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
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
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
This quote from John F. Kennedy is one of my favorites and definitely relevant to the Agency’s trajectory. Last year was the first time in our history that all geographies — Asia, the U.S. and Europe — generated double-digit growth. From this position of strength, we’ve made several recent changes, including the hiring of Mark …more
