Hutong (Ad)Ventures

William Bao Bean is a General Partner at SOSV, a US$300m venture capital fund that invests in startups in its accelerators across the world. William is also the Managing Director of SOSV's Chinaccelerator, China first startup accelerator based in Shanghai and MOX, SOSV's mobile only accelerator platform SE Asia. Prior to joining SOSV, William was the Managing Director at SingTel Innov8, where he led investments in Yodo1 and Gmobi, among many others. Previously, William was a Partner at Softbank China & India Holdings. William began his career as an equity research analyst, most recently with Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for Internet and Telecom Equipment across Asia and China technology, media and telecom. In 2005,he was ranked No.1 stock picker in Technology, Media and Telecom, and No.3 overall for Hong Kong/China. Key points covered: 0:00 William's background and introduction to Chinaccelerator. 4:52: How has the investment thesis differed amongst Softbank China, Singtel and SOSV? 11:00 What are the differences between Chinese consumers and SE Asia consumers? 14:10 How to do social commerce in China? 16:50 Why does SOSV only invest in startups going through its accelerators? 17:40 Chinaccelerator invests in convertible notes. What are differences in convertible note terms between China and the West? 20:10 Have there been any issues working with local Chinese investors and how to resolve them? 25:40 What is a portfolio company that has succeeded and why? 30:24 What are examples of companies or sectors where things did not go well? 32:23 Chinese B2C startups prioritise market share. Is burning cash for market share a necessary first step? How has that changed recently? 36:46: As China market matures, how has SOSV's investment thesis changed? 45:05: What is the one most absurd investment term William has come across? Items mentioned: SOSV's China focussed China Accelerator SOSV's South East Asia's focussed MOX Accelerator Singtel Innov8 investment: GMobi China Accelerator portfolio company: OCheng China Accelerator portfolio company: The Fashory Favourite book: Lean Startup Favourite Chinese company: Tencent Other books recommended: Only The Paranoid Survive, Innovator's Dilemma Favourite Chinese investor: Lei Jun (Entrepreneur and Investor), Founder of Xiaomi and Founding Partner Shunwei Capital Chinese phrases mentioned: Shanzhai 山寨: copycats / lookalikes Twitter: (at)hutongv, (at)haymarkethq Hutong (Ad)Ventures is a podcast on how to succeed in China featuring top venture capital investors, founders and operators with real China experiences. Hutong (Ad)Ventures is part of Haymarket HQ. Hosted by Jemma Xu.

David Gulasi is an Australian who has lived in China for nearly 10 years and has become one of China's top 3 foreign online influencers with over 8 million Chinese followers across various Chinese social platforms. Whilst most foreigners prefer cities like Beijing or Shanghai, David is based in Hohhot in far north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region which borders Mongolia and a bit of Russia. As an online celebrity, David has worked with Chinese and foreign clients such as Volkswagen, Netease, Sony and Chinese dating app Momo just to name a few. David also runs his own successful education company New World Language School in Hohhot, preparing Chinese students for standardised English tests such as the IELTS and TOEFL. Key points covered: 1. How did David go from 58 online followers to 120,000 overnight, then to 8 million followers now? 2. What is the demographics of David's followers? What content do they like? 3. What are the key characteristics of each social media platform? 4. How do consumers behave differently on each platform? 5. How does David leverage his online follower base for his education business? How does it compare to his competitors? 6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being based in Hohhot vs Tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai? 7. What is the one tip for companies looking to entering China Items mentioned: Weibo: http://weibo.com/login.php Photos and video sharing: www.meipai.com/en Livestream: https://www.yizhibo.com/ David Gulasi's Weibo account: weibo.com/n/DavidHohhot David's favourite book: Sahara by Clive Cussler Chinese phrases mentioned: Laowai 老外: foreigner City name + hua 话: local dialect Baikashui 白开水: boiled water for drinking Meishi'er 没事儿 (and its various Inner Mongolian dialects): No problem; often used to imply 'can be fixed' or 'I've got it' mentality Twitter: (at)hutongv, (at)haymarkethq Hutong (Ad)Ventures is a podcast on how to succeed in China featuring top venture capital investors, founders and operators with real China experiences. Hutong (Ad)Ventures is part of Haymarket HQ. Hosted by Jemma Xu.