Tencent´s cannibalistic culture - Andy Mok

Andy Mok

Tencent’s culture is like a shark womb, tells innovation expert Andy Mok to Bloomberg. Since the internet giant became China´s largest company in market cap, interest in what makes the company tick has been growing.

Bloomberg:

Success inside China’s most-valuable public company sometimes requires a bit of cannibalization. 

Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s ubiquitous WeChat service emerged after founder Ma Huateng encouraged employees to compete against each other to create a mobile messaging business. WeChat now has more than 805 million users, who turn to the service not just for texting but also for playing games, paying bills and buying money-market funds. 

That blockbuster helped propel Tencent’s growth into the biggest publicly traded company in China with a market value of HK$1.97 trillion ($257 billion). Ma now wants to repeat that success as Tencent moves into live-streaming video, letting at least six divisions compete for eyeballs in a market expected to mushroom nine-fold in value to almost $13 billion by decade’s end. 

“Tencent’s culture is like a shark womb,” said Andy Mok, managing director for recruiter Red Pagoda Resources in Beijing, referring to how some unborn sharks cannibalize siblings in the womb to ensure their own survival. “It’s not as deadly, but it makes every member adapt faster and be more competitive,” he said.

More in Bloomberg.

Andy Mok 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.

Earlier this year we discussed Tencent with William Bao Bean

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