One of the questions that I got most frequently when I did the last company was, “Is Tapas a tech company or a content/IP company?” (*For those who don’t know, Tapas was/is a creator platform for serialized digital comics and novels) I’m sure big companies get the same questions all the time too. Is Airbnb … Continue reading Are You a Platform Company or a Content Company?
Recently I had a chance to sit in a startup pitch event where the theme was scientists (mostly university professors) pitching about their startups built around their research. Without generalizing too much, here are my quick observations / wishes from some of those founders: Better storytelling: People forget about technology, but they remember stories. Scientist … Continue reading Research Scientists and Startup
Someone I know (who’s a Gen Z) recently remarked: “The world is literally burning, and all we got is short videos.” Many of this generation’s biggest problems, such as social divisiveness and mental health issues, can be traced back to social media as one of the main culprits. Instagram makes you feel miserable; Twitter (X) … Continue reading The New Manhattan Project
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur aiming to build an internet/mobile based product, you should consider building for the US/English-speaking market first. Why? It’s not only because the US is a bigger market (which it is, with 300M+ population and high % of paid users), but the success in the US will lead to an even … Continue reading Why You Should Build for the US/global Market
My wife recently asked me a random question – “What do you regret the most in life?” I hadn’t really thought about the question, so I gave it some thoughts. Then, my answer was – “I can’t really think of anything that I really, really, really regret about.” Trust me, I do have many regrets: … Continue reading What Do You Regret in Life?
Europe is pretty comparable to the US in terms of the GDP and population: GDP: EU + UK = $19.7T / US = $25.5TPopulation: EU + UK = 514M / US = 332M While, the source of wealth creation is very different, where the US is driven by tech, while the EU is all about … Continue reading US vs. EU
One of the “killer apps” of GPT is removing the language barrier, especially in written/chat forms. (After all, it’s called the large “language” model and “chat” GPT). This is giving exciting new business opportunities to many industry applications. For example, people in remote, developing areas of the world don’t have to learn English anymore to … Continue reading GPT and the Removal of Language Barrier
Threads had an explosive launch, but from the product perspective, it’s just uninspiring. Threads, Bluesky, Masterdon, and Twitter itself – these are all largely undifferentiated products. In fact, most social networks have the same features (feed, follow, etc.) and are controlled by a few (seemingly sometimes fickle and unstable) billionaires. Human social interactions are intricate, … Continue reading Threads and Social Networks
I think we’re starting to see frothy valuations coming back in certain areas, especially genAI. We’re talking about $30mm pre for pre-seed, pre-product teams. I don’t think that’s particularly healthy. If you were lucky enough to raise big venture funding, one thing I often tell founders is treat the money as if it was a … Continue reading My Money vs. Money to be Returned
For fellow soul-searchers, one potentially useful framework is what I call the “Doctor’s Test”. Imagine you got a call from your doctor, and were told (God forbid) you have a terminal illness and only have 5 years to live. How would you spend the rest of your life? If you could think of a project … Continue reading Doctor’s Test