Showing posts with label apps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apps. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Why US companies start to copy Chinese apps - Sara Hsu

Sara Hsu
Chinese apps like Tiktok and WeChat make inroads into the US, and American companies start to copy their features. Fintech analyst Sara Hsu says fierce domestic competition makes those apps better than what we know outside China, as younger generations like their lives through apps. So, if they do well, they can cater for much more than only chitchat, she tells at CGTN.

Sara Hsu is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Why China's health care apps are failing - Jeffrey Towson

Jeffrey Towson
Thousands of mobile apps have tried to tap into the poorly organized health care system in China. They failed, despite massive funding, says Beida business professor Jeffrey Towson at his weblog, because the developers knew more about mobile phones than about health care. Health care is modernizing, he writes, but government supervision hampers speed.

Jeffrey Towson:
More than a thousand Chinese healthcare apps have been launched in the past five years. These startups, targeting the seemingly super-hot intersection of booming smartphone usage and modernizing healthcare, were supposed to be the next big thing. And many have been backed by top venture capitalists and leading Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings  and Ping An Insurance Group
But as of yet, there have been few real successes in Chinese mobile health. In fact, most health apps have failed to generate significant numbers of active users, let alone produce much revenue. And forget about profits. 
Now as investor sentiment in the idea cools, many of these startups are cash poor and heading towards a painful shake out. Chinese healthcare appears to have defeated China’s smartest entrepreneurs. 
There are lots of reasons for this. But at the simplest level, investors just knew a lot more about China’s smartphone market than its healthcare system.... 
In my opinion, absent big, immediate changes in the core structure of SOE hospitals and government insurance, the best target for Chinese health apps is consumers and consumer-facing businesses. They should essentially bypass the core hospital system and go direct to consumers. Focus on ancillary services such as dentistry, medical tourism, optometry, beauty and aesthetics, and health and wellness. Do e-commerce for OTC products – and for prescription products when that becomes allowed. Basically, sell directly to Chinese consumers who have money and smartphones and want better healthcare now. 
Looking at the big picture, it is clear that Chinese healthcare is in fact modernizing. And the changes that have been happening have been quite dramatic. But this is modernization under government direction and with a mix of business, political and social objectives. So the speed of China’s healthcare modernization is slow and step-by-step. And this has created a mismatch with the rapid pace expected by mobile health app startups and their venture capital investors. This difference in pace is the fundamental problem for these apps. And it will probably not end well for most of these startups.
More at Jeffrey Towson's weblog.

Jeffrey Towson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

What makes mobile apps run? - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean
William Bao Bean
In Taipei the Mobile Only Accelerator (MOX) has launched and SOSV partner William Bao Bean has jumped over from Shanghai to support the operation, in PRunderground he explains what it takes to develop the next mobile apps for 4 million users.

PRunderground:
Traditionally, early stage companies struggle to expand beyond their home markets and especially into emerging markets where monetization can be difficult. 
“Mobile startups depend on rapid user growth and a viable revenue model to be successful.  This is why we created MOX, where we can deliver both automatically to our batches.  No other accelerator can help startups ramp revenue and users around the world the way we can,” says William Bao Bean, Investment Partner, SOSV. “We are also fortunate to have Alvin, a seasoned mobile-industry entrepreneur, as the program director. I’m confident he will lead MOX to become the leading accelerator targeting mobile-only markets globally.”
More in PRunderground.

William Bao Bean is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.