Robin Li (GGV Capital) - What U.S. investors can learn from China's consumer internet, bringing small businesses online and opportunities in the creator economy

My guest today is Robin Li, Principal at GGV Capital. GGV is a global venture capital fund that invests in seed to growth stage companies. Some of their companies include Airbnb, Poshmark, Alibaba, and Peloton. We discuss how GGV makes decisions on a global scale, what opportunities in consumer internet Robin is most focused on, and bringing small businesses online.

You can follow Robin on Twitter @robin_p_li

Some of the questions I ask Robin -

1. What attracted you to venture capital and how did you wind up at GGV?
2. When it comes to evaluating early stage consumer companies, what are some of the elements you look for that are positive signs that there is traction and how do you evaluate companies when you have to make decisions very quickly?
3. Are there metrics that you focus on that might often be overlooked by founders?
4. What are some major turn offs or deal breakers from startups when they pitch their business to you?
5. In the due diligence process, how do you assess if the product is solving a real problem?
6. What are current trends that you are focused on?
7. What have been changes in consumer behavior during COVID that you are most surprised by?
8. What are some of the challenges when it comes to evaluating consumer startups?
9. How has consumer technology and ecommerce evolved differently in China vs. the United States?
10. I know that GGV invests in both the U.S. and China. In ecommerce, retail and social media China is far ahead of the United States with technology. What do you see as consumer technology that exists in China and that will crossover to the U.S.? What consumer technology won’t cross over?
11. What are some of the key differences between the Chinese consumer and the American consumer relating to internet behavior?
12. Communities - Chief - have over three thousand women, connecting Fishbone around professional communities
13. Round sizes have increased dramatically over the past few years with huge funds into venture capital. Now we have pre-seed, mico funds. How has this influenced you as an investor?
14. What are some consumer trends that you are excited about?
15. What is one company that you recently invested in or worked with that you are excited about?
16. What is one company that you should have invested in but didn’t?
17. What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of b2c companies that are looking to raise capital?