East Meets West

The Coupang IPO

Coupang: 2021’s largest US IPO (so far) and a big win for Masayoshi Son

Mar 22, 2021 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

February 2021

EMW Shorts #1

Bytedance adds payments and sues Tencent, follow-ups on Tencent Music, and Clubhouse looks East in more ways than one

Feb 7, 2021 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

January 2021

The Case for Cash App as a Super App (Aspiring Super Apps #2)

The case for Cash App as a 'Super App'

Jan 17, 2021 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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December 2020

NetEase: Videogames and Pigs

Before Ma Huateng (Pony Ma) and Jack Ma, there was Ding Lei. By 2003, at 32 years old, he was China’s first internet billionaire and (for a time) the…

Dec 6, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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November 2020

China's P2P Bubble and Lufax

Poor financial controls, bubbles, and a $40bn Ant Group competitor

Nov 15, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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October 2020

Tencent Music and the Future of Spotify

Tencent Music is a lot more than “the Spotify of China”

Oct 25, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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Understanding Ant Group

As Ant Group gears up for potentially the world's largest-ever IPO, people are wondering WTF the company does. I read it's 600-page S1 and break it down…

Oct 4, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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September 2020

Aspiring Super App Series #1: WhatsApp + Facebook

A mini-series covering the Super App ambitions of the American tech giants. This issue will focus on Facebook’s properties (WhatsApp, Facebook App…

Sep 20, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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How to Build a Super App

Demystifying Super Apps by looking at their history, common characteristics of existing ones, why they aren't prevalent in the West, and how that could…

Sep 6, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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August 2020

Uber v. Gojek (Nationalist Marketing & Gov't Relations)

Contrasting how American ridesharing companies market themselves and work with governments compared to their eastern counterparts

Aug 23, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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WeChat (Part 2/2): A Not So Brief History

This article focuses on the themes of WeChat and some of the key elements of its monster success.

Aug 2, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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July 2020

WeChat (Part 1/2): A Not So Brief History

This post was getting very long, so I broke it into two parts.

Jul 19, 2020 • Ryan Rodenbaugh

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