If you’re not familiar with the “996” acronym in China, it stands for working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days each week. Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, seemed to have hit a nerve last week when he remarked on WeChat: “I personally think that being able to work 996 is a huge blessing.” …more
By Mandy Heiser, Account Executive Let’s take a look at the top Google results for the recommended search “china and us”: What about “us and china”? Let’s pull out a few phrases: “high-stakes trade”, “far apart”, “fail to reach agreement” “fighting for global power” … The story these search results …more
I wrote an opinion piece in VentureBeat a few years back titled, “Attention U.S. Startups, Don’t Ignore China.” The punchline — Virtually every startup should have a China strategy. Fast forwarding to today, startups in the U.S. are starting to back off in China. This assessment isn’t based on data; it’s more anecdotal and a …more
By Jason Cao, Hoffman China General Manager Running out of office space is a good problem to have since it reflects a growing enterprise. Such was the case with our China team where 2017 saw our staff grow from 19 to 33 employees as our “Big Tech” positioning gained traction. In the case of our …more
One of the top VC firms in Silicon Valley, Sequoia Capital, has a message for its portfolio of startups and the rest of the startup community in Silicon Valley: Stop your bellyaching. Get your butt off the couch and back to working 24/7. If you don’t, startups from China are going to take your lunch …more
When we entered the China market in 1999, I shared with our staff that our long-term success in Asia depended on China. I no longer believe this. Instead, it’s clear to me that our long-term success on the international front depends on China. When we experienced turmoil in our China operation a few years ago, …more
I traveled to China last September — Steve Wozniak ended up right behind me in line going through customs — which was my 38th trip to China. Even after spending a fair amount of time there, I still feel like a student always learning new things. So many dimensions to the communications industry in China …more
Since my maiden voyage to China in 1999, I’ve made 20 or so trips to the country. I learn new things every time. To call “PR in China” complex is like saying Donald Trump enjoys attention. While the words are accurate, they don’t quite capture the essence of the situation. That’s why we teamed with …more
I made my first trip to China in 1998. To say it seemed like another planet doesn’t quite capture the feeling. Try a different universe. I remember attempting to place a classified ad in China that required signoff from multiple government entities. It turned into a Kafka-esque exercise when the third stop found something out …more
