The Tech Strategy Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Truck Alliance’s Fight to Build Complicated Network Effects (89) Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

This week’s podcast is about Full Truck Alliance, a B2B marketplace platform for freight and cargo. There are a lot of lessons on the difficulties and complexities of matching, pricing and network effects for more complicated services.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
Here are the pages from the F-1 filing I mentioned.
Questions for simple network effects:

Local vs. regional vs. international network effects?
Fast vs. slow network effects?
Directionality of interactions (Facebook vs. Twitter)?
Degree vs. value of connections?
Minimum viable scale vs. asymptotic scale?
What is congestion / saturation / degradation scale?
Linear vs. exponential growth at different scales? For each user group.

Questions for complicated network effects:

Less than truckload freight (LTL). This is about coordinating demand and locations for mobility. This is similar to carpooling in ride-sharing. The matching, pricing and network effects are more complicated.
On-demand vs. synchronous vs. asynchronous. Matching, pricing and network effects are more complicated. Pricing can follow spot demand vs. scheduled.
Cyclical and other fluctuations in both supply and demand. This impacts both prices and utilization.
Route specific network effects. Need to balance supply and demand (and critical mass) on each route.
Serial routes. Matching, pricing and arranging multiple routes in sequence. Much more complicated
- How does this compare with economies of scale in geographic density.

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Related articles:

3 Types of Network Effects (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)
From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:
Network Effects - Simple
Network Effects - Complicated
Marketplaces for Services

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Full Truck Alliance

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I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

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Skillz vs. Electronic Arts. And the Emergence of Digital Sin Stocks. (88) Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

This week’s podcast is about Skillz and Electronic Arts. There are some interesting and evolving strategy aspects to gaming - especially as it goes to multiplayer and tournaments. And as Skillz opens up tournament gaming based on cash rewards, the question is how far into gambling is this going to go?
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas
—–—
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

Network Effects
Share of the Consumer Mind

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Skillz
Electronic Arts

———
I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

Why Didi is Dominant But Still Unprofitable (87) Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

This week’s podcast is about Didi's upcoming IPO. They have released their numbers and it shows market dominance but operating losses. This is my explanation for what is happening. And what their strategic plan means.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
How I breakdown:

Market size and/or growth
Competitive strength and defensibility
Unit economics

Questions for network effects:

Local vs. regional vs. international network effects?
Fast vs. slow network effects?
Degree vs. value of connections?
Minimum viable scale vs. asymptotic scale? What is congestion / saturation / degradation scale?
Linear vs. exponential growth at different scales?

—–---
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

Network Effects: Indirect
Economies of Scale: Purchasing Economies
5 Forces: Substitutes
5 Forces: Threat of New Entrants

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Didi

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I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

Ant Financial and the 3 Types of Network Effects (86) Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

This week’s podcast is about separating networks (an asset) from platforms (a business model) from network effects (a phenomenon). And the three standard types of network effects.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
I put network effects into 3 types:

Direct (One-Sided) Network Effects
Indirect (Two-Sided) Network Effects
Standardization and Interoperability Network Effects

I put networks into 3 types:

Physical Networks
Protocol Networks
People Networks

——–
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

3 Networks vs. 5 Platforms vs. 3 Network Effects
Network Effects: Direct and Indirect
Network Effects: Standardization and Interoperability

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Ant Financial

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I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

Switching Costs, Wabco and Buffett's Critical Companies (85) Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

This week’s podcast is about "criticality" as a type of switching cost. And specifically about Wabco, one of Warren Buffett's companies that has fairly powerful B2B criticality.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
——–
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

Switching Costs
B2B Customer View: Necessary vs. Critical vs. Strategic

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Wabco
Warren Buffett / Berkshire Hathaway

——–
I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

JD Logistics vs. DHL in Smart, IOT Logistics (84) Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

This week’s podcast is about how traditionally great logistics businesses like DHL and JD Logistics are doing major digital upgrades. It's a big unknown but it all looks pretty attractive.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
—-----
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

Standardization and Interconnection Network Effect
Economies of Scale: Geographic Density

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

DHL
JD Logistics

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I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

Shein Is Low-Priced DTC Apparel at the Speed of Algorithms. Is This a New Moat or Just Table Stakes? (83) May 25, 2021

Show notes

This week's podcast is about the US-China DTC retailer Shein, which has rocketed upwards in the past months. Analysts are starting to pay close attention - but consumers have been noticing this company for a while.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
The mentioned article by Packy McCormick and Matthew Brennan is Shein: The TikTok of Ecommerce.
—–—-
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

Competitive Advantage: Rate of Learning
SMILE Marathon: Rate of Learning
Share of Consumer Mind
Economies of Scale
Bargaining Power with Suppliers / Purchasing Economies

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Shein

———–
I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
I also run Asia Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

Can ByteDance Breach Alibaba’s Infrastructure Moat and Become An Ecommerce Giant? (82) May 17, 2021

Show notes

This podcast is about Alibaba's 2020 earnings and the strategy implications. But it is really about how Alibaba is positioned as a "product / service + commerce infrastructure" business. And whether ByteDance can break into Chinese ecommerce with an "attention + mini programs strategy". It's really a cool and important question.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
The cited Alibaba presentations are here:

The cited Bloomberg article on ByteDance is here:

ByteDance Eyes a New $185 Billion Business Ahead of Mega IPO

The cited quotes from Alibaba are below. And at my webpage.
“During the past fiscal year, we made significant progress on our three key strategies, namely domestic consumption, globalization and cloud computing. Such progress demonstrated the tremendous power of Alibaba’s digital commerce infrastructure as well as our long-term commitment to invest for the future and to create value for our consumers, merchants and partners through innovations. ”
"We believe the key to unlocking the full value of the community marketplace model is not only about the standalone P&L of the business but also about the overall efficiency and servicing capabilities of the entire commerce platform where the business sits, and we believe the latter can generate far greater value than the former. Alibaba has the most sophisticated and efficient commerce infrastructure in China, with the most comprehensive product and service offerings to serve consumers of diverse segmentation and demands."
—–—-
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

New Retail
Online Merge Offline (OMO)
Mini Programs

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Alibaba
ByteDance

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Adobe Inc. and the Power of Old School Software Economics (81) May 10, 2021

Show notes

This podcast is about the super cool economics of Adobe Inc. And how they capture the economics of digital by also building strong competitive moats. In Adobe's case, it's mostly network effects and bundling.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
The digital economics terms cited are:

Zero marginal production costs.
Low distribution costs.
Non-rival goods that can be simultaneously used.
Global scalability at low cost.
Versioning. Multiple versions of their products can be easily created at different price points.
Bundling.
Complements can be added.
Lots of integration into other software and products.

—–----
Related articles:

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

Adobe Inc.

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I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
I also run Asia Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

Evil Moats: Tech-Created Habits and the Hijacking of Consumer Minds (80) May 01, 2021

Show notes

Competitive advantages can be build on the demand and the supply side. And advantages on the demand (i.e., revenue) side are usually about customer capture in some form. One general category for this is when a company captures a "share of the consumer mind."
In this talk, I go into how some companies do this for their own benefit. And against the interests of the consumer. I call these types of competitive advantages "evil moats".
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
Here are the books and articles I mentioned:

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. By Nir Eyal
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. By Charles Duhigg.
Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas. By Natasha Schull.
How Technology Is Hijacking Your Mind. By Tristan Harris.

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Related podcasts and articles are:

WeChat, TikTok and Capturing the Consumer Mind in a Digital Age (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 36)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

Share of the Consumer Mind

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

——–
I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
I also run Asia Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

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