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The Tech Strategy Podcast — 282 episodes

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Title
1

What Matters in China Tech Right Now (282)

2

2 Problems with Scaling Agentic AI (281)

3

The First 1-Person Billion Dollar Firm!! MEDVi’s 5 Lessons in Agentic Ecommerce (280)

4

Moats and Marathons: Chapter 1 - Introduction (279)

5

My 5 Takeaways from Mobile World Congress 2026 (278)

6

3 Lessons from the Launch of Huawei’s GT Runner 2 Smartwatch in Madrid (277)

7

The Winners and Losers in Seedance’s Total Disruption of Hollywood (276)

8

Alibaba's 8 Big AI Apps (275)

9

How I Think About Digital Moats (274)

10

7 Take-Aways from My Visit to Alibaba (273)

11

My 4 Step GenAI Strategy (272)

12

7 Tech Predictions for 2026 (271)

13

Can Agentic Ecommerce Finally Fix Tourism and OTAs? (270)

14

AI Infrastructure Lessons from Our Visit to Huawei (269)

15

What is the Cost of Maintaining the Correctness of a GenAI Service? (268)

16

Lessons from My Visits to Xiaomi, Unitree and iQIYI (267)

17

For Agentic Ecommerce Focus on the ABCs (Advisors, Brokers and Concierges) (266)

18

Why Data Network Effects and Data Scale Aren’t Moats. Plus, More on Bundling. (260)

19

Habit Formation and 3 Other Psych Hacks You Can Copy from Gmail (258)

20

4 GenAI Take-Aways from Sangeet Choudary’s Book Reshuffle (257)

21

Master These 4 Topics to Win in Digital (264)

22

How to Build an Agentic AI Operating Model (263)

23

My Take-Aways from the Tencent AI Cloud Summit (262)

24

Understanding AI Infrastructure Part 1: Apps + AI, Saas + AI and AI Data Centers (265)

25

My Playbook for Data-Empowered Operations (261)

26

My Playbook for Digital Growth (259)

27

Cainiao's Big Growth Despite an Uncertain Strategy. An Example of Alibaba’s Management Playbook. (256)

28

Understanding Pinduoduo and Search vs. Engagement-Focused Ecommerce (255)

29

3 Lessons from My Visit to Tencent AI Cloud (254)

30

How Alibaba.com Re-Ignited Growth with the Alibaba Management Playbook (253)

31

How Amap Beat Baidu Maps. My Summary of the Alibaba Playbook. (252)

32

5 Things People Get Wrong about Scale Advantages, Economies of Scale and Moats (251)

33

Strategies for Fragmented (and Other Highly Competitive) Industries (250)

34

3 Take-Aways from My Visit to Tencent (249)

35

From Learning and Adaptation to Intelligence (248)

36

The 6 Pillars of Huawei’s “Cloud for AI” Strategy (247)

37

The Audience Builder Platforms Behind YouTube, TikTok and Instagram (246)

38

Lessons from My Visit to Alibaba Cloud (244)

39

Lessons from My Visit to Baidu Headquarters (243)

40

Lessons from My Visits to Xiaomi and Unitree Robotics (242)

41

An Introduction to WeRide (241)

42

Horizon Robotics and the Rise of Chinese AVs / Real World AI (240)

43

The Huawei Trifold Smartphone is Awesome. Why Is Huawei More Innovative than Apple? (239)

44

Start Launching AI Agent Pilots ASAP (238)

45

The China Tech Tsunami: How DeepSeek, BYD, TikTok and Others Are Replacing US Tech Leadership (237)

46

The 4 Engines of Alibaba's AI Plus Ecommerce Empire (236)

47

5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Economies of Scale (235)

48

3 Lessons from My Visit to Trip.com (234)

49

Why Threads Might Beat X-Twitter After All (233)

50

3 Take-Aways from My Interview with Alibaba Cloud (232)

51

Extreme Personalization: How GenAI Can Supercharge Customer Improvements (231)

52

3 Ecommerce Lessons from My Visits to China’s Digital Leaders (230)

53

How Cainiao Will Win in Smart Logistics Everywhere (229)

54

Why Beauty Ecommerce and Beauty Tech Are So Attractive (228)

55

Why Every Business Must Run a Personalization Marathon (227)

56

Everything is Politics Now: The Dark Side of Digital Networks (226)

57

My 6 Questions for Network Effects. And Its 4 Big Effects. (225)

58

Why TikTok Is More Powerful than Netflix. 5 Lessons from Consumer Video. (224)

59

3 Lessons from the Fall (and Maybe Rise) of Coinbase (223)

60

5 Reasons Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchens Is Better Than Uber. In Theory. (222)

61

Is Profitable Kuaishou an Investment Opportunity? (221)

62

Porter's Five Forces and Why You Shouldn't Be an Influencer / KOL (220)

63

Can Bilibili Get to Sustainable Scale and Profits in Specialty Video? (219)

64

The 3 Growth Engines of Lazada (218)

65

Fans, Collectors and Gamblers: The Consumer Behaviors of Pop Mart (217)

66

How Ashley Dudarenok Grew 2 China-Focused Digital Businesses (Growth Tactics Podcast)

67

5 Things I Love About the HubSpot Business Model (Sort of) (216)

68

Is GenAI Disrupting Salesforce? (215)

69

The 3 Steps of a Digital Attacker Strategy (214)

70

4 Tech Investing Lessons from Constellation Software (213)

71

How Beauty Brand Depology Grew to $20M in Ecommerce Sales in 3 Years (Growth Tactics Series)

72

Why Microsoft's Bundles Are So Powerful. As Slack Found Out. (212)

73

How to Build Barriers to Entry with GenAI and Intelligence (211)

74

My Generative AI Playbook: Step 2 (210)

75

iQIYI's Playbook for Tech-Empowered Entertainment (209)

76

Lessons from Visits to JD, iQIYI and Huawei (208)

77

Alibaba’s Generative AI Strategy (207)

78

Forget the “Sharing Economy”. Watch for Disruptors in Access vs. Ownership Businesses. (206)

79

Huawei Is Building the New Data Architecture of Generative AI. Plus, Baidu's New Agent Builder. (205)

80

How to Build GenAI into Operations - Part 2 (204)

81

A Framework for GenAI Strategy - Part 1 (203)

82

The 3 EV Business Models of BYD, Xiaomi and Tesla (202)

83

CRAs Are the Path From Digital Operating Activities to Moats (2 of 2) (201)

84

The 4 Pillars of Baidu's AI Cloud Strategy (2 of 2) (200)

85

Why iQIYI Is the GenAI Innovator to Watch in Video Entertainment (199)

86

A Breakdown of Reddit's Really Simple Business Model (198)

87

Baidu's AI Cloud Strategy Is Great. It's a Flywheel in Industry-Specific Intelligence. (197)

88

3 Lessons from Alibaba Cloud’s AI and Big Data Summit (196)

89

Will Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Win Big in Human Capital and Non-Human Workforces? (195)

90

Why TikTok Shop is a Big Problem for Etsy (194)

91

Facebook Meta is Mostly 4 Networks and 2 Platforms (193)

92

BYD Is Running China's "Manufacturing to the World” Playbook (192)

93

3 Factors Will Determine the Future of Verisign Inc. (191)

94

Digital Strategy Lesson: CRAs Are the Path From Operating Activities to Competitive Advantage (1 of 2) (190)

95

The 4 Digital Concepts Powering Salesforce, Inc. (Tech Strategy - Podcast 189)

96

The Arm Holdings' China Question (188)

97

The 4 Digital Concepts Powering Arm Holdings (187)

98

Digital Strategy Lesson: An Intro to the Digital Operating Basics (Part 2 of 2) (186)

99

Digital Strategy Lesson: An Intro to the Digital Operating Basics (Part 1 of 2) (185)

100

Digital Strategy Lesson: An Introduction to Rate of Learning (184)

101

3 Things I'm Watching for on Singles' Day (183)

102

5 Ways 5G and 5.5G Are Game Changers for Business (182)

103

Is Life Just AI Agents Plus Gaming Engines? (181)

104

Huawei's New AI Tech Stack and "All Intelligence" Strategy (180)

105

3 Take-Aways from My Interview with Lazada CEO James Dong. And CTO Howard Wang (179)

106

My Predictions for Apple vs. Huawei in China (178)

107

JD's Big Play for Low Cost China (177)

108

Understanding Hyper-Politicized China (176)

109

3 Rules for Winning Big in Digital (175)

110

3 Strategy Lessons from My Visit to Ant (174)

111

The Sexy But Dangerous Economics of Digital (173)

112

What's Next for iQIYI and Video Entertainment? (172)

113

Threads Will Beat Twitter (Assuming Good Engagement and Product Market Fit) (171)

114

Huawei Launches 5.5G. Plus, Lessons from the Shanghai Mobile World Conference. (170)

115

3 Strategy Lessons from My Visit to ByteDance (169)

116

3 Digital Strategy Lessons from Epic Games and NetEase (168)

117

How WeChat Became the Everything App (167)

118

4 Insights from the Head of JD Smart Logistics Park (166)

119

3 Steps to Supercharge Your Business and Career with Generative AI (165)

120

Yes, OpenAI and Google Will Likely Have Moats in Generative AI (164)

121

AutoGPT: The Rise of Digital Agents and Non-Human Platforms & Business Models (163)

122

AutoGPT and Other Tech I Am Super Excited About (162)

123

Why TikTok and Shein Won Internationally. And Why WeChat and Kuaishou Didn't (161).

124

3 Lessons from Huawei's 2022 Financial Report (160)

125

Why American Citizens Must Protect TikTok (For Now) (159)

126

NFX’s 16 Network Effects. Plus, Embedding and Other Small Digital Stuff (158)

127

Why Prediction and Machine Learning Are Not Competitive Advantages Yet (157)

128

Dingdong, Grab and the Struggle for Profits in Ecommerce Services (156)

129

Peter Zeihan and Why the “China Will Collapse” Narrative Is Soooo Stupid (155)

130

Monster Energy and How CPG Brands Can Win in Digital (154)

131

Generative AI's 5 Digital Superpowers (153)

132

How Generative AI Is Going to Disrupt YouTube and TikTok (152)

133

4 Types of Intangible Assets in Digital Businesses (151)

134

Why ChatGPT and Generative AI Are a Mortal Threat to Disney, Netflix and Most Hollywood Studios (150)

135

4 Rules for CPG Brands Going Digital. Lessons from AB InBev, Nike, and Zé Delivery. (149)

136

My Valuation for Microsoft (148)

137

Mercado Libre vs. Magazine Luiza / Magalu in Brazil is an Awesome Strategy Question (147)

138

ChatGPT and the New Machine Human Interface (146)

139

Elon Musk's Strategy for Twitter is to Supercharge Performance - And Then 10x the Product (145)

140

Why Most Incumbents Should Forget About Platforms and Build Consumption Ecosystems (144)

141

What Grab Can Learn from Amazon About Growth - and Not From Meta (143)

142

Lessons in Purchasing Economies from Costco, JD and Pinduoduo (142)

143

Snowflake, Alibaba and My 3 Favorite Cloud Business Models (141)

144

3 Strategy Questions for Magazine Luiza / Magalu in Brazil (140)

145

How AB InBev and Zé Delivery Are Changing Ecommerce in Beverages (139)

146

3 Big Digital Changes in Retail and Ecommerce (138)

147

Steam, Garena and Specialty Gaming Business Models (137)

148

Why I Don't Like Netflix, Singapore Press and Most Digital Content Businesses (136)

149

Why Economies of Scale Is Still the Default Digital Strategy (135)

150

Lessons in Digital Operating Basics 5 and 6 from Majid Al Futtaim (134)

151

The 5 Important Concepts of Web3 (133)

152

Powerful New Digital Business Models by Walgreens and Ping An Good Doctor (132)

153

Amazon, Tencent and When Rate of Learning Becomes a Competitive Advantage (131)

154

What Xiaomi Can Learn About Strategy from Apple and Amazon (130)

155

Get Ready for Alipay+ and Ant Group 2.0 (129)

156

Why GE Failed in Digital (For Now) (128)

157

Can Elon Musk Fix Twitter and Save Civilization? (127)

158

Two Frameworks for Predicting Tech Disruption (126)

159

Amazon's Moat in Ecommerce is Growing. But Falling in Video. Just Like for Netflix. (125)

160

What Amazon Should Copy From Alibaba and Pinduoduo (124)

161

Will GoTo "Win it All" in Indonesia? (123)

162

Don't Underestimate Growth Plus the Digital Operating Basics (122)

163

Will Southeast Asian Grab Become Meituan or Didi? (121)

164

Why Uniswap's Protocol Is a Threat to Coinbase's PPH Marketplace (120)

165

An Intro to Customer Capture as a Competitive Advantage in Digital (119)

166

Alibaba, WeChat and How Nike Won as a Platform Participant in China (118)

167

Coinbase and How Web 3.0 Is Different (117)

168

5 Predictions for Nubank 2.0 (116)

169

How Digital Is Wrecking Havoc on Barriers to Entry (115)

170

Two Big Questions About SenseTime and AI Software Business Models (114)

171

Huawei's 4 Big Thailand Projects. My Interview with CEO Abel Deng. (113)

172

Snowflake, Confluent and 4 Types of Coordination Platforms (112)

173

Kroger and Part 2 on the External View and Base Rates (111)

174

An Intro to ANE Logistics and Franchised Physical Networks (110)

175

Berkshire-Invested Stone Co Has Now Dropped +80% in 2021 (109)

176

Tuya and How to Predict the Winners in Specialty Enterprise (108)

177

7 Things Everyone Is Getting Wrong About Alibaba Singles' Day (107)

178

Snowflake, Tuya and the Fight for Dominant Design in Cloud (106)

179

What Everyone is Getting Wrong About Snowflake (105)

180

Core vs. Adjacency Growth in Digital Businesses (104)

181

Info Dictators and Why Mark Zuckerberg Will Choose the Next President (103)

182

Growth, ROIC / RONIC and Growth + Sales in Digital Valuation (102)

183

Why DCF Sucks for Digital Valuation. (101)

184

How Hillhouse Capital Invests In and Digitizes Chinese Companies. (100)

185

More Lessons in Digital Operating Basics from Ram Charan. Part 2 of 2 on “Rethinking Competitive Advantage”. (99)

186

Lessons in Digital Operating Basics from Ram Charan. Part 1 of 2 on “Rethinking Competitive Advantage”. (98)

187

Pinduoduo, Etsy, and OTC: How Specialty Ecommerce Can Thrive Against the Giants. (97)

188

What Worries Me About Alibaba Long-Term (96)

189

4 Reasons Why Didi and Ctrip Should Merge (95)

190

China Discussion with Kevin O'Leary. Plus Foodpanda, Digital Basics and the Standard Digital Playbook. (94)

191

How to Profit from Politics in China Tech (93)

192

How to Assess Political Risk in China Tech (92)

193

Lessons from Warren Buffett on Compounding and Competitive Advantage (91)

194

Can Dingdong Win in Groceries and Specialty Ecommerce? (90)

195

Truck Alliance’s Fight to Build Complicated Network Effects (89)

196

Skillz vs. Electronic Arts. And the Emergence of Digital Sin Stocks. (88)

197

Why Didi is Dominant But Still Unprofitable (87)

198

Ant Financial and the 3 Types of Network Effects (86)

199

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

200

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

201

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

202

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

203

Adobe Inc. and the Power of Old School Software Economics (81)

204

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

205

China's New OMO Platforms: Alibaba, Sun Art and Beike (79)

206

What is the Worst Case Scenario for Alibaba? (78)

207

Don’t Overvalue Cool China Tactics: Community Group Buying, Blind Boxes and Influencer Marketing. (77)

208

Can Baidu Thrive As a Stand-Alone Search Engine? (76)

209

My 9 Investment Standard Questions (75)

210

Fiverr and the Classic Marketplace Platform Playbook (74)

211

Can Huawei's HarmonyOS Break Android's Monopoly? (73)

212

Can JD, Alibaba and New Retail Go International? My Interview With the CEO of JD Central Thailand. (72)

213

Will JD Logistics Become a New Type of Ecosystem? (71)

214

How Coupang Is Building a Competitive Fortress in South Korea (70)

215

Why Revenue Scale and Operating Leverage Are Different for Software vs. AI. (69)

216

Is Roblox Going to Be the Next TikTok? Plus the Kuaishou IPO. (68)

217

The 3 Real Effects of Network Effects. Plus So-Young's Cool Marketplace. (67)

218

Pay Attention to the Potential Value of WeChat Mini Programs. (66)

219

The Difference Between Competitive Advantages and 7 Powers (65)

220

Economies of Scale and Switching Costs According to 7 Powers (64)

221

4 Problems with Michael Porter's 5 Forces (63)

222

4 Problems with Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers (62)

223

What Ant Financial Tells Us About the Future of Square. Plus, Why The External View Is So Hard in Digital. (61)

224

Tesla vs. Nio - And Why First Mover Advantage in Tech Can Suck. (60)

225

Airbnb Is Going to Get Crushed in Asia. Rethink Your Valuation. (59)

226

Introduction to Innovation, Elon Musk and Android's Dominant Design. (58)

227

Alibaba, Android and The Emerging Art of Ecosystem Management. (57)

228

Forget the "Alibaba Ecosystem". It's About Collaboration-Based Industries and Business Models. (56)

229

How Digital Creates and Destroys Competitive Advantage. Digital Economics II. (55)

230

5 Trends That Will Power Digital China / Asia for the Next Decade (54)

231

Digital Economics II: Why Pricing Is Getting Both Complicated and Critical. (53)

232

Why the Bytedance "Attention Factory" Is a Threat to Facebook (52)

233

The Fight Between Alibaba Cloud, AWS and Friedrich Hayek (51)

234

What is Alibaba's Best Growth Strategy? (50)

235

Ant Financial and the Sustained Innovation Trap of Network Effects (3 of 3) (49)

236

Adaptation, Innovation and Resilience at Alibaba. A Discussion with BCG's Martin Reeves. (2 of 3) (48)

237

How Ant Financial / Ant Group is Revolutionizing Finance (1 of 3) (47)

238

What is the Secret of Pinduoduo’s Success? (2 of 2) (46)

239

What is the Secret of Pinduoduo’s Success? With Matthew Brennan and Elliott Zaagman. (1 of 2) (45)

240

Can Xiaomi or Meitu Win as Platforms / Ecosystems? (2 of 2) (44)

241

Xiaomi, Meitu and Why Platforms Fail (1 of 2) (43)

242

Tencent Buys Sogou. Plus More Digital and Information Economics (42)

243

3 Ways Network Effects Suck (41)

244

Why Lazada vs. Shopee Is Faster Horse vs. Better Jockey (40)

245

What TikTok Can Learn From Huawei About the Role of the State (39)

246

Will Farfetch or Secoo Win in Luxury Ecommerce in China? (38)

247

Companies Can Have Digital Superpowers: Lazada vs. Grab. Luckin vs. Hellobike. (37)

248

WeChat, TikTok and Capturing the Consumer Mind in a Digital Age (36)

249

How Should Education Companies Like New Oriental Respond to AI Digital Natives Like LAIX? (35)

250

Huawei, Luckin and the SMILE Marathon (34)

251

3 Ways AI Is Transforming Fashion: My Interview with JD Vice President of Cloud & AI (33)

252

Grab vs. GoJek vs. Lazada: Who Will Win in Services in SE Asia? (32)

253

Products with Personalities? My Interview with JD About Conversational AI (31)

254

Should Starbucks Buy Luckin Coffee? Should Alibaba? HeyTea? (30)

255

Can Shopee / Garena Beat Lazada? Tencent vs. Alibaba In SE Asia. (29)

256

How Big Will Ant Financial / Alipay Become? (28)

257

How Can Meituan Compete with Alibaba? And Prepare for Next Gen Services Marketplaces? (27)

258

Is Baidu the New AT&T? The Basics of Physical vs. Virtual Networks. (26)

259

Alibaba to Lazada: The Stunning Future of Interconnected Asia (25)

260

My Interview With Huawei About Their 2019 Financials. Plus Fraud at Luckin Coffee. (24)

261

Why Didi Needs Driver Switching Costs. Uber Too. (23)

262

Meituan vs. Ctrip vs. Alibaba: Who Will Win in China Services? (22)

263

What Is the Secret of Zoom’s Success in Video Communications? (21)

264

What Is the Secret of TikTok / Douyin’s Success? (20)

265

The Coronavirus Quarantine Economy Is Supercharging Taobao Live & the China Digital Consumer Network (19)

266

JD vs. Alibaba: How Retailers and Marketplace Platforms Compete and Evolve in China (18)

267

How Should Huawei's Smartphone Business Respond to the US Tech Ban? Part 2 (17)

268

Review: Why Digital Platforms Are The Super Predators of Business (16)

269

Review: The Sexy But Dangerous Economics of Digital (15)

270

How Should Huawei Have Responded to the US Tech Ban? Part 1 (14)

271

My Visit to WeChat and Why They Are Smarter Than Apple and Facebook (13)

272

Why Digital Is Disrupting Business, Politics, Culture and Society (11)

273

My Visit to JD's E-Space: Is It a Game Changer for Department Stores in China? (10)

274

3 Lessons from Hotpot with Huawei Chairman Guo Ping (9)

275

Why Did Ofo Fail? What Should They Have Done? (8)

276

Should Vipshop Build a Logistics Network Like JD? (7)

277

Will Luckin, Mobike, Didi or WeWork Ever Be Profitable? (6)

278

Behind the Scenes with Alibaba on Singles' Day (5)

279

How Did Alibaba Beat Everyone? Products vs. Digital Platforms (4)

280

How Should Starbucks China Have Responded to Luckin Coffee? (3)

281

What Should Giant Bicycles Have Done About Mobike, Ofo and China Bike-Sharing? (2)

282

Introduction to Jeff's Asia Tech Class (1)