William Bao Bean | China's First Startup Accelerator, The Chinese Entrepreneur's Modus Operandi, & SOSV's Asia Investment Thesis

Today on The Negotiation, William Bao Bean discusses what makes China one of the most competitive markets in the world. He points to the quick adoption of new technologies—particularly artificial intelligence—as one of the main drivers of the country’s economic growth. William says that machine learning allows for personalization of consumer experience on a virtually infinite scale, and many Chinese companies are using these resources relentlessly to their advantage.

            William observed that internet entrepreneurs in China operate with the mindset of, “Let’s see what worked somewhere else and make it better.” He refers to it as “Lean Startup with Chinese characteristics”. That is, assumptions are made and tested in the market repeatedly, with each iteration more refined than the last. Chinese entrepreneurs are unique in that the speed at which they test and refine assumptions (typically in two to three-month cycles) is second to none. Also, unlike the American application of Lean Startup where non-existent products may be brought to market for purposes of observation, the Chinese actually make their assumptions purely through real products that are ready to be sold.

            The world of angel investing in China can be best understood by actually having experience in starting up and managing a company. In addition, it helps greatly to be surrounded by a community of fellow VCs to ensure that you are constantly supported and on the cutting edge.

            William is a big believer in “Mobile-first; mobile-only.” William refers to a relatively recent phenomenon called “leapfrog effect” which occurred in a large number of non-Western markets. These countries never had a huge, fixed economy-driving infrastructure that was forced to evolve with the times. This turned out to be a key factor in their quicker adoption of eCommerce technologies on a countrywide scale compared to the West. These countries—with China leading the charge—have no problem with disruption from the outside, because they are already used to disrupting themselves.