing a passion for females and leadership. Stephany is proof that, "experience doesn't come with age. Experience comes with doing things, trying things or even thinking things!" Listen here to find out why...

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On this week's podcast we welcome Stephane Monsallier, a coder since the age of 10. After leaving France in 2003, Stephane setup System in Motion - an IT solutions business here in Shanghai.

How does Stephane stay ahead in IT? We talk about the strong management and coaching culture in his organisation and how this leads to high levels of staff retention. Be prepared to learn a new time management technique - useful not just for business but in everyday life!

A huge thank you to our sponsors Chinaccelerator and People Squared, and to our team!

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This week we talk with local entrepreneur Natasha Fang, Founder of the upstart digital marketing agency Tolmao Group in Shanghai discussing channels beyond WeChat and which you should consider and why.

One key topic was why only marketing online isn't enough. Tolmao Group promotes event marketing to grow brands and build a following offline, and Natasha shares some local knowledge on a marketers guide for multi-tier cities in China.

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In this episode we talk with Andrew Collins, CEO of Mailman Group and one of Shanghai's most successful entrepreneurs. After moving to Shanghai in 2006 and acquiring The Mailman Group, Andrew has turned it into a leading digital, social media and investment group in China. Andrew also shares his stories about launching their new ventures KAWO and Shopilist via Mailman Ventures.

We also have a very special announcement by Andrew and the KAWO team regarding their latest product release and in the spirit of supporting local startups and entrepreneurs in China, will be giving it away FOR FREE! Details inside so get listening!

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In this episode, we chat with David Li, the founder of China’s first Makerspace Xinchejian and the co-founder of the think-tank focusing on technological production Hacked Matter. Over the past 20 years, David has started several open source software projects and contributed to many others.

David shares his insights on the maker-manufacturer scene in China – a particular type of grassroots innovation led by makers and Shanzhai manufacturers through informal and open source systems. The term Shanzhai originally referred to cheap copy cats of brand products and particularly mobile phones in China’s hardware manufacturing center Shenzhen, but as David argues, has become way beyond copying.

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Ever heard of upcycling? Neither had we! Today we talk with Bunny Yan and learn about her story of selling upcycled products offline to online. Bunny discusses how she tailors her pitch while "talking social" to VC's in China. How about running a multi-cultural team? Discover the benefits and challanges of having an International team while doing business in China.

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In this episode Willie Chou shares with us the secret weapon that makes NeoNan the largest male fitness and lifestyle online resource in China. We also discuss whether virality is random, whether premium content is scalable and how he and his co-founder Mike Yang use gamification to engage and motivate employees.

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Is raising a child and founding a startup at the same time even possible? Serial entrepreneur Hong Cheng discusses with us what it takes to be a mom-trepreneur and how she’s able to balance spending time with her family whilst building an empire.

Uparenting is a mobile platform connecting parents and professional parenting practitioners, to source trusted, tailored, and real-time solutions for daily parenting advice. As an experienced and successful business women, Hong also shares with us her secrets to hiring, managing and retaining talents.

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In this episode, we sit down with China’s word-of-mouth marketing expert Sina Farzaneh to discuss how brands can grow organically by studying and engaging customers systematically.

In 2010 Sina co-founded Advocacy, a marketing agency that helps identify and activate brand advocates for consumer goods companies. He is currently working on his new venture PullPath, a software platform to bring what he’s built at Advocacy to a grassroots level.

We also discuss the advantage of word-of-mouth over traditional marketing methods, differences between doing marketing in Silicon Valley and China, and the role human behavioral understanding can play in technology advancement.

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We bring on the show our first female guest Jenny Zhu, who was the voice behind the iconic Chinese learning podcast ChinesePod. Jenny is now working on her new venture OpenLanguage to help young Chinese learn English using engaging audio and video content.

In this episode we discuss the gender imbalance in entrepreneurship and Chinese parents’ influence on their children's career choices. Jenny also shares with us lessons she learned building and growing OpenLanguage and the importance of going local and mobile.

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Joe Constanty is the co-founder of THE UT.LAB, a technology driven footwear brand designed in Shanghai and sold globally, initially through Kickstarter. UT.LAB’s first Kickstarter campaign back in 2013 was the most successful footwear campaign ever and launched an entire new category for footwear brands on the Kickstarter platform.

We also discuss why crowdfunding in China is radically different than in the West. We wrap with Joe sharing his new project called Purple Spread and what the local startup ecosystem can look forward to from Next Step.

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Understand China’s “guanxi” (social connections and relationships) culture, what it takes and how to capitalize on it with seasoned technology entrepreneur Alvin Wang Graylin. Alvin is the CEO and Founder of mobile social networking platform Guanxi Inc. and has over 20 years of business management experience in the technology industry, including 15 years in Greater China.

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In this episode we chat with Justin Mallen, the Founder and CEO of Silk Road Technologies, a Hangzhou-based corporate telecommunication services provider. The company builds data center for Alibaba, which processed $5 billion in sales online in the first 90 minutes of China’s Black Friday on November 11.

Justin came to China 23 years ago and has been building businesses since then. As the sixth internet user in China, Justin discusses how China has developed from zero internet connectivity to an ecosystem taken over by smart phones and apps.

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Check out our latest episode with William Bao Bean, a Partner at SOSV and the Managing Director of Chinaccelerator, the first startup accelerator in the East and sponsor of China Startup Pulse.

William shared his insights on the startup and investment scene in China and what it takes for foreign or global startups to succeed in China. We also discussed WeChat being a useful tool to engage customers or users with very low acquisition cost. This is a must-listen episode for those of you who are trying to understand what’s really going on here and how it is different from the West.

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A knowledge-filled episode with serial entrepreneur Jacob Cooke, founder and CEO of Web Presence in China. Launched in 2009, Web Presence is a full service digital marketing and technology agency based in Beijing. Jacob talks about why he chooses to spend more than his competition on hiring and training, the value of hiring female staff, the future of data science (big data) in China and touches on how to sell B2B in China.

Special thanks to our producer Qi Liu and our post production David Chen.

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In this episode we caught up with Shanghai’s co-working space superstar Bob Zheng, the founder and CEO of People Squared (sponsor of The China Startup Pulse). Bob discusses how People Squared got started, it's rapid growth over the last few years and what the future holds. We also discuss the evolution of China's startup culture, the revolution around the way people are working here, and where to be based on the vertical you are innovating in.

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In this episode we talk with Arman Zand founder of Red Lion Capital. He gives us a lay of the land for investments in startups in China. We learn how Silicon Valley Bank built their legacy in China and his thoughts on the opportunity of venture debt capital for businesses in China.

A special thanks to our producer Qi Liu and editor David Chen.

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In this episode, we chat with Lee Tseng, founder of Boxing Cat Brewery and Liquid Laundry about the changing market dynamic in China, how to cater a western-style service to a local taste and benefits of working with strong female entrepreneurs .

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In this episode we chat with Andrew Schorr from Grata the WeChat product services platform. We learn what a content marketing success on social media looks like and the challenges of starting a business in China.

Brought to you by co-hosts Todd Embley and Ryan Shuken and Production Manager Qi Liu, the China Startup Pulse is designed to offer advice and insights into the startup world in China for those either outside China looking in, or already here but looking at jumping off the entrepreneurial cliff for the first time. This podcast is in English. Enjoy!

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Welcome to the first episode of The China Startup Pulse. We kicked off with a great chat with Phillip Beck, a China startup guru with over 15 years of experience running and mentoring startups in China. We discuss the startup culture in China, how 'entrepreneurial minded' china is or isn't, and delve into some lessons learned from Phillip's own past mistakes and missteps. Enjoy!

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