Sunny Lu is the Co-Founder and CEO of VeChain. Launched in 2015, VeChain connects blockchain technology to the real world by providing a comprehensive governance structure, a robust economic model, and IoT integration. VeChain is the pioneer of real-world applications using public blockchain technology, with international operations in Singapore, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Together with their strategic partners PwC and DNV GL, VeChain has established cooperative relations with many leading enterprises in different industries, including Walmart China, BMW, BYD Auto, Haier, H&M, LVMH, D.I.G, ENN, Shanghai Gas, AWS, PICC, ASI etc.

Website: www.vechain.com ; www.vechain.org

Sunny has over 17 years of management experience with a solid technical background. He created and implemented large scale IT and information security projects. His most recent role prior to co-founding VeChain, was the CIO for Louis Vuitton China (part of LVMH Group).

Sunny was educated at Shanghai JiaoTong University and studied Electronics and Communication Engineering.

Follow Sunny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sunshinelu24

Larry Li is the CEO of Bello. Larry has more than 10 years of HR and management experience. Previously he served as Manager at Michael Page Group and Deputy Director at Robert Walters, a London-listed professional recruitment group.

Founded in 2016, Bello is an AI-based platform empowering enterprises to streamline their talent acquisition and HR management processes.

Company website: www.belloai.com

We discussed the future of talent acquisition, problems and limitations HR managers and companies face, the difference between SaaS in China and overseas and much more!

Kevin Shimota is a leading expert on digital technology in China. With nearly a decade experience in China, he most notably worked as Global Marketing and Partnerships Manager for WeChat (Tencent) for 4 years. He has consulted many of the world’s top global companies on the China market-entry strategies, and spoken at major events, and is currently publishing a book on China’s tech ecosystem. Kevin has an MBA from CEIBS and a bachelors from the University of Washington in Seattle. He previously worked at Boeing in Seattle as global supply chain manager.

Xiaodong Guan is former Head of Cainiao Global, which is part of Cainiao Networks, the logistics arm of Alibaba, and former Senior Member of Alibaba Group Globalization Leadership Committee.

He oversaw the strategy and global network development of Cainiao and led the investment projects of Liege Airport E-Commerce Hub, Hong Kong Airport E-Commerce Gateway and more. In addition, he was also Member of Board of Directors at SingPost owned Quantium Solutions, Cainiao Malaysia, Cainiao Hong Kong, etc.

Prior to Alibaba and Cainiao, he worked at DHL's Supply Chain Division as Vice President of Transport and Retail.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, also known as Alibaba Group and as Alibaba.com, is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 4 April 1999, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the company provides consumer-to-consumer (C2C), business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business (B2B) sales services via web portals, as well as electronic payment services, shopping search engines and cloud computing services. It owns and operates a diverse portfolio of companies around the world in numerous business sectors.

On 19 September 2014, Alibaba's initial public offering (IPO) raised US$25 billion, giving the company a market value of US$231 billion and, by far, then the largest IPO in world history.

Cainao Network is Alibaba's logistics data platform operator.

David Yeung is the Founder & CEO of Green Monday Group, a multi-faceted social venture with the mission to take on the world’s most pressing crises of climate change, food insecurity and public health. With the global sustainability movement initiated by Green Monday Foundation, the revolutionary food technology innovation in OmniFoods and OmniPork, the market-transforming plant-based retail, dining and distribution network in Green Common, and the impact investment arm in Green Monday Ventures, Mr. Yeung has pioneered a one-of-a-kind integrated platform that engages and empowers millions of people, along with public and private sectors, towards green awareness, action and economy.

His work earns him the award of “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” by the World Economic Forum and Schwab Foundation. Other honors and recognitions include “Roddenberry Prize”, “Cathay ChangeMakers 2020”, “Company of the Year 2019” by PETA Asia, “Ten Outstanding Young Persons Hong Kong” and “50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company. As a noted environmentalist and entrepreneur, Mr. Yeung has spoken at the World Economic Forum, Milken Institute Summit, TEDx, as well as financial and academic institutions such as UBS and UCLA.

Green Monday Group has an overall mission to “Make Change Happen, Make Green Common” since its establishment in 2012. It is achieved by promoting plant-based eating and environmental protection through its multifaceted social venture model, in hopes of tackling climate change, global food in security and promoting public health. Green Monday Foundation, Green Monday Holdings and Green Monday Ventures are the three main branches of Green Monday Group. Since the company’s establishment, Green Monday Foundation has strived to promote the once-a-week plant-based meal philosophy that has now spread to over 30 countries. Green Monday Holdings’ business includes Green Common and OmniFoods. Green Common is the world’s first plant-based concept store to create a revolutionary food and lifestyle experience by introducing some of the most advanced global foodtech innovations. Its sales network has spread to over 10 countries and regions. OmniFoods has an established food science team based in Canada that developed OmniPork, OmniPork Luncheon and OmniPork Strip. These three food 2.0 ingredients are leading the development of the global foodtech industry and the future of food. Green Monday Ventures is the impact investment arm aimed at accelerating the growth of mission-aligned entrepreneurs and startups globally. David Yeung, the founder of Green Monday Group, was awarded “2018 Social Entrepreneur of the Year” by the World Economic Forum and Schwab Foundation. 

Website: https://greenmonday.org/en/

OmniFoods, a foodtech company, is a member of Green Monday Holdings. Established in April 2018, its mission is to innovate food that will treat the planet right, treat animals right and treat us right. Their established food scientist team in Canada innovates food 2.0 based on Asian eating culture and cooking habits while ensuring that the ingredients are cruelty-free, cholesterol-free, antibiotic-free and hormone-free. The launch of OmniPork, the first product of OmniFoods, has attracted international attention. In just two years, it has launched in several global markets and has become a popular plant-based ingredient. In May2020, OmniFoods launched OmniPork Luncheon and OmniPork Strip, leading a new wave in the foodtech trend. OmniFoods also has a Healthy Flash-Frozen Ready-to-Eat Meal series, that provide a range of healthy and nutritious ready-to-eat food.

Website: https://omnipork.co/

Martin Li is currently a Partner at Hype, a venture builder that invests and operates growth stage businesses in Asia with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Hype works with companies like GOAT, Carousell and Snapask.

Hype was founded by former Uber, Airbnb and WeWork launchers/executives and has worked with over 20 companies over the last 3 years.

Find out more: https://hypeasia.co/

Previously, Martin was an early member of Uber’s founding team in China. He helped launch many of the early China markets for Uber as well as managed multiple business units between 2013 and 2016.

At the start of his career, he worked in Private Equity at Adamas Asset Management, where he focused on distressed investments across APAC.

He holds a Bachelor Degree in Finance and International Management from Boston University.

Robin Zhang is the CEO of Canva China. Previously, Robin was the founding team member of LinkedIn China with prior experience at Apple and Bain & Company.

Canva is a leading online design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and other visual content. Canva was founded in Australia, 2013. Over the last 7 years, Canva has grown exponentially, amassing over 30 million active users across 190 different countries. Canva is one of the fastest growing unicorn companies with $6 billion valuation. Canva is a mission-driven company. Our mission is to empower everyone to design anything, publish anywhere, with every ingredient, in every language and on any device.

Canva entered China on August 15, 2018 and launched Chinese products (www.canva.cn) available both on web and mobile. In past two years, Canva China has integrated tens of millions of images, Chinese and English fonts, templates and illustrations in our Chinese platform, available on web and mobile.

Canva China has three products including Canva for free, Canva for Business and Canva for Enterprise. Canva for Business makes professional design incredible easy to everyone who has no design skills. By using Canva for Business, our users can create diversified designs from posters, social media graphics, e-commerce banners, presentations to infographics, Gantt charts and etc.

All designs created through paid Canva for Business can be used for all channels, without any copyright concern. Canva for Enterprise allows large organizations to collaborate on design and brand management through online workspace. It greatly increases the efficiency and decrease the costs of the enterprise. Canva Chins is rewarded the “Technology Innovation Brand of the Year” by 2020 China Advertising Marketing Award.

Canva China has developed many important strategic partners, including business partners like VCG and Hanyi Fonts; marketing partners like Fortune China, products partners like Huawei Honor, Feishu (Lark), Aiqiyi, Ximalaya and etc.

Canva China’s mission is in line with the global mission. Our culture is based on 6 core values: set crazy big goals and make them happen; make complex things simple; pursue excellence; empower others; be a good human; be a force for good.

Canva China cares a lot about being a force for good, we provide our paid Canva for Business for free to Non-profit organizations.

Yue Sun is an entrepreneur who dropped out from the Aalto University in Finland to start Codemao in 2015. Codemao is the most influential online coding education brand for children and teenagers in China. To date, Codemao has raised more than 150 million dollars from investors such as Hillhouse Capital.

Codemao saw an incredible growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and the retention numbers remain high even now. We discuss how Codemao grew from a simple MVP to around 35 million users today (and counting), the company's global ambitions and the vision to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and builders.

Codemao's website: http://www.codemao.com/

The education companies mentioned in the episode:

https://www.xueersi.com/ (学而思)

https://www.yuanfudao.com/ (猿辅导)

Folke Engholm is a Swedish serial entrepreneur, currently based in Shenzhen, China.

While studying his master’s degree in international business at Bond University, Australia, Folke earned a scholarship to attend his last semester at China's Tsinghua University in Beijing.

He successfully introduced a contemporary lifestyle brand (d.brand) into the US market and helped Daniel Wellington with their Asian entry.

In 2015 he founded Viral Access in Shenzhen, which today is known as Asia's leading Micro-KOL/Key Opinion Consumer (KOC) company driven heavily by big data and AI. Viral Access has a team of over 120 staff, working together with over 12 million Micro-influencers in China and Southeast Asia and running campaigns for brands such as Spotify, Mercedes Benz, UFC and Blizzard. Viral Access is adding thousands of Micro-influencers per month to its network.

Viral Access's Website: http://viralaccess.asia/

Fritz Demopoulos is the Founding Partner of Queen's Road Capital.

Fritz has been an entrepreneur and investor within the media and internet industries for over 10 years. He co-founded Qunar, China's largest travel internet company; and Shawei, China's largest sports internet company. Fritz also had senior positions at Netease and The News Corporation.

In the interview we discuss his entrepreneurial journey, how Fritz looks for and filters ideas and business opportunities, the process of finding the right co-founders, his lessons learned from building Qunar in China and much more.

Queen's Road Capital: https://www.queensroadcapital.com/