This week’s podcast is newly public GoTo, which is an interesting business model combining a platform for products (Tokopedia) with one for services (Gojek).

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.
 
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Related articles:

• Will Southeast Asian Grab Become Meituan or Didi? (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 121)
• Grab’s Big Strategy and Cash Flow Question (1 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Complementary Platforms
• Digital-Physical Hybrids
• Barriers to Entry

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• GoTo / Gojek / Tokopedia

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I write, speak and consult about digital strategy and transformation.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

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

This week’s podcast is about combining two previously covered topics: growth and the digital operating basics. This can be surprisingly powerful.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Most of the growth thinking is a summary of work by Chris Zook at Bain’s strategy practice. I am citing the books:

• Profit from the Core
• Beyond the Core

He argues most all sustainable growth is based on 1-2 strong cores that continually adapt.

• A profitable core is centered on the strongest position in terms of loyal customers, competitive advantage, unique skills, and ability to earn profits.
• Adapting the core can be:
  • New products / services
  • New customers – microsegments
  • New geographies
  • New businesses.

Then add growth adjacencies. To assess an adjacency move:

• Factor 1: Adjacency is tightly tied to a strong core.
• Factor 2: An attractive adjacency market in terms of profit pools
• Factor 3: The ability to capture economic leadership in that market. Competitive advantage as an attacker and then an incumbent.

 Growth + DOB can sometimes get you the dream scenario:

1. Grow the revenue line.
2. Increase gross profits. An expanding margin with size.
3. Increase operating leverage with increasing scale. This is more about going for scale.
4. Invest in R&D, tech and infrastructure. This will result in a better user experience and improve operating efficiency.
   1. Drive efficiencies and increase monetization.
   2. Improve the user experience.
   3. Expand the products and services in high growth areas.
5. Do targeted M&A. To increase innovation and protect against disruption.

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Related articles:

• Core vs. Adjacency Growth in Digital Businesses (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 104)
• Lessons in Digital Operating Basics from Ram Charan. Part 1 of 2 on “Rethinking Competitive Advantage”. (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 98)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Growth: Core vs. Adjacency
• Digital Operating Basics
• DOB7: Sustainable Cash Engine that Scales

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• n/a

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Support the show

This week’s podcast is about Southeast Asian tech giant Grab, its impressive execution and its chronic unprofitability.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

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Related articles:

• Growth, ROIC / RONIC and Growth + Sales in Digital Valuation (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 102)
• An Intro to Growth and “Birds in the Bush” in Digital Valuation (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Complementary Platforms
• Marketplace Platform for Services
• SE Asia
• Engagement Products vs. Margin Products
• Economies of Scale: Geographic Density

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Grab Holdings

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I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

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

This week’s podcast is about how web 3.0 is creating three types of marketplaces:

• Digital platforms (web 2.0), such as a Taobao
• Platform-protocol hybrids, such as Coinbase
• Protocol networks, such as Uniswap

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

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Related articles:

• How to Think About Web 3.0 Business Models (1 of 2) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
• Platform-Protocol Hybrids and Why DeFi is the Center of Web 3.0 (2 of 2) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Marketplace Platforms
• Protocol Networks
• Platform-Protocol Hybrids (PPH)

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Coinbase
• Uniswap

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I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

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

This week’s podcast is about customer capture as a competitive advantage. And how digital is really changing this type of moat.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

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From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• CA1: Share of Consumer Mind, Share of User Mind and User Capture
• Competitive Advantages

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• n/a

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I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

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

This week’s podcast is about Nike in China. But it really about how you win as a participant in large platform businesses in ecommerce and social media.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

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From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Digital Complments
• SMILE Marathon: Ecosystem Orchestration or Participation
• DOB4

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Nike

-------------

I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

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

This week’s podcast is about web 3.0. I view most successful web 3.0 companies like Coinbase as platform-protocol hybrids.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

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From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Protocol Networks
• Platform-Protocol Hybrids / Web 3.0

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Coinbase

-------

I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

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

This week’s podcast is about Nubank, Brazil's rapidly rising digital bank.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

Here are my 5 predictions for Nubank 2.0

#1: Nubank Could Offer Asset-Lite Credit Services

#2: Nubank Could Create a Complementary Marketplace Platform for Investment and Insurance Products

#3: Nubank Will Go Cross-Border and Offer a Growing Suite of Financial Services Products

#4: Nubank Could Launch Mini-Programs within the Payments App

#5: Nubank Could Externalize Financial Cloud Services

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Related articles:

• Brazilian Nubank is Ant Financial Circa 2016 (1 of 2) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
• Ant Financial’s Big Money is in Asset-Light Credit Tech (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Daily Lesson / Update)
• How Ant Financial / Ant Group is Revolutionizing Finance (1 of 3) (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 47)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Payment Platforms
• Complementary Platforms

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Nubank

——–——

I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

Note: 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

This week’s podcast is about Barriers to Entry, which is one of my 6 levels of competition.

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

Most of my favorite businesses have key operating assets that can’t be easily built, bought, or transferred. This turns out to be an interesting list. Think about:

• Reputation, loyalty, and love.
• Personal customer relationships.
• Intellectual property, creative activities, and rare technical abilities.
• Certain technologies, scientific capabilities, and trade secrets.
• Certain physical assets.
• Physical and digital networks.

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Related articles:

• SenseTime and an Introduction to AI Software Economics (1 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
• 3 Lessons in China AI/ML from Artefact (Data Consultants and Digital Marketers)
• Adobe Inc. and the Power of Old School Software Economics (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 81)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• 6 Levels of Competition
• Barriers to Entry
• Cost Timing and Difficulty of Entry?

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• n/a

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I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.

My book Moats and Marathons details how to measure competitive advantage in digital businesses.

Note: 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

This week’s podcast is about SenseTime, which is a leader in computer vision in China / Asia. It's a fascinating company for looking at the evolving business models of AI software. The two big questions are:

• What are the unit economics of large AI companies?
• What types of scale advantages and network effects do large AI companies?

You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Here is my new book:

• Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition

I break the network effects question into three sub-questions:

• Do existing AI models get better the more they are used?
  • How much? Does it flatline? Does it keep increasing?
• Do existing AI models make each other smarter and better?
• Do existing AI models and the data they collect make additional AI models smarter? Do they make them faster and cheaper to train?

My working for conclusions are:

• This is mostly an integrated software bundle going for global scale.
• It's a learning platform with a new type of network effect.
• It is building an innovation platform, with another network effect.

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Related articles:

• SenseTime and an Introduction to AI Software Economics (1 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
• 3 Lessons in China AI/ML from Artefact (Data Consultants and Digital Marketers)
• Adobe Inc. and the Power of Old School Software Economics (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 81)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Learning Platforms
• Integrated Bundles
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Vision

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• SenseTime

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I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading 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