Between Meetings

During a recent episode of Between Meetings, I engaged in a captivating conversation with Scott Pollack, delving into his early experiences in Asia, his remarkable entrepreneurial journey, the transformative shift from being a player to a coach, and his ongoing role as a CEO and leadership team coach. Takeaways: One of the takeaways from my early career was learning how a laptop can travel. It&apo...

In a recent episode of Between Meetings, Mark Bawtree discussed his journey towards sustainability, the lessons he learned while running his startups, the challenges of ESG, and how Akila is aiding its clients in making data-driven decisions. Takeaways: Renewable energy sources have increasingly targeted the local market from a sales perspective, whereas they were primarily manufactured for the in...

I recently hosted Thomas Knoop on the latest episode of Between Meetings. During the interview, Thomas shared his experiences of doing business in China, including the changes he has seen in the business landscape over the past decade, the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the transformation in his client base.  Takeaways: Doing business in China requires a different approach compared...

I interviewed Cheng Fu on the latest episode of Between Meetings where he talked about his transformation from a backend developer to a business unit lead. We also discussed Builtopia and its benefits for SMEs and the challenges in the Metaverse industry. Takeaways: I put in diligent effort and smart strategies to attain my opportunities I had a well-structured career plan I understood that sacrif...

I interviewed Shameen Prashantham on the latest episode of "Between Meetings." We discussed the inspiration behind his book "Gorillas Can Dance" and explored the complexities of startup-corporate collaboration. Shameen shared valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and how CEIBS is grooming the next generation of leaders. Takeaways: What I’ve seen as constant is recognitio...

We discussed Vincent's family business, the concept of sustainability in fashion, perceptions of social entrepreneurship, and the role of technology in a sustainable fashion. He shared the story of REMAKEHUB and offered advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Takeaways: We are going from a linear to a circular model What is considered sustainable today may not be considered sustainable in the futu...

We discussed Cyril's background and experiences as an entrepreneur, the changes and developments in eCommerce in recent years, the use of key opinion leaders (KOLs) in marketing, and the challenges Chinese brands face when expanding globally, among other related topics.  Takeaways: I started in China because it was cheap Admin part of the entrepreneurship journey never bothers me In terms of...

Takeaways: Coca-Cola and Disney in China are still a bit different from Coca-Cola and Disney in the US Act local You have to be agile to product-market fit Find a team that is a mission-driven Execute. Win. Celebrate Les Mills works with over 2000 gyms and clubs in China 70 m people who regularly exercise in China, which is 5% of the total population To fit the local market we need to develop cont...

Takeaways: As I got older I just did not feel I could have the impact that I wanted to have We sweat and we connect As a generation, we are moving less than ever before Make movement a fundamental human right Movement is medicine If you don’t have guanxi and you are not working with local bureaus and local governments you gonna hit a wall of resistance that I don’t think you can get passed Externa...

Takeaways: East and West work cultures are very much built on relationship In Hong Kong, the teams work around the clock We have been training these models with historical data, data that created a lot of social disparity and biases, and inherited inequality ESG becomes a little bit more of a marketing conversation and branding The real work comes after you know what your North Star is I hope more...

Takeaways: Quite a fair amount of international insurance companies are not making much money in China We are counting on the high-net-worth local population eventually will get insured Healthcare cost is really expensive in Shanghai Local players put a lot of effort into digitalization Insurance is still a very traditional industry People are looking for more globally portable solutions Teleconsu...

Takeaways: Group classes are on the rise Localization is key to the success of the American tech company in China More boutique studios with professional couches coming in  In China, there is still a very low penetration rate for the fitness industry  Traditional big open-space gyms are struggling with their current business models focusing only on long-term membership ClassPass in 30 countries, b...

Takeaways: Part of the formula to scale innovations is working with key people  Asia’s biggest advantage is a huge blank slate You can think of blockchain as an infrastructure of infrastructures  We live in very unique times, the most disruptive, interesting, impactful moments in the history of humanity  10 years of fintech road happened in the space of a year in change over COVID Prof. Michael Su...

Takeaways Looking at the economic situation, the speed, and the drive that China had, all I could see was an opportunity  Our focus is on creating great client experience and understanding this fast-changing market We work with Western brands to identify how they can stay true to the core and at the same time be sensitive to the local market Our job is to absorb the differences and to facilitate p...

Takeaways: 💡 Through technology you can create little tools to enhance a creative expression.  💡 I am not educated to educate other people.  💡 When you are a retailer you grow either by acquiring new customers or by making existing customers more profitable. And those two things are becoming harder to do for home furniture.  💡 Everything that surrounds us has the opportunity to be better.  💡...

Takeaways: 💡 Carve your own path 💡 Languages shaped my passion to go and explore different places 💡 In the last few years, innovation has had to lean and point almost directly towards China 💡 Innovation moved from something that was on the edge, things people thought about as something new and different, it moved into the center where everybody should be thinking about innovation 💡 Innovation...

Takeaways: 💡 Every day we change forever 💡 Working for corporates teaches you processes, how to work with big teams, how to allocate resources 💡 You cannot check for understanding when you share training or communication piece  💡 We find it difficult to convince Chinese companies that we are a better service provider than domestic companies  💡 We see a lot of localization in recent years in C...

Takeaways: Metaverse allows more fluidity for economic class 5% of your customers generate 80-90% of your profitability The right timing is key to success I‘ve been lucky throughout my career that people have trusted me to execute and to be able to think independently  Entrepreneurship is tough All the things that we have been seeing in sci-fi movies are going to be a part of our real world soon I...

Natalie Lowe, Managing Partner at The Orangeblowfish, Creative, Branding, China, Selfbranding, Phygital you can't have everything now, you can’t be everything now personal branding helps you to better understand what your core values are COVID was an enabler of China moving forward with from admiring Western brands right up to incorporating a lot of Chinese culture and design into their creat...

If you are not creating anything you are wasting time China is irreplaceable  The only thing I knew was China was growing and there were opportunities I was cutting 70% of the staff without really having reasons to do it We are adding trust and transparency to the sourcing world Minesh Pore , Co-Founder & CEO at BuyHive , is a highly regarded global trade expert with over 20 years of experienc...

The international moving/relocation industry is a white man’s world As an Asian young lady, it was hard to move up into a management role 2010 to 2015 was a golden period for the relocation industry since 2016 the market has always been going down We take good care of you, and you please take care of the clients When the market is down, it is the best time for hiring Chinese companies go global Ma...

There are 264 m of people over 60 years old in China and it is going to reach half a billion by 2050 There will be not enough young people to taker care of seniors Most of the initiatives were geared towards the real estate  The culture of service did not really exist Chinese investors are hesitant to invest in foreign-owned startups without a strong Chinese team Nayoung Chung , the founder at STI...

Nobody can be part of a startup and then have another startup as a side hustle WhiteSpace is a "collaboration" space There is just an inherent drive to need to be face to face with other human beings Nike "swoosh" recovery I want to add tech that really adds value to the customer experience The willingness to try things and fail at them  If it does not have Starbucks in the lob...

The process is the key to getting a lot of things done My mission is to save the world Shut up and do something Problems are real in China  If you can make the entire market smarter you are going to get a much larger pie that you can all work off of Driven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 20 years in Asia working to engage, inspire and equip...

People looked at the website and they didn't know what to do with this I burned out before the industry burned out Communication is very important for sales Interner consultants are bad programmers that are just good at talking  Automation in the small and medium-size factories is what's gonna happen next Rasmus Rasmusson is an experienced entrepreneur and product developer with 20+ year...