This is a great article! I still remember when the red packet feature came out, I happened to be in Beijing at the time, definitely a FOMO moment where everyone rushed to link their bank accounts to wechat 😆. I love how you drew out the learning principles, particularly refreshing is the idea of how ritual/tradition can play such a significant role in product offering. Great food for thought👍
Howard! You don't just get informed! You analyze the information and present it to us as if you were serving a meal. Transparent, understandable, only sometimes a little scary, because they beat us to it in the East. And yet - just as we had Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook,.... in the past, which came from the West, we will now have Chinese products - which are obviously out of reach for the rest of the world for several decades. As you write well - what others in the media present as the future, has been working there for years. Nothing. Come to terms with the facts as soon as possible and find your piece of the pie - if there is still something available. I used to be scared when I read you, now I'm trying to empathize and accept you!
Wow! I am so touched. There is nothing more I wish than that some of my pieces would reach an audience and that, maybe over time, what I see around me may just find someone who might find it interesting too. So your comment means so much to me. Thank you, thank you!
And greetings from Singapore this week. I’ll try to create a piece comparing how Singapore chose to pave its own way very differently from mainland China, even though they both are “from the East.” Learning a lot. Hope to share soon.
Howard, if you're really in Singapore - I have an acquaintance there. Maybe you could have coffee with her? Amira Shawqy - Maybe you can look her up on Linkedin!
Wow incredible article on tencent and WeChat. WhatsApp could have build the same thing or in Instagram as well - wondering what is stopping them - despite having money and talent. They are spending on virtual reality like meta world is quite insane they could have redirected that money to here in the WhatsApp.
That’s so true. I actually struggle to answer this really great and important question of yours!
I won’t try to guess, so I’ll defer to the community for others to chip in this round.
Maybe payments were already too sophisticated in America, versus China back then, where things weren’t very good and WeChat sort of filled the gap—even though Alipay already existed. So… I’m not sure.
I found this article very inspiring, Thank you. We in the west are so caught up in process swamps and legal forests that real innovation and creation rarely sees the light.
“Stop managing people like you manage outcomes. The best builders don’t need more check-ins. They need clarity, constraints, and cover.” LOVE THIS!!! So common sense if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s not so common…
Brilliant framing of deffered monetization as competitive strategy. I've seen companies burn through growth trying to extract value too early, and it always collapses ecosystem trust. The red envelope example is perfect bc it created habbit before economics, which is basically the oposite of how Western fintech usually thinks.
👍❤️ 韬光养晦，壮志华夏。There is so much Vision and Self-restraint displayed by Tencent.
Thank you for the article. It's an eye-opener.
( I've been a long time reader of yours, really appreciate your generous sharing + 独到见解. )
Wow! This is so kind. You put a very very big smile on my face. Thank you thank you!
This is a great article! I still remember when the red packet feature came out, I happened to be in Beijing at the time, definitely a FOMO moment where everyone rushed to link their bank accounts to wechat 😆. I love how you drew out the learning principles, particularly refreshing is the idea of how ritual/tradition can play such a significant role in product offering. Great food for thought👍
So glad that you enjoyed the piece. Happy that it’s been useful. Thanks again!
Howard! You don't just get informed! You analyze the information and present it to us as if you were serving a meal. Transparent, understandable, only sometimes a little scary, because they beat us to it in the East. And yet - just as we had Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook,.... in the past, which came from the West, we will now have Chinese products - which are obviously out of reach for the rest of the world for several decades. As you write well - what others in the media present as the future, has been working there for years. Nothing. Come to terms with the facts as soon as possible and find your piece of the pie - if there is still something available. I used to be scared when I read you, now I'm trying to empathize and accept you!
Wow! I am so touched. There is nothing more I wish than that some of my pieces would reach an audience and that, maybe over time, what I see around me may just find someone who might find it interesting too. So your comment means so much to me. Thank you, thank you!
And greetings from Singapore this week. I’ll try to create a piece comparing how Singapore chose to pave its own way very differently from mainland China, even though they both are “from the East.” Learning a lot. Hope to share soon.
Howard, if you're really in Singapore - I have an acquaintance there. Maybe you could have coffee with her? Amira Shawqy - Maybe you can look her up on Linkedin!
I am. But it's very very tight this trip. Let me see what I can do. Thanks for connecting!
Wow incredible article on tencent and WeChat. WhatsApp could have build the same thing or in Instagram as well - wondering what is stopping them - despite having money and talent. They are spending on virtual reality like meta world is quite insane they could have redirected that money to here in the WhatsApp.
That’s so true. I actually struggle to answer this really great and important question of yours!
I won’t try to guess, so I’ll defer to the community for others to chip in this round.
Maybe payments were already too sophisticated in America, versus China back then, where things weren’t very good and WeChat sort of filled the gap—even though Alipay already existed. So… I’m not sure.
The tencent approach seems highly effective. Just look at them now.
The way they’ve come to surpassed Alibaba is quite shocking…
I found this article very inspiring, Thank you. We in the west are so caught up in process swamps and legal forests that real innovation and creation rarely sees the light.
Thank you so much! I am just glad that the post reaches you and it resonates.
“Stop managing people like you manage outcomes. The best builders don’t need more check-ins. They need clarity, constraints, and cover.” LOVE THIS!!! So common sense if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s not so common…
Great article. Inspiring. Thank you
Thank you so much! I am so glad that this sub-message got picked up! Yes, common sense and not commonly practiced…
Brilliant framing of deffered monetization as competitive strategy. I've seen companies burn through growth trying to extract value too early, and it always collapses ecosystem trust. The red envelope example is perfect bc it created habbit before economics, which is basically the oposite of how Western fintech usually thinks.
I am so happy the piece resonates. And I thought in today’s climate where quarterly results are worshipped, this serves as a contrast and a reminder.