Heads up --- I'm not talking about adding/following more friends on Facebook or Weibo here. Rather, this post shares some of my thoughts and experience about building real social connections, or specifically your business network as some might call it. Read on. I think many folks don't understand how important this is. Whether you're a geek, designer, or business developer, when you start out, it is common to be a little shy or tentative. I was a hermit crab hiding in my shell and believed that I could do more by ...
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![In a Nightmare Year, Which Chinese Tech IPOs are the Winners or Losers? [INFOGRAPHIC]](http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Chinese-tech-IPOs-2011-250x250.jpg)
![Apple is Most Improved Global Brand, But Where Do Asian Tech Companies Stand? [CHART]](http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/steve-jobs-250x250.png)
![Dell to Use New Baidu Yi Mobile OS, Launch in November? [UPDATED]](http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/themes/penn2/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Baidu-Yi-Dell-01.jpg&w=250&h=250&zc=1&q=90)
Oct 10 2011
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In a Nightmare Year, Which Chinese Tech IPOs are the Winners or Losers? [INFOGRAPHIC]
It’s a rough year. An awful economic situation across much of the western world has restricted sources of investment; in China, tech companies and start-ups have come to be viewed with some suspicion after the post-IPO scandals at Longtop and Sino-Forest; plus, tightening regulations in the Chinese tech and media industry will make it much harder to access foreign investment going forward. All mashed together, it has made for a year of extreme winners and losers amongst this year’s Chinese tech IPOs. Indeed, as a new infographic from IPO Dashboards reveals, ...
Oct 6 2011
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Apple is Most Improved Global Brand, But Where Do Asian Tech Companies Stand? [CHART]
Interbrand has just released its annual Best Global Brands Report, and not surprisingly Coca-Cola tops the list again. But here at Penn Olson we’re more interested in how the tech companies fared, specifically the ones from Asia. The report looks at a number of factors, including financial performance and the “strength of a brand to continue to secure earnings.” If we look at the global overview, only ten of the top 100 brands listed are from Asia. 52 are from the Americas (almost all from the US), and 38 are from ...
Sep 30 2011
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360 Loses Web War to QQ, Court Rules
Three companies related to Qihoo 360 (NYSE:QIHU) have to apologize to Tencent (HKG:0700) and compensate it 400,000 RMB (US$62,530) for slander and unfair competition, according to a Beijing court verdict yesterday. The so-called “3Q War” between 360 and QQ is finally over. Both Qihoo’s 360 Security suite and Tencent QQ are enormously popular pieces of software in China - 360 for anti-virus; QQ for IM and social gaming. 360 Security grabbed huge market share by promising to be free of charge forever. The controversy flared up last year when Tencent released ...
Sep 20 2011
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How to Succeed in China: Lessons from the Valley
Vanessa is currently based in Beijing, managing international business development for Innovation Works’ XingCloud. She is also Vice-President of Young Entrepreneurs Association of NUS (YEAN) and loves new ideas, tech and travel. You can follow her on Twitter or read her blog. Over the weekend, I attended the inaugural discussion by Ideas for Singapore where fellow Singaporeans, many whom are in the ICT sector, discussed and shared some opinions based on their experience and observations in China. The topic that was discussed is one issue that most Singaporean (and international) entrepreneurs planning ...
Sep 20 2011
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Mentor Me and Believe In My Product, or Let’s Just Break Up
Vineet is the founder and CEO of TeliportMe, an India-based start-up. Last week he identified three major problems in the Indian start-up scene. Now he’ll detail the first of those. Check back next week for part two. You can follow him on Twitter. As a follow-on from my previous post I wanted to write a little more in detail about the foremost area I felt was lacking in the Indian start-up eco-system: the lack of good mentors. Every start-up needs a mentor/advisor. Most first-time entrepreneurs like myself have so many questions about ...
Sep 19 2011
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China Risks No US IPOs, Terrified Foreign Investors, in VIEs Clampdown
There are fears in the international investment community that foreign investment will be squeezed out of Chinese web companies if authorities in Beijing clamp down on variable interest entity (VIEs). The structure is essentially an agreement between a foreign investor and an internet company in China, allowing the overseas company to generate payment from its holdings here. While VIEs have been ratified and used for years in China, the recent Yahoo, Alibaba, and Alipay kerfuffle put this legal device in the global spotlight, showing that it was actually of dubious legality ...
Sep 19 2011
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38 Chinese B2C Sites Clamber Aboard New Taobao Mall Open Platform
As expected, Alibaba today announced a major series of B2C site partnerships for its brand-oriented online storefront known as TMall. It makes partners out of 38 rival Chinese specialist e-commerce sites, such as RedBaby, fashion e-tailer Vancl, and the WalMart-backed YiHaoDian. The site, and logo, has also had a slight refresh to coincide with this. As with a regular mall, Alibaba’s aim seems to be to gather a very wide variety of brands and outlets on its site, to make it a one-stop solution for shoppers. The 38 sites in this ...
Sep 19 2011
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MiQi, With New VC Funding, Aims to be China’s Cosmetics Store
The Chinese e-commerce site MiQi.cn, which specializes in cosmetics, has just completed a round of funding from DT Capital. It’s valued, in the Chinese media, at an unspecified “tens of millions” of RMB. MiQi started out - upon its launch late last year - in the cut-throat group buy sector, before recently metamorphosing into a proper e-commerce platform. It now features brand channels and official partnerships with major cosmetics labels. Its CEO, Ma Qiang, said that the capital injection would be used for brand building and customer service, as was a separate ...
Sep 14 2011
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China Dominance Ends, as Brazilian-Made iPads Ready to Roll
Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in Brazil. We’re more used to seeing the name China at the end of that phrase, but that'll change very soon as Brazil is now ready to inaugurate its first Foxconn factory to make Apple’s iPad. It marks the end of China’s decade-long dominance of making Apple hardware, from humble iPods to huge iMacs. Brazil-made iPads could well hit shelves by December. But this is not the start of a shift away from China - at least not yet. Foxconn, the Taiwanese OEM that runs ...
Sep 12 2011
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Three Significant Reasons Why the Indian Start-up Scene Sucks
Vineet is the founder and CEO of Teliportme, the India-based start-up behind the 360 app for Android that we reviewed last month. This is his first guest post. He’ll follow this up with three posts detailing the main issues. You can follow him on Twitter. A lot has been written by pundits on how India is a great place for technology start-ups. I have to agree and disagree at the same time. While India is a great place to start companies that sell products (though mostly lower-end gadgets and items), it’s ...
Sep 19 2011
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Dell to Use New Baidu Yi Mobile OS, Launch in November? [UPDATED]
After Baidu’s unveiling of its Android-based mobile OS last Friday, we have an official announcement word from Dell that it’s teaming up with China’s biggest search engine for mobiles and tablets - but that doesn't necessarily mean it pertains to Baidu Yi. Nonethless, Dell might well be the first official partner for Yi. The Chinese press is reporting a rumor that November is the earliest likely date for Baidu Yi to appear on devices in the shops. Quoted by Reuters today, a Dell spokeswoman says: We have a ...
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