
Pinduoduo
Acquired
The Magic of Creative Processes in Startups and Animation
This chapter explores how creativity and structured processes function together in creative organizations like Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. It highlights essential elements such as the Pixar Brain Trust and discusses how unique methods contribute to the irreplicable success of these studios.
We kick off Season 7 with a bang: Pinduoduo, the incredible five year-old Chinese mashup of "Costco and Disneyland" (as self-described in their IPO prospectus) which recently became the fastest company ever to pass $100B market capitalization. What makes PDD so special, and how were they able to enter a market that everyone considered "already won" and disrupt massive entrenched competitors Alibaba and JD.com? This story is chock-full of lessons that apply not only to China tech, but to high-growth company building and investing everywhere.
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Links:
- Photo of 26 year-old Colin at lunch with Warren Buffett: https://thelowdown.momentum.asia/cv-of-pinduoduos-founder/
- PDD users on mini-programs vs other Chinese e-commerce players: https://miro.medium.com/max/1080/0*39fpSP_JqhDaPhQ2.png
Carve Outs
- How to Make a Spaceship https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Spaceship-Renegades-Spaceflight/dp/1594206724
- Creativity, Inc. https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012/
Sources:
- http://investor.pinduoduo.com/static-files/468b2c9f-9112-410d-84b3-2b22e07c7ee0
- http://investor.pinduoduo.com/static-files/5539839d-0a1c-4d40-9bb7-bdb490e2370c
- https://analyse.asia/2018/08/09/episode-260-pinduoduo-their-upcoming-ipo-in-china-with-matthew-brennan/
- https://analyse.asia/2020/06/28/pinduoduo-on-social-ecommerce-agriculture-with-xinyi-lim/
- https://blog.ycombinator.com/pinduoduo-and-the-rise-of-social-e-commerce
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinduoduo#cite_note-8
- https://hans.vc/pinduoduo/
- https://medium.com/@clarkboyd/pinduoduo-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pdd-chinas-third-biggest-ecommerce-site-38ac42086e47
- https://overcast.fm/+HWy7CWz34
- https://overcast.fm/+I8dmHF4NU
- https://overcast.fm/+PLdRNCiCg
- https://overcast.fm/+TmYdC1VPQ
- https://overcast.fm/+TmYfSO3sc
- https://targetchina.com.au/article/how-pinduoduo-successfully-gained-market-share-through-social-commerce/
- https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/26/the-incredible-rise-of-pinduoduo/
- https://technode.com/2020/05/12/pinduoduo-growth-story-needs-a-new-chapter/
- https://trendslates.substack.com/p/amazons-335bn-in-gmv-amazon-testing
- https://twitter.com/bgurley/status/1255172025053663232
- https://www.businessinsider.com/fabulous-life-colin-huang-pinduoduo-2020-7
- https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/what-is-pinduoduo-chinese-ecommerce-rival-to-alibaba.html
- https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/02/why-pinduoduo-stock-popped-today.aspx
- https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/07/4-tough-tasks-for-pinduoduos-new-ceo.aspx
- https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#721870433d78
- https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/3081078/pinduoduo-doubles-down-rural-china-five-year-us71-billion-e
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1737806/000104746918005204/a2236308z424b4.htm
- https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1737806/000110465920051022/pdd-20191231x20f.htm
- https://www.techbuzzchina.com/episodes/ep-17-pinduoduo-from-zero-to-23b-in-three-years
- https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinas-pinduoduo-is-nipping-at-alibabas-heels
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BidaQ22vWvM
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqxtfOMMVFg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjLhCK8sUcw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbskb0KMBUU&t=4s