India: a tough but fast moving market - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

China's internet companies are moving fast into India, but find a very different situation, says William Bao Bean, managing director of the Shanghai-based Chinaccelator and founder of the MOX SOSV’s Mobile-Only Accelerator. India is very diverse, offering a more competitive environment, not dominated by big players like China, although the acquisition of customers is extremely costly, he adds at Inc42.com. William Bao Bean has extensive experience in both markets.

Inc42.com:

In China, since the consumer market is dominated by very large players, it becomes difficult to compete, Bean insisted. However, India is a mixed bag of everything — on one side you have internet giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon offering one size fits all products for the world. On the other, you have startups that are backed by Chinese investors like Softbank, Alibaba Group and Tencent, and Chinese companies like Xiaomi and ByteDance directly foraying into India, Bean explained. 

This, in a way, makes the Indian business ecosystem a bit of a battleground, thereby complicating life for early-stage entrepreneurs to survive. 

“The truth is, no one can compete with the elephants,” he added... 

Bean said that India is a land of multiple opportunities due to its vibrant ecosystem, ethnicity, social and economic diversity. “We believe in helping companies work together — advice and mentor them to be competitive in the Indian market. In fact, India is a complicated market. It is not just about the big players versus the small players. 

Interestingly, India is not just one market, it is a cluster of many markets,” he added... 

There are many reasons why startups fail in India and across the world. Apart from the founders and investors getting along. Most challenges can be eliminated by focusing on companies that are backed with data. 

“A lot of times, entrepreneurs focus on gut instinct, instead of data. Ideas are like noses, everyone has it,” quipped Bean. 

Bean said MOX takes those ideas, tests them and make decisions based on data. “Since we are a cross-border internet platform, we don’t have 10K hours of experience to find out things by doing guesswork. We focus on data — we invest in startups backed on data, talk to customers through data, make changes that show data and then iterate quickly based on data. This pretty much solves the hassles and complications from occurring in the future.” Bean asserted.

More in Inc42.com

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 strategy experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

When having a CMO is not a good idea - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

When companies cannot pay enough, they often give their key people fancy titles, like Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). But startup guru William Bao Bean, the managing director of Shanghai-based startup accelerator Chinaccelerator, warns against titles with a 'C' in it, unless it is your CEO, especially when you are a startup, he tells Phocuswire.

Phocuswire:

When you have a startup, you don’t put the word 'C' in too many titles, except for CEO,” says Bao Bean.
“The skills required in the early days are different from the skills required later, and it's often hard to demote people.” Bao Bean says that startups should avoid bringing on a CMO because “a startup by definition is looking for scalability and repeatability and there is no point in selling something that is not scalable and repeatable.
“Startups shouldn’t hire a CMO until they have something in the market, and you don’t have something in the market until its scalable and repeatable.”
Bao Bean says that companies with a CMO generally have “product, market and fit,” but an early-stage startup likely hasn’t achieved this yet because it doesn't have a product that people want.
“A startup is like a party where once you get into the front door, there's no one there. A customer journey needs to be in place.”...
Instead of hiring a CMO, Bao Bean recommends filling a head of growth role first. “You need a head of growth from day one,” he says.
“You never move from startup to company without somebody who's using data to drive a startup.” Eventually, once "product, market and fit" is achieved, then it is time to split marketing responsibilities away from the head of growth and to hire someone to fill up the funnel.

More in Phocuswire.

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 strategic experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Local VC's got hit by another China winter - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

China's economic slowdown has mainly hit local VC's, says William Bao Bean, managing director of the Chinaccelerator, at OZY.com. A government crackdown on risky investments and the fallout from the trade war is hitting the industry after the 2017-2018 boom.

OZY.com:

Local venture capital firms that raise money and invest in renminbi have been hit hardest, says William Bao Bean, a partner at SOSV Investments in Shanghai. 

“Almost all those VCs didn’t get a return … and a lot of funds have gone out of business,” Bean says, noting that while dollar investment from traditional VC funds has cooled, it hasn’t been hit to the same extent... 

Hurun Report noted that even though the pace of creation of unicorns has slowed, China still leads the world, with 206 unicorns to the United States’ 203. 

But the Chinese economy is now growing at its slowest pace in three decades, a worrisome trend that is twinned with a rocky stock market and concerns about the sky-high valuations for startups. “It’s another Chinese winter, since basically last September everyone on the local side, investing renminbi has been on vacation,” says Bean.

More at OZY.com

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 strategic experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Why multinationals eye incubators for a competitive edge - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

China's competitive landscape is changing fast, and the blooming incubators for startups offer multinational a much-needed edge in local competition, says William Bao Bean, managing director of the Chinaccellator in Shanghai to Forbes. “When you’re under pressure and local players are taking market share from you, you look to innovation.”

Forbes:

“The competition from the local players is really intense,” especially at a time of slowing economic growth this year, said William Bao Bean, managing director of Chinaccelerator, one of the most active foreign-backed accelerators in the country, in a recent interview. 

To get an edge, more and more multinationals are turning to accelerators and incubators. “When things are going smoothly, you’re not feeling that pressure,” Bean said.  

“When you’re under pressure and local players are taking market share from you, you look to innovation.”... 

Bean, a graduate of Bowdoin College, knows his way around Asia, having moved to the region in the 1990s. After positions in Deutsche Bank, Softbank and SingTel Innov8, he in 2014 joined SOSV, a venture capital firm that runs accelerators. Chinaccelerator, where Bean is a managing director, provides seed capital and mentoring for globally minded technology entrepreneurs. 

The search for innovation solutions helped spawn a Johnson & Johnson incubation facility in Shanghai that opened in June and will house up to 50 startups. It started with 31 resident companies at an event that was attended by Paul Stoffels, the company’s chief science officer.   

“Johnson &Johnson has deep roots in China with an innovation footprint dating back nearly four decades,” Stoffels said in a statement. “We are committed to fueling innovation in the region and unleashing the power of science and technology to advance the health of people in China and around the world.”  

Sanofi and Microsoft have also been notably active with a similar approach, Bean says.  Merck, for its part, plans to open the Merck China Innovation Hub in Shanghai in October. 

Yet it’s not only tech and pharma multinationals that are looking for new ideas through startups in China, Bean said. “Consumer brands are really looking for new cutting-edge solutions from startups to help them become more competitiveness versus much stronger local brands,” he said. The consumer-focused companies partnering with startups are no slouches:  ABInBev and Unilever.

More in Forbes.

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 experts on innovation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Taiwan: excellent launch path for pan-Asian ventures - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Shanghai-based MOX (Mobile Only Accelerator) works from different places in the world, including Taipei. Taiwan offers an excellent launching platform for ventures who look for international expansion into the rest of Asia, says MOX managing director William Bao Bean, according to the News Lens.

The News Lens:

By partnering with promotion partners such as mobile operators in each country, MOX enables the strongest mobile startups from around the world expand into new markets without spending money on customer acquisition. 

“The first billion internet users accessed the Internet using their PCs, but the next 4 billion users — Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America — are mobile-only. Hundreds of millions of users are getting on the Internet with smartphones,” said William Bao Bean, the managing director of MOX. 

MOX is operated by the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm SOSV with US$650 million assets under management. SOSV operates six vertically-focused accelerator programs in different cities around the world, and MOX is the first international accelerator in Taiwan. 

“The cost of living and staffing resources [in Taiwan] are relatively low, and there’s a large pool of highly educated professionals suitable for startups. Additionally, for companies looking to expand into Southeast Asia, South Asia, China, and other emerging markets, Taiwan provides an excellent launchpad for international growth," Bean said.

More in the News Lens.

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.  

How to compete in China - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean in Minsk

In China, the internet is the economy. SOSV managing director William Bao Bean explains how international firms can enter the China market. With magic information on how Tencent and their WeChat dominate the playing field, and how you can win that war. And how Chinese companies are conquering the world.

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 internet experts the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How China moved from imitation to creation - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean (right) in Shenzhen

Innovation expert William Bao Bean acts as a city guide in hardware capital Shenzhen for NBC's Richard Engel to show how it changed from a fishing village into a booming city. This is what we call China speed, explains William.

The full program is available here.

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.

Long work hours do not work in China anymore - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

Tech companies in China became big by asking their workers to make long hours, 996 in jargon. But those days are over says business analyst Shaun Rein to CBS. Not only is it illegal to let people work those long hours, but qualified workers also leave their jobs, because they want to have a life next to their work too.

CBS:

The term "9-9-6" means nine in the morning to nine in the evening, six days a week. That includes hours and hours of unpaid overtime. It's illegal -- but the government turns a blind eye, because long hours build China's tech giants, like Alibaba and Huawei, that employ millions and make billions. 

But change could be coming. "If you're going to have 9-9-6 work culture, I'm sorry, you're not going to be able to get the top Chinese talent anymore," said Shaun Rein of the China Market Research Group. Rein said that a decade ago, young people were inspired by the race to make China a world leader in tech. But now the thrill – and the promise of striking it rich – are largely gone. 

"Younger Chinese just don't want to slave away either working for a multi-national company…" Rein said, "[or] work in a factory or even work for a Chinese billionaire like Jack Ma. And they're starting to push back."

More at CBS.

Not everybody agrees with Shaun, though, like William Bao Bean: "Chinese tech leaders must build an environment where everyone feels they are part of a team, not just an employee, where they are empowered to make a difference."

Do you need Shaun Rein or William Bao Bean at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request.

Are you looking for more experts on China's digital change? Do check out this list?

Working 996: it's complicated - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Workers in China's tech industry have been fighting the long work hours they make, the 996 - nine to nine working, six days a week. It's difficult, admits William Bao Bean, managing director of startup accelerators Chinaccelerator and MOX, in the Asia Nikkei. The art for leaders at startups is motivating their teams.

William Bao Bean

As Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma put it: "If you find a job you like, the 996 problem does not exist. If you are not passionate about it, every minute of going to work is torture." 

For new entrepreneurs to compete in China's talent marketplace, they must appeal to prospective recruits' desire to make a difference and be part of something great. They must sell this vision because they cannot match the high salaries of Alibaba or Tencent. The stock options they can offer are too uncertain to ever come into value. If there is a lack of both money and vision, the startup bosses are stuck. 

Members of startup work teams are more like co-founders than employees in the traditional sense of the word and this phenomenon transcends age. College dropouts burning the midnight oil are common but most companies are led by entrepreneurs in their 30s or even 40s who lack the child-care worries common in the West because their kids are often looked after by up to four grandparents. 

The 996 regime is also not limited to Chinese startups. International technology companies, both in their operations within China and in their home markets, drive hard too. The free food provided at Google company cafeterias is not just a perk but a tool to help keep employees in the office longer. 

Chinese tech leaders must build an environment where everyone feels they are part of a team, not just an employee, where they are empowered to make a difference, and where they are persuaded to believe in the company's vision. Tech chiefs cannot simply demand long hours of staff and expect to retain talent in this very competitive labor market. People who see themselves as busy changing the world for the better don't tend to count the hours they spend doing it.

More at Asia Nikkei.

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.

How to protect your intellectual property - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Protecting intellectual property is a main issue for foreign companies in China, and William Bao Bean, managing director of the Chinaccelator in Shanghai gives a few tips on how to avoid problems. First, run faster and execute better than your competitors, so they have no time to copy your IP. And, second, split up your intellectual property is several pieces, so there is not one key to your intellectual castle, he explains at China Canvas.

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 experts to manage your China risk at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Capturing the fast changing business models - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Major industries like travel, retail, automotive, telecom and others see their traditional business models changing very fast. At Shanghai-based SOSV managing director William Bao Bean helps startups to make money in new ways, based on data, and capture fast emerging markets, he tells at the Phocuswright Europe conference in Amsterdam last week. Companies should not cling to melting margins, but identify where money can be made, he argues.

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 experts on innovation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

 

Travel: hard to make a buck for startups - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Ctrip is one of China's successful travel companies, but for most startups, it is a tough market to crack, said William Bao Bean, managing director of the Shanghai-based China Accelerator, last week at a travel conference in Amsterdam, according to Phocuswire.com. Bean did identify some potential success stories, though.

Phocuswire.com:

Ctrip says that orders on the Customized Travel unit increased 180% in 2018. 

According to the research, travelers most likely to book the high-end travel tend to be women or couples aged 31 to 40 years old. Ctrip's data shows an average spend per person on a high-end customized travel package of $3,410 compared to $790 for a standard package. 

Ctrip is targeting China’s high-net-worth individuals who totalled 1.67 million in 2018, according to the report. 

Others are also seeing the potential in this segment with William Bao Bean, general partner at SOSV and managing director of Chinaaccelerator, investing in startups targeting these travelers. 

Speaking at the Phocuswright Europe conference in Amsterdam last week, he said most people are “chasing a fraction of a fraction of a fraction” and that while the travel market is huge there is “virtually no money in it.” 

He was talking about how difficult it is for early-stage investors to break in to the market and highlighted a company called Portier that Chinaaccelerator has invested in. 

Portier provides high-end phones to guests in top tier hotels enabling the properties to offer them additional services. 

Bao says that on average the company is increasing revenue room night by 20% and that it’s “high-margin revenue.” 

He also touched on another investment in a company called Lux’Sens, which connects luxury good retailers to consumers, saying that 40% of global luxury spend is from China and that more than half of that spend is outside of China. 

“50/60% of that [spend] happens outside China so why not try and capture that revenue.”   

The Ctrip Customized Travel unit estimates high-end customized travel will grow by 200% in the next three years.

Phocuswire.com.

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 strategic experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Too much government money caused the China tech winter - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

The main reason for the current tech winter in China was the flush of money that has hit the industry, especially by the government, says VC veteran William Bao Bean to the BBC. A re-structuring of China's start-ups' scene is long overdue and that is good news for investors, he argues.

The BBC:

"What drove things completely insane was too much money," argues William Bao Bean, managing director of Chinaccelerator, a Shanghai-based start-up accelerator. 

There was a "real push for economic growth from the government" and big funding from state coffers, he says. 

This has levelled off. 

"Before, you could get $3m with two people knocking and a smile. Now you can get $3m with two people knocking and a smile and six weeks of meetings," he says. 

Dockless bike sharing rivals Mobike and Ofo were pedalling off with investors' money last year in a bitter duel for market share. 

That sector's now hit the brakes... 

But there are advantages to China's tech bubble deflating. For investors, things are "actually much better in a downturn than a hot period, so good companies have a chance to shine," says Mr Bean. 

When everybody can get money, "it makes it difficult for the best to stand out", he says.

More in the BBC.

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 experts on innovation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list. 

Travel startups have a hard time in China - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

A dramatic consolidation has made life tough for all startups in China, including those focusing on travel, says William Bao Bean, the managing director of its Chinaccelerator, China’s first and leading startup accelerator based in Shanghai, to Phocuswire. Opportunities he still sees for the fast-growing number of outbound Chinese tourists.

Phocuswire:

William Bao Bean has been active in startups and investing in Asia since 2004, and he says in the last few years there has been dramatic consolidation - similar to what has happened in other technology sectors - that has left three dominant players: Alibaba, Tencent and Ctrip. 

“This makes it challenging to be a startup,” he says. 

“It’s almost like the mice trying to run around while three elephants are walking around. And every once in a while they’ll accidentally - or maybe on purpose - step on the mice and there’s nothing the mice can do about it.” 

To survive in what he says is one of the most competitive markets in the world, startups must provide something that is truly unique and useful. 

“Going back five or 10 years, all you needed to do was show up and run faster than the next guy and you could build a pretty decent business,” Bean says.

“Whereas now you need to actually provide an order of magnitude better service in order to make a play.”

But even with a superior product, survival is not guaranteed. Companies trying to reach a meaningful segment of China’s more than 1.4 billion residents need deep marketing budgets to pay for exposure on WeChat, Baidu and other mobile platforms. 

“Everywhere in the world customer acquisition cost is high, but in China it’s really, really high,” Bean says. 

“In the U.S. you might be able to spend $2 or $5 to get a user. In China, to get a user to download an app and open it once, it’s between $5 and $100.” 

So where are there opportunities for travel startups in China? Bean sees potential in areas such as experiences, particularly those offering unique, specialized products, and for startups that can create benefits for existing travel suppliers. 

One example that SOSV has invested in: U.S.-based Portier Technologies, which puts mobile phones in luxury hotel rooms, giving guests access to free data and minutes and giving the hotels a cut of revenue from services booked through the phone. 

But for non-Chinese companies such as Portier to succeed in that market, Bean says they need local market knowledge. 

“So if you are a big global player, you basically have to have a China play. But the issue is the infrastructure, the market, how you advertise, how you retain. Everything in China is a bit different,” he says. 

Bean cites Airbnb, a company his firm has worked with to understand the Chinese market, as an example of the learning curve. “Chinese culturally generally do not like being hosts. They really, really do not want some random person in their frickin’ house,” he says. 

"But the funny thing is, Chinese are perfectly willing to go live in somebody else’s house - especially if it’s in a nice neighborhood, in Los Angeles, in the hills. They love that. So Airbnb has not done particularly well signing up hosts, but they’ve been very successful at signing up Chinese who are traveling abroad.” 

Bean says the very large outbound market of travelers wanting new, unique and local experiences provides many opportunities for innovation. 

“As an investor, will I do another online travel agency? No. But there is still a lot of opportunity around travel, and there is still a lot of money to be made.”

More in Phocuswire.

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 experts on innovation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Hainan: visa for talents - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Bureaucratic rules have hampered China's access to international talents, for example, because of troublesome rules on visas for experts. But Hainan is going to do this better, says innovation expert and managing director of the Chinaccelarator in Shanghai William Bao Bean to the South China Morning Post.

The South China Morning Post:

Another key piece of the start-up puzzle is access to talent. While Hainan introduced a visa free policy in May 2018, allowing visitors from 59 countries – including the US, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan to stay for up to 30 days – a tech hub it needs more engineers, not beachgoers. 

So the red tape previously involved in getting a working visa has been streamlined for professionals. “If you’re a foreigner without a bachelor’s degree and you want to start up something in China, it’s almost impossible for you to get a working visa in big cities like Beijing, but it’s possible to get one in Hainan,” said William Bao Bean, a general partner at SOSV.

More in the South China Morning Post.

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 experts on innovations at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Just one idea is not good enough for a startup - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Earning back the investment to gain China users for your internet startup is tough because of the high costs, says Shanghai-based investment guru William Bao Bean to travel website TTG. Just a brilliant idea is no longer enough, you need a suite of services to survive.

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 speakers on e-commerce at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How Jack Ma changed China - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Traditionally China's youngsters wanted a job with the government, but Alibaba's Jack Ma changed that perspective and starting a startup became the choice of many, says William Bao Bean, a Shanghai-based partner at venture capital firm SOS, one of the largest VC's, to Bloomberg. How Jack Ma changed China.

Bloomberg:

“The China startup scene wouldn’t exist in the same way without Jack Ma,” said William Bao Bean, a Shanghai-based partner at venture capital firm SOSV. “The celebrity of Jack Ma and the success of Alibaba made startups an acceptable career choice, which has fueled one of the biggest technology markets in the world." 

Ma wasn’t just successful. He broke the mold for China’s business leaders, typically faceless chiefs running mammoth state-owned enterprises like PetroChina and China Mobile. He dressed up like Michael Jackson and tried the moon walk. He wore a three-foot feather Mohawk and makeup to perform at a company party. And he dispensed Yoda-like axioms that were collected in dozens of management books. 

"To many he’s the face of China’s internet -- no one really knows what Pony Ma looks like," said Bean, referring to the CEO of Tencent Holdings Ltd.

More at Bloomberg.

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 experts on China's take on digital transformation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Mobile only: getting to the next 4 billion users - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

A market of four billion users is waiting to be tapped into and William Bao Bean, managing director of the Shanghai-based SOSV, explains how his MOX is helping startups to do so. With a solid background in banking, telecom and the internet, William saw how mobile applications disrupted traditional industries, and offer new possibilities for companies to enter developing markets. Here his take on his current day job.

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 experts on innovation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How we help startups using big data - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Enterprise accelerator MOX (mobile only accelerator) let six startups show-case in Singapore last week. William Bao Bean, partner at the Shanghai-based SOSV explains how his network helps to use big data to enhance their chances on a global market, he tells at E27.

E27:

As its name suggests, MOX invests and works with mobile-focused startups to refine their solutions, business models and teams. It also helps them acquire users by connecting them with 167 million smartphone users on its platform, partnering them with brands and telcos, and also via cross-promotion with other apps (in return for revenue share). 

William Bao Bean, General Partner, SOSV, said that MOX helps startups analyse large swaths of market data so they can optimise their localisation and monetisation strategy.

Currently, MOX focuses on India, Indonesian and Philippines-based startups. It is looking to expand to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, in the near future. 

That said, it is also open to companies that hail from other parts of the world — as long as they have an amazing product to share. At its 5th Demo Day in Singapore today, MOX showcased 6 such mobile startups.

More at E27.

William Bao Bean in action in Singapore

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 internet experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

What do Chinese companies do differently in India - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Chinese companies have been gaining market share in India on a large scale, but in a different way than other foreign companies. William Bao Bean, managing director of the Chinacellerator, looks at their strategies and how they gained market share, for US News. William Bao Bean has a solid business background in both China and India.

US News:

Why are Chinese tech startups looking at the Indian market?

For China, the market develops using a leapfrog methodology. Because (China didn't have) 150 years in retail infrastructure and history, the consumers in China were much more open to embracing e-commerce. So e-commerce penetration in terms of (the) number of transactions is much higher in China versus the U.S. or Western Europe. The challenges and problems that consumers have in Southeast Asia and South Asia are quite similar to the ones you've seen in China over the last decade or so, so the solutions that the Chinese entrepreneurs have developed are more suited to solving the problems in these markets versus the one-size-fits-all (strategies) that you get from, say, Facebook or Google. 

How is China's strategy better than America's when it comes to penetrating the Indian market? 

U.S. companies have gone in direct with their platform that they sell to every country, whereas China failed to bring their own products into India, so what they've done is partner and invest in local players and bring in technology and know-how, especially around areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning. They're not going in under their own brands or with their own products. This strategy is a lot more effective, so it's China-plus-local versus North America. 

Is China also helping India develop through its investments in any way?

No. When they invest, they do inject quite a lot of back-end technology, but to the outside world they are local companies. Previous to this, Chinese internet companies had a strategy of trying to enter the market themselves, but they failed. (Now) they invest in local entrepreneurs, the leading players in commerce and payment and other strategic sectors within the internet ecosystem. So it's an Indian face with Chinese technology and capital.

More at US News.

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 experts on China's digital transformation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.