The Tech Strategy Podcast

This week’s podcast is about the external view and the importance of base rates. Berkshire-invested Kroger supermarkets is a good example of a company that can really be viewed externally.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book:Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle EditionCommon metrics for base rates:Sales growthGross profitability (gross profits / assets)Operating leverage. Change in operating profits relative to change in sales.Operating profit marginEarnings growthCFROIHere is the McKinsey book Beyond the Hockey Stick.———Related articles:What Ant Financial Tells Us About the Future of Square. Plus, Why The External View Is So Hard in Digital. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 61)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:External vs. Internal ViewRegression to the Mean (average / base rates, rate of regression)From the Company Library, companies for this article are:Kroger---------—-I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is about ANE Logistics, which is a compelling business model for digitizing and consolidating less than truckload logistics in China.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book (released December 1):Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle EditionMy questions for ANE Logistics:Does a franchised logistics network with digital connectivity lower the barrier to entry?What happens when the volume is greater a network with the same number of nodes and linkages as another?What happens when the geographic density is increased? More nodes and / or more linkages.---------Related articles:Podcast 26: Is Baidu the New AT&T? The Basics of Physical vs. Virtual Networks.Will JD Logistics Become a New Type of Ecosystem? (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 71)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Networks vs. Platforms vs. Network EffectsFranchised NetworksLogisticsFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:ANE Logistics-———-I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is Brazilian Stone Company (STNE), the Berkshire Hathaway-invested payment platform that has fallen in share price by +80%.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book (released December 1):Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition——-Related articles:Brazilian Stone Co, Chinese Ant, and American Square Are All Building Complementary Payment Platforms (1 of 2) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)What Ant Financial Tells Us About Square’s Future. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Daily Update)Ant Financial Is 3 Platform Business Models Combined. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Daily Lesson / Update)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Payment PlatformsDigital-Physical HybridFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:Stone Company------Support the show

This week’s podcast is about how to assess specialty companies within enterprise software and services. And about Tuya, which an interesting example of a specialty B2B play.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book (released December 1):Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle EditionHere are my 5 questions (thus far) for assessing the viability of a specialty ecommerce company.Is the company sufficiently differentiated in the user experience? Or did they just get there first?Can the company compete and/or differentiate in logistics or infrastructure without ongoing spending?Does the company have a strong competitive advantage in a circumscribed market?Is there a clear path to significant operational cash flow?Has the company avoided markets and situations that are attractive or strategic for the major ecommerce companies?Here are my 5 questions (thus far) for assessing the viability of a specialty enterprise company.Is the company sufficiently differentiated in the user experience? Or did they just get there first?Can the company compete and/or differentiate in sales / marketing or R&D without ongoing spending?Does the company have a strong competitive advantage in a circumscribed market?Is there a clear path to significant operational cash flow?Has the company avoided markets and situations that are attractive or strategic for the major enterprise companies? Pay attention to hierarchies of control.—----Related articles:Etsy and How to Predict the Winners in Specialty Ecommerce (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)An Introduction to Tuya and Its Play for an IoT Ecosystem (Pt 1 of 2)(Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Hierarchy of ControlEnterprise SpecialtyFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:Tuya----------—-I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is about Alibaba and Singles' Day. Just my thoughts on what really matters.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book (released December 1):Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle EditionMy list of 7 things people are getting wrong about Singles' Day:Business model is about building demand-side scale. This is also about economies of scale as a relative advantage.Operating model is about user-facing innovation that adds value.Consumer facing innovation is likely about live-streaming, metaverse and NFTs.Merchant-facing innovation is likely about R&D and financing.Physical assets have traditionally been about supply-side scale and building a barrier to entry.Alibaba is also separating supply side into a new business that is the "new infrastructure of commerce".Singles Day is both a moonshot program and a yearly stress test for the company.Here are the Digital Operating Basics.Here is the Alibaba slides for adding value to merchants. —----Related articles:7 Questions for Alibaba on Singles’ Day (pt 1 of 2)Behind the Scenes with Alibaba on Singles’ Day (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 5)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Digital Operating Basics: DOB2 Never-Ending Personalization and Customer ImprovementNetwork Effects - Demand side Economies of ScaleEcommerceFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:Alibaba-------I write and speak about digital competition and China / Asia’s leading tech companies.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is more about Snowflake, the “data ecosystem” company. And how multiple companies are competing to create the standards and architecture for cloud services.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book (released December 1):Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition---—-Related articles:Snowflake is Building 3 Complementary Platforms with 4 Network Effects (Pt 1 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)Kingsoft Cloud and How to Think About Cloud Services in China (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)What Everyone is Getting Wrong About Snowflake (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 105)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Innovation: Dominant DesignInnovation: Increasing Returns to Tech AdoptionCloud ServicesFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:SnowflakeTuya-----------I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is about Snowflake, the "data ecosystem" company. It is one of the most compelling digital business models out there. It is one of the few companies that could become the next Google or Microsoft.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is my new book (released December 1):Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle EditionA summary of the Digital Operating Basics:Scale and growth and small incremental cost.Personalization. A digital core for operations. Ecosystem and connectedness. People, culture and work design form a social engine that enables innovation and execution personalized for each customer. Operational cash flow. Here is a previous podcast on that.Lessons in Digital Operating Basics from Ram Charan. Part 1 of 2 on “Rethinking Competitive Advantage”. (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 98)---—-Related articles:Snowflake is Building 3 Complementary Platforms with 4 Network Effects (Pt 1 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)Snowflake is Building 3 Complementary Platforms with 4 Network Effects (Pt 2 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)Part 3: Snowflake’s Big Growth and Competition Questions (Pt 3 of 3) (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Complementary PlatformsDigital Operating BasicsFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:Snowflake---------I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is about core vs. adjacency growth. This is a good framework for thinking about growth in digital businesses.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Most of this is a summary of work by Chris Zook at Bain's strategy practice. I am citing the books:Profit from the CoreBeyond the CoreMost all sustainable growth is based on 1-2 strong cores. A profitable core is centered on the strongest position in terms of loyal customers, competitive advantage, unique skills, and ability to earn profits.Six growth adjacencies:New customer segments:Micro-segmentation of current segmentsUnpenetrated segmentsNew segmentsNew geographiesGlobal expansionLocal expansionNew channelsInternetDistributionIndirectNew productsNew to worldComplementsSupport servicesNext generationJust new products / servicesNew BusinessesNew to world needsNew substitutesNew modelsCapability adjacenciesNew value chain stepsForward integrationBackwards integrationSell capability to outsideHow to assess an adjacency move:Factor 1: Adjacency is tightly tied to a strong core.Factor 2: An attractive adjacency market in terms of profit poolsFactor 3: The ability to capture economic leadership in that market. Competitive advantage as an attacker and then an incumbent.—----Related articles:Growth, ROIC / RONIC and Growth + Sales in Digital Valuation (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 102)An Intro to Growth and “Birds in the Bush” in Digital Valuation (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Growth: Core vs. AdjacencyDigital Operating Basics——-I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is about how digital impacts society, business, news and politics. And how centralized planning might be the best solution in a digital world.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts.----—Related articles:Valuation Like Warren Buffett in 1 Slide (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)An Intro to Digital Valuation (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)Why DCF Sucks for Digital Valuation. (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 101)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:Coordination and Transaction CostsEcosystems vs. Platforms vs. NetworksTheory of the FirmFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:n/a ------------I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

This week’s podcast is about growth and how it relates to value and valuation. ROIC vs. RONIC is an important part of separating past and continuing value.You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts. —----Related articles:Valuation Like Warren Buffett in 1 Slide (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)An Intro to Digital Valuation (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)Why DCF Sucks for Digital Valuation. (Asia Tech Strategy – Podcast 101)From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:ValuationGrowth, ROIC/RONIC and ValueGrowth + SalesFrom the Company Library, companies for this article are:n/a--------I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show