tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42789638858173612152024-03-16T11:52:35.383-07:00Silicon Dragon GlobalTech innovation and venture investment with a Silicon Valley view of global trendsRebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comBlogger298125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-7872455215671478932023-07-20T11:22:00.002-07:002023-07-21T07:21:22.518-07:00Silicon Heartland Author Gives Buffalo's Richardson Hotel Quite a Few Stars<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMz86Fn-j_IDHEuKZLPW9a2OqgYxACgzPg3Pechkrzjo8Vut-yX17g3n97Dj0Kr2oHHAJjxve_d8G_VmhfR-DMygdo3qYvJs38wCCGy0z7lGvNC5nleeK1W1jPFqDzGsuzmoXmLQ5CDSv1o5q8Agd3fXpy330Vae4CO51D6E2fYrxTjIOr-QoFe-MQsTgd/s1120/r%20at%20Richardson.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="1097" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMz86Fn-j_IDHEuKZLPW9a2OqgYxACgzPg3Pechkrzjo8Vut-yX17g3n97Dj0Kr2oHHAJjxve_d8G_VmhfR-DMygdo3qYvJs38wCCGy0z7lGvNC5nleeK1W1jPFqDzGsuzmoXmLQ5CDSv1o5q8Agd3fXpy330Vae4CO51D6E2fYrxTjIOr-QoFe-MQsTgd/w196-h200/r%20at%20Richardson.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><br />Talk about a unique experience. I recently stayed at the just-reopened Richardson Hotel in Buffalo, while on my book tour in the city. <p></p><p>At first glance, you had to be impressed by the majestic, awesomely large structure in a beautiful setting comparable to Central Park on 40 beautifully landscaped acres, in fact designed by the very same Frederick Law Olmsted. The interior was flawlessly clean and spacious with high ceilings, wide corridors, and beautiful wood floors and railings. </p><p>Little did I realize when I checked in that the hotel was a former insane asylum, housing patients up until the mid-1970s. But I might have guessed from some tell-tale clues. First, some chamber doors in the hallways were closed off, painted over so you could barely notice. Second, the rooms were extra small. Mine actually was a combination of two rooms. Third, most of the rooms had minimal views. Mine overlooked another wing of the building. Then, some of the vast structure was still empty, in need of repair. In this section of the building, balconies were caged in, a remnant of the past (presumably to prevent suicidal jumps?). Not that hotel was hiding its past -- historical photos of Buffalo's maritime glory days, including many of this landmark dating back more than 100 years, lined the walls. </p><p>All this noted, I liked the hotel. It has a great story, fitting well with the theme of my new book, <br /><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Heartland-Transforming-Midwest-Rust/dp/1623545560">Silicon Heartland</a></i>. The staff was extra-friendly (everyone I met in Buffalo was!) The Richardson is conveniently located, nearby the (also) just-reopened AKG Art Museum, which I toured. <br /><br />And, everything functioned well! Super-speedy wi-fi connections, great water pressure, good heating-cooling controls, a well-equipped business center, and well-lit spaces. You could argue that's not much, but I can tell you that luxury hotels get many of these basic points wrong. There was plenty of space to roam along long and winding corridors, most of them still not occupied while renovations continue. The restaurant was not open yet during my stay but a cafe served pastries. </p><p>The hotel, which used to be called the Henry, went into receivership in 2021, a victim of the pandemic. New owner Douglas Jemal, a local real estate developer, took it over in 2022, and are investing $57 million in campus renovations. Jemal rebranded the hotel as the Richardson, after original architect Henry Hobson Richardson. He also owns Seneca One, the city's tallest tower, where my <a href="https://www.silicondragonventures.com/events/events-2023/silicon-heartland-on-the-go-buffalo-rising-panel-of-experts/">book talk event</a> was held with community leaders, including former Congressman and now real estate developer Chris Jacobs. </p><p>I would definitely return for another visit, but I'm glad I caught it now at this early stage of development before all the tourists arrive. <br /><i>by Rebecca A. Fannin</i></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-27244754441804335432023-07-12T13:28:00.002-07:002023-07-12T13:47:49.785-07:00Shuffle Off to Buffalo: An Artsy Review of a City in Transition<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboUeJaqB7TOkfonzYARxrxvrDz8lZJ8ltMR_0FcjXdVUTu4dPJcHga7es8Ft3Rn0ffA1fBl5ht8MYHcdi3I50Qq38ZJUE_qwevgEPatKynBF-Q7Kc5o_1ZZb40S0RhYwGtGBGciQf-AiWWkPKPDLFiuS2LjVMf4so1NYDzxeiQ7oK1jva9lM83-Ivijw4/s900/180625_plaza_view_2_web.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboUeJaqB7TOkfonzYARxrxvrDz8lZJ8ltMR_0FcjXdVUTu4dPJcHga7es8Ft3Rn0ffA1fBl5ht8MYHcdi3I50Qq38ZJUE_qwevgEPatKynBF-Q7Kc5o_1ZZb40S0RhYwGtGBGciQf-AiWWkPKPDLFiuS2LjVMf4so1NYDzxeiQ7oK1jva9lM83-Ivijw4/w320-h213/180625_plaza_view_2_web.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> In the days of vaudeville, back in the 1920s, entertainers would usually want to include Buffalo on their circuit of theaters.<br />Buffalo was among the biggest markets in the country, one of the largest cities, and rich enough to have its own theater district, with several grand venues.<br />New York City was the big brother to the South, and got most of the attention, but the residents of Buffalo were proud of their City. And they wanted to be a cultural oasis, with theaters, museums and beautiful parks.<br />Once the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, Buffalo became a hub of commerce. It incorporated as a City in 1832, and by 1862, the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy was founded (years before the Metropolitan Museum in New York City).<br />That Academy eventually was transformed into the Albright-Knox Art Museum. a very respectable regional museum with a very good collection of modern and contemporary art.<br />But the Albright-Knox needed to expand as its collection grew, and the Museum launched an ambitious multi-million-dollar expansion.<br />With a generous donation of $65 million from financier (and Buffalo resident) Jeffrey Gundlach, they hired the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) headed by Shohei Shigematsu, with Executive Architect Cooper Robertson, to transform the museum.<br />OMA has added 30,000 square feet to the original museum, providing large spacious rooms for large contemporary paintings. With the new addition, Albright-Knox, now named Buffalo AKG Museum of Art, has a jewel box of a setting for some of its prize contemporary paintings, including 35 works by abstract painter Clyfford Still. Still is considered one of the leading abstract expressionist artists, and he donated many of his large master paintings to Buffalo AKG. Now they can all be viewed in three large galleries.<br />The addition and expansion have a light-filled bridge to the original collection, a nice transition between the neo-classical Greek structure of 1905 by EB Green.<p></p><p><i>contributed by John D. Delmar</i></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-68710627907783299032022-08-14T13:29:00.003-07:002022-08-15T12:20:17.146-07:00Some 8,000 Road Miles Later, Silicon Heartland Book Launches with Loads of Endorsements<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrDgbK1eItB7dy-Jc-ilywfzeKAOVIqsEG5plk_dYqt0EDbXhbZKjT27JaldJ9bwQ4LwuyxBPNbdHeyGHv6hiHvwIMj9p2pQ0FtZlsVB1LQu1Gs6C0kBLKZKubbvXoUWiTq740YN2b67ENn6H_r_woyzpU5unVo3uctf4sZ2ayi-0oLF1zEY0vqqlvg/s2775/Silicon%20Heartland_9781623545567_20220720_Front%20Cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2775" data-original-width="1875" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrDgbK1eItB7dy-Jc-ilywfzeKAOVIqsEG5plk_dYqt0EDbXhbZKjT27JaldJ9bwQ4LwuyxBPNbdHeyGHv6hiHvwIMj9p2pQ0FtZlsVB1LQu1Gs6C0kBLKZKubbvXoUWiTq740YN2b67ENn6H_r_woyzpU5unVo3uctf4sZ2ayi-0oLF1zEY0vqqlvg/s320/Silicon%20Heartland_9781623545567_20220720_Front%20Cover.jpg" width="216" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />After two years of research and some 3,000 miles logged in my Honda Element on a road tour through the Rust Belt, my new book, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717858/silicon-heartland-by-rebecca-a-fannin-author/">Silicon Heartland</a>, is launching. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">Kevin Stevens, Editorial Director, Imagine Books<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 18px;">(distributed by Penguin Random House)</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Change is sweeping across the American<br />heartland. For too long ignored as “flyover<br />country,” the once-mighty Midwest is<br />experiencing a quiet but compelling revolution<br />powered by savvy venture capital, high-tech<br />innovation, entrepreneurial boldness, and good<br />old American moxie. What has been known<br />as the Rust Belt is now developing the shine<br />of a tech belt. The former pinnacle of the US<br />economy is making a comeback, which bodes<br />well not only for the heartland but for our<br />economy and morale nationwide.<br /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rebecca A. Fannin</span> explored this twenty-first century<br />transformation from the inside. And<br />she did it the old-fashioned way—by putting<br />hard miles on her Honda Element and visiting<br />women and men from Flint, Michigan, to<br />Huntington, West Virginia, who are planning,<br />financing, and building this latest version of<br />the American Dream. A heartlander herself,<br />Fannin brings readers on an investigative tour<br />that starts in her hometown of Lancaster, Ohio,<br />and takes in six states, dozens of cities, and<br />hundreds of enterprises.<br />Silicon Heartland tells the story of a comeback<br />journey—and also personal stories of some of<br />the remarkable people Rebecca met who are<br />restoring the region’s vibrancy and prosperity<br />with a social and economic turnaround that<br />is diverse, contemporary, and solidly realized.<br />What Rebecca discovered on the way—about<br />America, about her family, about herself—<br />is surprising and inspiring and makes her<br />book timely documentation about a reviving<br />economy and also a moving reminder of the<br />importance of family and heritage.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Thanks for the endorsements! </b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“No place or company is immune from getting disrupted – and Silicon Valley is no different. In Rebecca’s new book, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Silicon Heartland</em>, she explores the tech innovation frontier emerging in states that were once centers of commerce but were left behind when they didn’t adapt to new technologies. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Silicon Heartland</em> underscores how my home state of West Virginia – and other Appalachian locations – are progressing by investing in entrepreneurship.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">John Chambers</span>, Founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, and former Executive Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As an investor and venture capitalist who moved to Austin, Texas several years ago, I find Rebecca Fannin’s compassionate and rigorous analysis of entrepreneurship a must-read. She asks and answers so many of the right questions: how we got here, where we’re going, and what needs to happen to revitalize communities and democratize innovation. This will be an indispensable book for founders, investors, and change-makers.<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim Breyer</span>, Founder & CEO, Breyer Capital</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“In <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Silicon Heartland</em>, Fannin details the technology transformation underway in our heartland — masterfully weaving together years of research and knowledge with personal stories from people across America. It’s a book that inspires hope for our future.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ro Khanna</span>, author of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dignity in a Digital Age</em></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Silicon Heartland,</em> Rebecca Fannin’s uplifting journey into America’s all-too-often overlooked Midwest – where she, herself, grew up – is a compelling counter-narrative to the depiction of the region as being in the grip of post-industrial decline. This is the untold story of the Rust Belt rising, amid a wave of optimism, innovation and old-fashioned grit.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Maëlle Gavet</span>, CEO of Techstars and author of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Trampled by Unicorns</em></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Silicon Heartland</em> shines the light on exciting examples and best practices that are leveling the playing field of opportunity and unleashing new opportunity. This book is a must-read for anyone who believes that entrepreneurial success is only possible on the coasts. The Silicon Heartland welcomes you!<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brad D. Smith</span>, President Marshall University and former Chairman and CEO, Intuit</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“From an author with America’s heartland in her blood and a keen observer of global innovation, this book is a tremendous resource to help communities across the country tap into their entrepreneurial roots and reinvent themselves.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;">— </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Greg Becker</b></span><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, president and CEO of SVB and graduate of Indiana University</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Silicon Heartland</em> provides an almost perfect sequel to Ms. Fannin’s must-read <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tech Titans of China</em>. Now she brings the focus back to our nation’s shores, but rather than detail the assumed decay of American greatness, she instead finds hope. The green-shoots of a potentially innovative and prosperous future have been planted for generations to come. This book provides a much-needed boost of optimism at a time when it’s vitally needed.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chris Fenton</span>, author, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Feeding the Drag</em>o<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">n </em>and Film Producer</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In her book<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Silicon Heartland</em>, journalist Rebecca Fannin journeys back to her home in the Midwest to explore how cities and states are working to reinvent local economies. Her unique perspective will help readers understand the entrepreneurial communities that are working to turn cities between the coasts into promising innovation hubs.<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Steve Case</span>, co-founder of AOL and Revolution and author of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Rise of the Rest</em></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif;">“Finally…someone gets it. The Rustbelt of the Midwest is transitioning to the Tech Belt of the heartland and author/journalist Rebecca A. Fannin tells that story in an engaging and sometimes personal manner. She took time to explore this flyover country to discover an emerging new energy and entrepreneurial spirit that is replacing regional depression. She tells the story of Midwestern rebirth that everyone else has ignored and she does so with the perspective of an experienced journalist. Her writing is crisp and sharp, and her reporting is thorough and in-depth.”</span><br /><span style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">— </span>Tom Hodson</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif;">, Director Emeritus of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and WOUB Public Media</span><br /><span style="font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: inherit;">“</span><i>Silicon Heartland</i><span style="font-style: inherit;"> tells stories that should be told. </span></span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With the move to onshoring, perhaps real dollars will continue to flow - and even increase - across the belt(s). I hope so. Lots of know-how and talent there. Less reason to move elsewhere in this increasingly un-tethered world, and current societal and technological waves benefit from more open spaces and lower costs.” <br /></span><span style="font-weight: 600;">—</span><span style="font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"> <b>James D. Robinson</b>, Founder & General Partner, RRE Ventures</span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Few journalists I know have truly been ‘out there’ deeply connecting with their subject like Rebecca. Her family’s personal history in the Midwest allows her to truly hear what’s happening.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brian Cohen</span>, Chairman, Science Literacy Foundation/ Founding Partner, New York Venture Partners/ Chairman Emeritus, New York Angels</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Hop into author Rebecca Fannin’s vintage Honda as she cruises through “flyover country,” reporting on what was long considered the rusted remains of America’s industrial might. Except she finds something quite different: Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurship built on traditional Midwestern values of honesty, hard work, and community. Without glossing over the challenges, Ms. Fannin provides an insightful look into the rebirth of cities and a region that launched American leadership in the global economy.”<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></em><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">— </span>Dan Schwartz</span>, Publisher, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Asian Venture Capital Journal</em> (1993-2008) and author, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Future of Finance</em></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Silicon Heartland</em> is a fascinating and inspiring<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </em>read. Only Rebecca Fannin, with her venture background, China experience, and heartland roots, could uncover the amazing tech revolution occurring in the middle of America. Rebecca shines a light on how the next generation will transform the region by taking a page out of the Silicon Valley playbook.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> David Kaufman</span>, Director of Global Strategies, Nixon Peabody</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Silicon Heartland </em>shows how scrappy innovators are remaking the US economy and breathing life back into Rust Belt cities and impoverished rural communities. Fannin does a fantastic job providing both the data and case studies on how a new wave of entrepreneurs and technology are transforming America’s overlooked and under-funded regions.”<br /><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—</span> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Steve Hoffman</span>, Chairman and CEO, Founders Space</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Titillium, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-72776643137983554512022-04-23T09:07:00.001-07:002022-04-23T09:07:27.197-07:00"Mr. Metaverse" And His Web3 Bet Against Facebook<p><span style="color: #002f6c; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-transform: uppercase;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAEnTnFZOTpbBgTaY7Q_M7O52WHiZ_mcvW5dVuelMbqRp0_zjBaAXia4ZmWKBAcdwoVcv3J4U386eOrPegwtOaU05iFFGuJaftnsPQi2dArdRZ497s3nVwkvmEm8A47JmKmgERF1NUflambuiXR-cWrEm6mEgj5_YeyUP0b-xKVjby9hF1HGAJe6itw/s400/Yat%20Siu%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAEnTnFZOTpbBgTaY7Q_M7O52WHiZ_mcvW5dVuelMbqRp0_zjBaAXia4ZmWKBAcdwoVcv3J4U386eOrPegwtOaU05iFFGuJaftnsPQi2dArdRZ497s3nVwkvmEm8A47JmKmgERF1NUflambuiXR-cWrEm6mEgj5_YeyUP0b-xKVjby9hF1HGAJe6itw/w200-h200/Yat%20Siu%20(2).jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />KEY POINTS<p></p><div class="RenderKeyPoints-list" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.375; max-width: 83.3333%; min-width: 83.3333%;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="group" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.66; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Yat Siu, executive chairman of Hong Kong-based metaverse start-up Animoca Brands, says that as new technology worlds are being built around the Web 3 idea, the biggest threat isn’t regulation but companies like Facebook and Tencent.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Animoca is valued at over $5 billion, turned profitable in 2021, has over $15 billion in digital asset and token reserves, and is raising another $150 million this month.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">The college drop-out who was born and raised in Vienna as the only child of professional musicians discovered at an early age an affinity for computers, which led to a job at Atari, founding his internet service provider at the age of 20, and selling a previous start-up to IBM.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/14/mr-metaverse-on-why-hes-placing-a-web3-bet-against-mark-zuckerberg.html">Read more at CNBC</a>, by correspondent Rebecca Fannin </li></ul></div></div></div>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-54938616586645707422022-03-17T08:41:00.001-07:002022-03-17T08:41:32.733-07:00The Silicon Valley fallout from waging economic war against Russia<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkCY2tJHk5kpDXPZFVKtymLHQsCfPT41_-TQzFJmCxoHC5hSWbBbNtltrTAt0jtQP_5gMLzfdm3Y_Vk94yOQtktnKmhmQBa8Cwif-0Lky99cOAZwD3y14Cs9zxN3iYHgGiWVfin9W49rRE6hg7Qd_wv75C2sn683_-3A0B5oFaEdVEh5k2qYdMvaHqbQ=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkCY2tJHk5kpDXPZFVKtymLHQsCfPT41_-TQzFJmCxoHC5hSWbBbNtltrTAt0jtQP_5gMLzfdm3Y_Vk94yOQtktnKmhmQBa8Cwif-0Lky99cOAZwD3y14Cs9zxN3iYHgGiWVfin9W49rRE6hg7Qd_wv75C2sn683_-3A0B5oFaEdVEh5k2qYdMvaHqbQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: #171717; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Russian politicians and tech leaders started coming to Silicon Valley more than a decade ago to build high-tech bridges but since the Crimea annexation in 2014, venture capital deal-making within the U.S. involving Russia has been declining.</span><p></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Still U.S.-based and global VC firms face issues with investments made over the past decade alongside Russian firms and individuals.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Russia has been angling to make its own Silicon Valley with the Skolkovo Technopark outside Moscow, but now-ended relationships with tech investors and universities including MIT were important.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Photo: Rebecca Fannin at Moscow's tech park Skolkovo in 2018 to speak at an innovation conference</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">See <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/17/the-silicon-valley-fallout-from-waging-economic-war-against-russia.html">CNBC article on Russia</a> by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/rebecca-fannin/">Rebecca Fannin</a></li></ul>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-10370031312424028432022-03-17T08:37:00.001-07:002022-03-17T08:37:38.506-07:00The 30-year-old female founder at the forefront of a billion-dollar bet on CRISPR gene editing<p><span style="color: #171717; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwQEbEtfrRMT1nVjY4xGUHmaRr6t7XKyxqlMWQl8oVMxY8UTjGoOxqDC2W4nivPb3CCQUR3NWnFUqRYVF3iVCyKx7tFNrA30DpdoKwus_B9mdr1M7O_fx7yU75kEZEFaotxCqBej77gu9hrY8sZV-4SQvuDz-Lq1UsLc3XzJYvAadq2N09NvCqQUPsWQ=s630" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="630" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwQEbEtfrRMT1nVjY4xGUHmaRr6t7XKyxqlMWQl8oVMxY8UTjGoOxqDC2W4nivPb3CCQUR3NWnFUqRYVF3iVCyKx7tFNrA30DpdoKwus_B9mdr1M7O_fx7yU75kEZEFaotxCqBej77gu9hrY8sZV-4SQvuDz-Lq1UsLc3XzJYvAadq2N09NvCqQUPsWQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna is the most well-known co-founder of CRISPR start-up Mammoth Biosciences, but Janice Chen, the sister of U.S. figure skating champion Nathan Chen, is also one of its four co-founders and the chief technology officer.<p></p><div class="RenderKeyPoints-list" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.375; max-width: 83.3333%; min-width: 83.3333%;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="group" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.66; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Mammoth has added $100 million in big pharma contracts and government grants since the pandemic began, quadrupled its employee count and is still hiring, and saw its valuation rise to $1 billion in a venture deal featuring Amazon and Apple’s Tim Cook.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Chen has her sights set on reaching a $100 billion valuation as an independent company.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">See <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/12/30-year-old-female-founders-billion-dollar-bet-on-crispr-gene-editing.html">CNBC article on CRISPR startup</a> by <br /><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/rebecca-fannin/">Rebecca Fannin</a></li></ul></div></div></div>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-41689285717705932792022-03-17T08:34:00.001-07:002022-03-17T08:34:26.547-07:00Next to the last steel mill in town, a robotic farm grows backed by Pritzker billions<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifSmQFvuHkU13JWhfo4fz861TyBSJlYP0pBFS3fklIZwAFVOLs_Rsc8xObQwL1u066qnRyrqNqCsHPaFoFsJhCzyZUfHy8g52eavxOc0-061zgbYnB8vk2Pry7i3xhKyNky_td8c87OhoK_y1suf0raoGVuYlbhFioJSqQij6fQ1y7ou2afdgiKvwo0Q=s3600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifSmQFvuHkU13JWhfo4fz861TyBSJlYP0pBFS3fklIZwAFVOLs_Rsc8xObQwL1u066qnRyrqNqCsHPaFoFsJhCzyZUfHy8g52eavxOc0-061zgbYnB8vk2Pry7i3xhKyNky_td8c87OhoK_y1suf0raoGVuYlbhFioJSqQij6fQ1y7ou2afdgiKvwo0Q=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #002f6c; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-transform: uppercase;">KEY POINTS</span><p></p><div class="RenderKeyPoints-list" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.375; max-width: 83.3333%; min-width: 83.3333%;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="group" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.66; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Currently less than 1% of fresh produce is grown through hydroponics systems versus open-field agriculture, but this segment is forecast by Mordor Intelligence to grow by nearly 11% yearly to about $600 million by 2025 and Walmart has invested $400 million in Plenty Unlimited.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">Vertical farming start-up Fifth Season is backed by billionaire Nicholas Pritzker’s Tao Capital and planning to disrupt the $60 billion U.S. produce market through food partners include Sabra, Kroger, Shoprite and Giant Eagle.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">“The tech multiplier doesn’t lift all boats but it is spreading in the heartland,” says Congressman Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171717; display: block; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px -20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 18px; position: relative;">See <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/05/pittsburgh-robot-farm-business-of-future-backed-by-pritzker-billions.html">CNBC article on Pittsburgh</a> startup Fifth Season <br />by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/rebecca-fannin/">Rebecca Fannin</a></li></ul></div></div></div>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-68131498433190486682022-02-13T10:21:00.003-08:002022-02-13T10:24:46.419-08:00Endless Frontiers Can Move the US of A Forward and Compete with China<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXfOMd4YiLXDHqeVHRiWIJsKmEe6xW1bEBIKWVkE1_G5oADMPUsuas0Xam9pjvaQphWV0BO9bQWBSmgHBw1jlmg2ZA6UCBUNl54fWzlHupmCJrtrpXuX9dxKDZUNt8Tmgd_x498Vw55rzRmEzWyNN7IfOoVVcWsgQP4fkLa69SO2_Z_FU1PkW4Wyjh3Q=s2662" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2662" data-original-width="1294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXfOMd4YiLXDHqeVHRiWIJsKmEe6xW1bEBIKWVkE1_G5oADMPUsuas0Xam9pjvaQphWV0BO9bQWBSmgHBw1jlmg2ZA6UCBUNl54fWzlHupmCJrtrpXuX9dxKDZUNt8Tmgd_x498Vw55rzRmEzWyNN7IfOoVVcWsgQP4fkLa69SO2_Z_FU1PkW4Wyjh3Q=w157-h320" width="157" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Predictions that China could win the superpower tech race were once considered ludicrous. Now the U.S. is fighting this increasing threat by reinvigorating the U.S. innovation economy with a massive federal agenda to spur the growth of new technologies, startups, and regional innovation hubs. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">China has advanced swiftly in artificial intelligence,
5G communications, electric vehicles, robotics, and other futuristic technologies.
Having dominated China’s markets while Facebook, LinkedIn and Google were blocked,
Chinese companies also have invested heavily in Southeast Asia and Africa,
while Alibaba, Tencent and other tech titans were penetrating Hollywood,
Silicon Valley and the Rust Belt before regulatory crackdowns largely halted
those deals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Anyone who has traveled to China knows or seen the televised
Olympics sees the stark comparison with America’s decaying bridges, highways,
rails, and airports. China is building for the coming decades. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">China’s swift catch-up to the U.S. in high-tech innovation
and R&D is remarkable. <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2020/article_0005.html">China has
surpassed the U.S. in patent filings globally</a></span>, and is gaining on the
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20201/global-r-d"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>U.S. lead in <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">research and development</span></a></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Titans-China-challenging-innovating-ebook/dp/B07MJ5Y7B4">China’s
venture capital </a>market</span> has surged to become the world’s
second-largest, and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Titans-China-challenging-innovating-ebook/dp/B07MJ5Y7B4">nearly
surpassed the U.S. in 2018</a></span>. China’s ByteDance, the maker of <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/unicorn-startup-market-map/">TikTok,
is the world’s most valuable venture-backed unicorn</a></span>, worth $140
billion. Meanwhile, America’s share of <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NVCA-2021-Yearbook.pdf">global
VC spending has fallen to about half from more than 90 percent in the 1990s.</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">To rebuild and retain America’s technology leadership will
take turbo-charging emerging startup ecosystems throughout the country, from the
Heartland region as well as the dominant coastal cities. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">New tech hubs that have
sprung up in the midlands such as in Columbus are a starting point in transitioning
Middle America’s once-dominant economies from industries of the past to
tomorrow’s growth engines. But more support is still needed for many former
steel towns, auto cities and coal mining lands that are struggling to latch on
to the new digital economy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Legislation sweeping
through Congress ─ the America Competes Act and the U.S. Innovation and
Competition Act ─ rightly promises increased funding and resources that can
filter into overlooked inland markets. This effort can revitalize coal mining
regions of the Appalachians and the industrialized Great Lake states, and even create
Zoom towns in remote places. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">But federal spending can only go so far. To fully recover
from the Rust Belt days, more venture capital investment is needed for the
Heartland. </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NVCA-2021-Yearbook.pdf">Two-thirds
of VC spending nationwide</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> goes to startups in California, New York, and
Massachusetts. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only a fraction goes to
the midland states. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Increased venture spending in
mid-America can drive much-needed development in economic wastelands that still
suffer from poverty, drug addiction, lack of opportunities, and hopelessness.
This comprehensive approach to rebuild can help the U.S. counter China’s
technology innovation gains and restore confidence and pride. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Traditional jobs in factories
are not coming back. What’s needed to boost the former industrialized Midwest is
diversification from past industries that went overseas or were automated. This
drive forward needs to be accompanied by <span style="background: white; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">retraining of blue collar workers for higher-skilled jobs, an
increase in vocational education, and more mentors and role models to inspire tomorrow’s
tech entrepreneurs. W</span>ith the right resources, the former Rust Belt can
emerge as a Tech Belt. Entire business sectors from insurance to healthcare to transportation
can be impacted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Intel’s plans to invest $20
billion to build chip-making plants in central Ohio – alongside Google,
Facebook, and Amazon data centers ─ sends a strong signal that America is
building back. Other specialized t</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">ech-centric
innovation zones in former Rust Belt cities such as Pittsburgh and Cleveland are
gaining strength with technology startups. These </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">innovation clusters have developed in the toughest,
most unexpected places, out of necessity.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
I</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">n a Build
Back Better challenge initiated by the Department of Commerce, 50 finalists
made the cut, including advanced manufacturing hubs in Cleveland and Detroit,
information technology in Pittsburgh, and digital health in Louisville. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now, increased funding and resources from both the
public and private sector can further develop regional tech hubs in new MidAmerican
frontiers. To commercialize innovations from this frontier, it will take entire
communities, uniting universities, incubators, economic development organizations,
and R&D labs. This effort will reshape the digital divide in America,
leading to a Silicon Heartland in the center of the U.S. It will speed up the
adoption of new technologies. It will spread throughout overlooked regions that
missed the tech boom. It will fuel economic growth in still-struggling cities
of the Heartland. <br />
<br />
The beginnings of this revival are already here: biotech spin-outs from Cleveland
Clinic, robotics and autonomous driving breakthroughs from Carnegie Mellon
University, and advancements in 3D printing, additive manufacturing from the Youngstown
Business Incubator, and security technology in Dayton from the Air Force
Research Laboratory. <i>See photo of author standing in front of last steel mill in the Pittsburgh metro</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Developing innovation zones such as in Cincinnati are getting
on the bandwagon too, fostering entrepreneurship, and attracting more millennials
and Gen Z’ers who want to live and work there. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These
districts as tearing down or repurposing </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">abandoned
factories, dilapidated buildings and empty shopping malls. They can be turned
into massive tech parks like I’ve seen in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It’s urgent that America
acts now to maintain its global technology leadership. Building up innovation
hubs in the Heartland should be an important part of this rebuild effort. An
American prosperity requires that all pockets of America benefit. It’s time
that “flyover country” becomes known as “fly in country.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By Rebecca A. Fannin,
author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silicon Dragon</i> (2008) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tech Titans of China </i>(2019)<o:p></o:p></span></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-53813665030336359592022-01-24T10:43:00.001-08:002022-01-26T17:23:13.016-08:00Intel's Big Build-Out In My Home State of Ohio Spurs the Growth of a Silicon Heartland <p><span style="color: #0f1419;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBluuK96TZ3jzZyCgkFImn3mclXcOr8n3YlOCnKrzWelwPw-XCwEvxXSdO3P7dmUAAyTe3X_uVfS2UBciPza4fpOCwXHZMd6dl6JH8wEasUuj1Ku1Ap9nQLF8YAcCUG5jTBfjzSlf8l8HpQ6vV0dNp4AIWjoex6qF-G7bxu-FJ79lqqkloAGFcFI7C4A=s4950" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="4950" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBluuK96TZ3jzZyCgkFImn3mclXcOr8n3YlOCnKrzWelwPw-XCwEvxXSdO3P7dmUAAyTe3X_uVfS2UBciPza4fpOCwXHZMd6dl6JH8wEasUuj1Ku1Ap9nQLF8YAcCUG5jTBfjzSlf8l8HpQ6vV0dNp4AIWjoex6qF-G7bxu-FJ79lqqkloAGFcFI7C4A=w200-h133" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGMIWZE5gm7UeuUJITR6_Us2MuWGUR8kAmh8wdye0FZpsJLxpGdgY9DnnMW_kTdmd3rJ_mc6YUZdicIGWZHfRYyJ4lKvFPXNdh6bM2kUDAHebiYRb4glFExqxC8O6iuU8brsnSigVya03bSJvV25LtJx2WQqfowvvejX4GF-FkyL-lZ8DpoihA8mCL5g=s3240" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3240" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGMIWZE5gm7UeuUJITR6_Us2MuWGUR8kAmh8wdye0FZpsJLxpGdgY9DnnMW_kTdmd3rJ_mc6YUZdicIGWZHfRYyJ4lKvFPXNdh6bM2kUDAHebiYRb4glFExqxC8O6iuU8brsnSigVya03bSJvV25LtJx2WQqfowvvejX4GF-FkyL-lZ8DpoihA8mCL5g=w200-h133" width="200" /></a></span></div></div><span style="color: #0f1419;"><br />In a game changer, Intel is investing $20 billion on a new chip manufacturing hub on 1,000 acres near Columbus, the first semiconductor fab in the Midwest, and is hiring 3,000 employees. </span><p></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419;">The silicon chipmaker's bold investment will draw more high-tech employment to central Ohio and spur the development of a Silicon Valley in the Heartland. </span><span style="color: #0f1419;">Already, Google, Facebook and Amazon operate data centers here, in this New Albany rural suburb of Ohio's capital city. My hometown of Lancaster, just 30 miles southeast, has attracted Google too. </span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419;">These investments come as Silicon Valley continues to decentralize. With this move toward the interior of the U.S., t</span><span style="color: #0f1419;">he old images of Rust Belt and cow towns could fade fast. </span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419;">The emergence of America's Heartland as a tech center comes at a crucial time for the U.S. as it fights back China's rise, deals with supply chain shortages, and jobs lost to lower-cost centers in Asia and Mexico. <br /><br /><span style="color: black;">The arrival of Intel to the Midwest signals another Silicon territory, like Silicon Beach, Silicon Alley and Silicon Dragon. Call this Silicon Heartland.</span></span></p><p>Over the next decade, <span style="color: #0f1419;">Intel plans to spend as much as $100 billion in eight factories spanning 10,000 acres of farmland. The Silicon Valley-based giant also intends to partner with local universities to foster new talent. This build out will spur the growth of an already budding tech ecosystem in central Ohio. </span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419;">Heartland America has been eager to develop new jobs, and has looked to technology and startups as sources. Now budding tech centers are gaining momentum, feeding upon the region's strong universities and research centers, and digitization of traditional businesses in insurance, healthcare and manufacturing. </span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419;">A growing number of talented millennials have been drawn away from the coasts and into the center of the country. The attraction is increased job opportunities in more inland startups and emerging businesses. Other factors driving this trend are lower cost of living and the ability to work remotely. </span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419;">Columbus is in the forefront of Midwestern clusters that are forming far away from long dominant Silicon Valley. </span><span style="color: #0f1419;">CBus, as it's known, is emerging as the biggest of the once-sleepy giants. The population has surged 15 percent to nearly 900,000 over the past decade, the largest increase of any major Midwestern city. </span><span style="color: #0f1419;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: #0f1419;">The metro's tech cluster is fueled by the arrival of venture firm Drive Capital and its Silicon Valley style. Drive Capital, set up by two former Sequoia Capital partners from California, has invested in dozens of tech startups in 10 years, and is building businesses for the future from healthcare to insurance to robotics. </span><span style="color: #0f1419;">Further sparks come from spinouts at Ohio State University, startup studios Rev1 Ventures and Converge Ventures, and inventions at world-leading research outfit Battelle Memorial Institute, creator of vehicle cruise control and the bar code. </span></p><p>Ohio Governor Mike DeWine -- and other Midwestern states -- have been angling for a chunk of this new distributed Silicon Valley. The Buckeye state has allocated billions to develop urban innovation districts in Columbus as well as Cincinnati and Cleveland. The goal? Create thousands of jobs in high-tech, healthcare and smart manufacturing, and educate students in science and technology fields. Now, this Intel facility is touted as the single, largest investment in the state's history, and boosts Ohio's economy that suffered when the steel mills and auto factories left. </p><p>The San Francisco Bay Area continues to be the epicenter of venture capital, attracting half of VC spending nationwide. But the sands are shifting. Investment in Silicon Valley startups recently declined to below 30 percent nationwide for the first time in 10 years. Meanwhile, venture deals in the Midwest have quadrupled over the past decade. </p><p>Unicorn-valued startups, high-ticket acquisitions, and IPOs have popped up in Columbus as well as tech clusters in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Detroit. Each city leverages its strengths in technology to specialize. For instance, Pittsburgh is a hub for autonomous driving. Indianapolis is strong in software as a service. Detroit is into advanced manufacturing and electric vehicles. </p><p>Over the past 50 years, Silicon Valley saw its orchards transformed into high-tech parks. Now, central Ohio is starting to see its fertile pastures changed to data-driven centers. It will take some time for the culture to change for more of a risk-taking nature that is common in the Valley. As an early spotter of major tech innovation trends such as in China with Silicon Dragon, I'm convinced that a Silicon Heartland will show its power. </p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-71801786067379607152021-06-14T14:05:00.005-07:002021-06-14T14:10:55.284-07:00Endless Frontiers Can Combat China's Tech Rise<p> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdGBCnfS4Fk/YMfEQS37vUI/AAAAAAAABu0/HREvdrQukoEfmcI6TGK-EnPbAcEJ6gUYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s578/sand%2Bhill%2Broad%2Bcropped.jpg" style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="578" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdGBCnfS4Fk/YMfEQS37vUI/AAAAAAAABu0/HREvdrQukoEfmcI6TGK-EnPbAcEJ6gUYQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h145/sand%2Bhill%2Broad%2Bcropped.jpg" width="200" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Twelve years ago, my book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silicon
Dragon</i> cautioned that China could win the tech race. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Now the U.S. has finally woken up to this threat. The U.S. is moving in the right direction with the largest national increase in science, technology and manufacturing in generations. It's a build back better plan, and with European allies coming aboard, this bold plan counters China's Belt and Road initiative and five-year economic plans. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">China has been gaining on the U.S. for years. State-led
blueprints have advanced China as a powerful innovation nation in important
world-changing tech sectors. The Chinese have moved from copying innovations in
the West to crafting their own inventions. Leading edge technologies for
electric vehicles, smart phones, robotics, biotech, finance, retail and more have
been adopted very swiftly in China’s digitally savvy market. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Chinese tech titans Baidu, ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent
have emerged as powerful counterweights to Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and
Google, which have struggled or been blocked in China. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>China’s BAT, as they’re called, have
out-innovated the West in many game-changing consumer and business technologies
that rely on artificial intelligence. They’ve bulked up internationally too,
investing heavily in Southeast Asia and Africa, and previously in America’s
Silicon Valleys before a U.S. crackdown on foreign (read China) ownership of
sensitive technologies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, China
has been pumping money into building its semiconductor capabilities. The
world’s second-largest economy has its own ambitions for space technology and
quantum computing too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">And as anyone who has traveled to China knows, the country’s
modern infrastructure beats our nation’s decaying bridges, highways and
airports. There is no Rust Belt in China like our abandoned factories and
depleted downtowns in Middle America. China was starting from scratch. No need
to rebuild former industrial cities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just build for the future is what China has been doing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Several worrisome indicators point to a shift in power. China
surpassed the U.S. in 2019 in the number of patent applications to the World
Intellectual Property Organization, and increased that lead in 2020 to a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">25 percent
share globally, bypassing the U.S. at 21.5 percent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, China is catching up to the U.S. lead
in global research and development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
U.S. has a 25 percent share of global R&D spending while the PRC weighs in
with 23 percent and growing strongly, according to the National Science Board. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The National Venture Capital Association finds
that </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">America’s share of
global venture dollars has dropped from 83 percent in 2004 to 51 percent today,
with China as the biggest gainer. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">China’s ByteDance, the maker of
TikTok, is the world’s most valued unicorn at $140 billion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">By passing the Endless Frontier Act, the government will fund
cutting-edge science to combat China’s increasing challenge to America’s
technology prowess. More U.S. technology innovation will be commercialized to
retain our </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">global leadership well into the
mid-century. The $250 billion bill increases investment in critical scientific
and tech fields, funds R&D and manufacturing of key technologies, and
creates 10 regional technology hubs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">With this urgently needed funding, the middle of the country could
recover from a long downward spiral of lost jobs. A growing number of inland
innovation districts stand to prosper. Specialized strongholds such as biotech
in Cleveland and robotics in Pittsburgh already have emerged with state funding
and local resources such as the Cleveland Clinic and Carnegie Mellon University.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">More national funding and venture capital investment is needed
to boost our Heartland markets. Two-thirds of startup investing goes to three
coastal states (California, New York and Boston). Meanwhile, seven core states
of the Rest Belt and Great Lakes capture only about six percent of venture
spending nationwide. This gap needs to be closed. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The well-named Endless
Frontier Act will send more resources to down-and-out places that need support the
most. It will help the USA reclaim its might. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI";">As
I pointed out in my pivotal book in 2008, whoever wins the race to the
technologies of the future will be the global economic leader.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI";">By
Rebecca A. Fannin the author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Dragon-China-Winning-Tech/dp/0071494472">Silicon Dragon</a></i> (2008) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Titans-China-challenging-innovating-ebook/dp/B07MJ5Y7B4">Tech Titans of China</a></i> (2019). <o:p></o:p></span></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-40034213894022029112021-05-11T11:13:00.003-07:002021-05-11T11:17:41.448-07:00Ask A VC in US-China Tech Cross-currents: Wei Jiang, CatchLight Capital<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TqXh0Dz5qOY/YJrH89EMwFI/AAAAAAAABtQ/Q9RWaEiQwswiEzCWwy8_EGEkGdfyEK-uACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Wei%2BJiang%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TqXh0Dz5qOY/YJrH89EMwFI/AAAAAAAABtQ/Q9RWaEiQwswiEzCWwy8_EGEkGdfyEK-uACLcBGAsYHQ/w150-h200/Wei%2BJiang%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />For this 32<sup>nd</sup> episode
of <i>Ask a VC Anything</i>, our featured guest was CatchLight Capital Partners
founding partner, Wei Jiang. In this wide-ranging discussion with Silicon
Dragon’s Rebecca Fannin, we covered the early days of Alibaba and Ebay in China,
Wei’s insights into the growing tech rift between the U.S. and China, and how
CatchLight is in the thick of U.S.-China tech investing. <br />See <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCivoMQKu8">video replay</a> of our April 28, 2021 show. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span>Laying the Ground<br /></b>Tighter restrictions on foreign investment
in the U.S. led to the creation of CatchLight. As a start, the firm absorbed 12
tech startups in the U.S. portfolio of Chinese VC firm ZhenFund, which is no
longer actively investing in America. CatchLight also has raised a fund to invest in
emerging technology companies in the U.S., and those Chinese-invested U.S.
companies impacted by the regulations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>U.S.-China Cross-currents<br /></b>CatchLight’s new fund primarily handles
secondary transactions, delving into restructuring cap tables for portfolios
with Chinese venture investors. This should keep him plenty busy. Wei noted that the Rhodium Group estimates that
close to 3000 U.S. tech startups have Chinese investors, and the technology
sector represents the lion’s share of investment in the U.S. from Chinese
funds. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><b>Focal points<br /></b></span>CatchLight
typically acquires assets in a bundle but also does primary investments. Having
raised an initial $30 million fund, Wei is targeting investment in U.S.
companies, primarily those that can leverage his social capital and experience
in China. He doesn’t expect to invest in China. Wei predicts more restrictions will
be coming for Chinese venture investors in the U.S.<b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><b>Big Successes and Hot Areas<br /></b></span>Wei has one unicorn in his
portfolio, and he says two are on the way. One of CatchLight’s stand-out investments is
Dandelion Energy, a fast-scaling U.S. home geothermal energy startup that
provides heating and cooling as an alternative. Wei drilled deep into what will be the
hottest sectors in the coming years: traditional ecommerce as well as newer social,
community, and neighborhood ecommerce. Other areas are education, social,
mobile payments, and short form videos.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>eBay v. Alibaba - 2000’s<br /></b>When Wei was VP of Category Management
at eBay from 2004-2006, eBay was the giant with a hefty amount of capital and
Alibaba was small and nimble. Alibaba ultimately won the market, while eBay
stumbled. Wei notes that US companies have gained experience in the Chinese
market, and pointed to Uber and Airbnb as examples of China launches with fewer
errors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Bio:</span></b> <br />Wei is an early-stage venture
partner in Silicon Valley. He has built successful startups in both Silicon
Valley and China. Wei has held senior executive positions at leading technology
companies including Google, eBay, Intuit, and GE.<br />His venture fund, CatchLight
Capital Partners, is focused on cross-border investment opportunities in tech
startups. One of its specialties is to restructure companies’ cap tables to
avoid compliance issues.<br />In mid-2019, he founded Momentor
Ventures, an early-stage fund helping entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley and
beyond, with a focus on cross-border advising and connecting Xooglers and
Stanford grads.<br />Previously, Wei was a venture
partner at ZhenFund for three years until the end of 2019. From 2010-2016, he
was also a CMO at Google China.<br />Wei has a BA in Information
Systems from Peking University, his MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate
School of Business Administration, and his MS in Medical Statics from
University of Rochester. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Contributed by Mike
Weiss<o:p></o:p></i></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-16793509642392288752021-04-19T16:40:00.005-07:002021-04-21T11:37:29.449-07:00Silicon Global Online: Ask A VC: Candice Brackeen, Lightship Capital<p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PaehQacWVc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="1178" height="160" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_xlWopZvVDM/YH4UGT7xPlI/AAAAAAAABs0/Ci3ECL8AS7UhmJeP6a10ESH2H9iCalqjgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>For this 31<sup>st</sup> episode of <i>Ask a VC Anything</i>,
our featured guest was <b>Lightship Capital</b> founder and General Partner, Candice
Brackeen. In this conversation with Silicon Dragon’s Rebecca Fannin, we covered
Lightship’s selection process and successes, why she made her fund so
inclusive, and if the rust belt cities can transition to tech. Here's the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PaehQacWVc">video replay</a> of the show with Candice. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Selection Process<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lightship Capital has an inbound and an outbound strategy.
For the inbound, everybody comes to Lightship Capital, including their website
and online show, Twitch Pitch. On the outbound side, Lightship is sourcing
deals with co-investment partners. The firm also has accelerators in Detroit,
Cincinnati, and Tulsa. Lightship is a seed and Series A fund and is usually
looking for companies approaching $100,000 in monthly revenue. Brackeen notes
that for industries like AI, that revenue number is less attainable for a seed
investment. It is most relevant in sectors like consumer-packaged goods where
proving the model is easier.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Lightship’s Winners<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b>Brackeen was proud to talk about
some of her winners. She referenced Healthy Roots Dolls, a startup that helps
young black girls better love their hair. They recently sold out on Target.com.
Then there’s Proov, a progesterone ovulation test, the first urine diagnostic
test for women to test for progesterone levels when struggling with fertility.
Proov got FDA approval last year. After starting out in only select Target
stores, the company is now launching nationwide. Another one of Lightship’s
successes is Kare Mobile, a mobile dentistry company. They were just one van
when they went through Lightship’s programming in Cincinnati. Kare is now in
ten markets around the country and looking to expand. Kare Mobile is doing a pilot in Detroit right now with Ford Motor Company
and Delta Dental giving away a $150,000 mobile dentistry van to an up-and-coming
dentist in the area!<b> </b>Brackeen’s last example of investment
successes is Haute Hijab, America’s only hijab company for modest dressing
Muslim women.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Diverse Fund<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although Brackeen is a Black VC, she is not only looking for
black founders. She notes that although around 85% of the U.S. is not white
men, that’s where most of the funding has gone. She feels confident that by
focusing on this 85%, she is in a good position. Brackeen is looking to fund women,
people of color, and many other historically underserved groups. Brackeen says
she believes we will start seeing more women and people of color closing
significantly larger and larger funds. She thinks over the next 10-20 years,
these diverse funds will be the ones that are innovating and leading the way,
and the ones that don’t diversify will get left behind.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Problems with Storytelling<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the biggest problems in
the Midwest, according to Brackeen, is with bragging about their successes. She’s
convinced that midwestern states can attract talent and investment just like
the coasts, but she notes that entrepreneurs from smaller inland cities need to
be taught to tell their story effectively and to dream big.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Cincinnati, Brackeen’s Silicon
Valley<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Brackeen grew up in the
economically depressed Toledo, Ohio. She describes the wonder of seeing the
skyline and professional sports teams of Cincinnati in contrast with her
hometown. So for her, on a relative basis, she calls Cincinnati her San Francisco.
Brackeen notes that big-time innovation is happening in the city. Look no
further than Procter & Gamble, as well as Kroger. Just because these aren’t
B2B SaaS companies, doesn’t mean big things aren’t happening. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Bio:</span></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Candice Brackeen and her husband, Brian Brackeen, run
Cincinnati-based Lightship Capital, a rare venture-capital firm managed by
black partners. Lightship has just raised a $50 million fund to invest in
minority-led founders in the Midwest and has backed eight startups. Brackeen previously ran the Hillman Accelerator, coaching
and mentoring founders, and earlier in her career, she founded her own tech
startup in the Heartland. While the venture capital industry is competing to get into
hot deals in Silicon Valley, she is convinced that good returns are coming in
overlooked businesses outside the mainstream. Brackeen has a BA in Economics from the University of
Cincinnati.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>-- Summarized by Silicon Dragon contributor Mike Weiss</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-25776583162559634422021-03-22T09:21:00.001-07:002021-03-22T09:21:25.967-07:00Silicon Global Online: Ask Cap'n Hoff About Surviving A Startup<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZTxHNbHgeI/YFjDk_33FaI/AAAAAAAABsM/ExF8fgMPcx0ch8i5VyaR66d2yICsmBNtACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Steve%2BHoffman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="113" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZTxHNbHgeI/YFjDk_33FaI/AAAAAAAABsM/ExF8fgMPcx0ch8i5VyaR66d2yICsmBNtACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h113/Steve%2BHoffman.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br />For this 29<sup>th</sup> episode of <i>Ask a VC Anything</i>, our
featured guest was Founders Space founder and CEO Steve Hoffman (Capt’n Hoff).
In this discussion with Silicon Dragon’s Rebecca Fannin, we covered Hoffman’s
constantly changing career path, his views on bootstrapping and giving away
equity, and how the largely global business at Founders Space has adapted to
Covid-19. See <a href="https://youtu.be/7CWe2uSy69g">Silicon Dragon video</a> of the show with Steve and Rebecca.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: times;">What Thrills Capt'n Hoff?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;">Hoffman has been an angel investor, an LP, serial entrepreneur,
game developer, author, and a TV executive before creating Founders Space. He
notes, “I’ve had more careers than cats have lives,” but of all of his
experiences, he is most passionate about what he’s doing right now. Hoffman is
the CEO of Founders Space, a global startup incubator and accelerator with over
50 partners in 22 countries. Before Covid-19, Hoffman was travelling 70% of the
time, between countries, and he actually narrowly missed being in Wuhan for a
book signing where the original outbreak of Covid-19 happened.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times;">He is an early-stage investor, so companies that he invests in
sometimes don’t have revenue, or even users. He puts a large emphasis on the
team. Smart people that are open to ideas and exploration will make up a great
team. Hoffman is based in Silicon Valley, and Founders Space has five
incubators in China.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times;">What’s Hot in China</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times;">Hoffman mostly invests in software because it’s easier to scale,
retain customers, and monetize. Sometimes they’ll invest in hardware with a
strong software complement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hoffman continues
to be impressed by everything eCommerce and social related coming out of China.
Citing the growing buying power of the middle class, established companies like
Alibaba, TikTok, WeChat (Tencent), and Pinduoduo are on the cutting edge of
their respective industries with massive potential for years to come. Hoffman
also notes that cleantech is well-backed by the Chinese government. He adds
that it might be easier to be a startup in the industry under the new Biden
administration than the previous one. Hoffman remains positive on China in
almost every tech sector.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times;">Still Bullish on Silicon Valley</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times;">Positive views about Silicon Valley remaining the gold standard of
tech hubs has been waning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Hoffman doesn’t
see its status at the top of the food chain changing any time soon. “People
like to be in proximity to other people with ideas, and money, and with talent.
They have an abundance of that in Silicon Valley now.” He does list Austin,
Miami, New York, and Boston as up-and-coming tech hubs, each with their own
specialties. Hoffman notes, “the reason cities are big is because ambitious
people tend to gravitate towards the geographic place where they can maximize
their opportunity.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b>Bootstrapping<br /></b>With the rough estimate that 95% of startups will fail, Hoffman
urges entrepreneurs to think twice about taking money from friends or family. Hoffman
also warns to take the hints from the market, “if one of these educated angels
will not give you money, there’s something wrong with your business”. If you
are going to bootstrap, make sure it can be done with a small team of people,
and just their time and talent. Although it isn’t the most common, successes
like Mailchimp and Salesforce were bootstrapped startups in the beginning.
Hoffman also bootstrapped his first startup. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Equity<br /></b>Hoffman acknowledges that the way equity in a company is handled
differs depending on where you are in the world. For example, in China, it is
expected that the CEO and Chairman keep most of the equity. However, in the
U.S., there is a much larger percent of equity given to investors and
employees. Hoffman feels strongly that, “whatever culture you’re in, you need
to reward people in relationship to their expectations, if you want to retain
them.” He believes that one employee can be worth, two, three or even five
times a mediocre one! If you have someone that you know is that good, pay up to
keep them. Sometimes that means giving them equity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Bio</b>:<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Steven Hoffman, or Capt’n Hoff as
he's called in Silicon Valley, is the chairman and CEO of Founders Space
(FoundersSpace.com), one of the world's leading incubators and accelerators.
He’s also an angel investor, limited partner at August Capital, serial
entrepreneur, and author of several entrepreneurial books, including his
upcoming title,</span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"> Surviving
A Startup</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">.<br /></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">A former Hollywood TV development
executive and founder of two venture-backed gaming and entertainment apps in
Silicon Valley, Hoffman went on to launch Founders Space, with the mission to
educate and accelerate entrepreneurs. Founders Space has become one of the top
startup accelerators in the world, training startup founders and corporate
executives in the art of innovation.</span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.533333px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: times;">Hoffman has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Computer Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara as well as a master’s degree in Cinema Television from University of Southern California.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>by Silicon Dragon contributor Mike Weiss</i></span></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-79896747513508243842021-03-01T10:04:00.007-08:002021-03-01T10:21:52.393-08:00Silicon Dragon Global Online: Ask NLVCs Anything! <p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oOQk0W6kqdc/YD0sKWca6hI/AAAAAAAABr0/gsER_ZSwsx8Bec8HxoPH_95Kt4fsKUMLACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jeffrey%2Bon%2BZoom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oOQk0W6kqdc/YD0sKWca6hI/AAAAAAAABr0/gsER_ZSwsx8Bec8HxoPH_95Kt4fsKUMLACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Jeffrey%2Bon%2BZoom.jpg" /></a></div><br />For this 28<sup>th</sup> episode of <i>Ask a VC Anything</i>,
our featured guests were VCs <b>Jeffrey Lee </b>and <b>Fiona Yu</b>, both with <b>Northern Light
Venture Capital</b> (NLVC).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a wide-ranging
conversation with Silicon Dragon’s <b>Rebecca Fannin</b>, we honed in on NLVC’s investment
approach, its successful portfolio companies in China and Korea, and the firm’s
focus on healthcare investing, particularly in China. We also covered how Covid
is impacting the VC firm’s dealflow. <br />See Silicon Dragon channel on <a href="https://youtu.be/-uNRbJJ14TI">YouTube</a> for a replay of the session. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p>An Entrepreneur’s VC<br /></b>“We are super passionate about early-stage, we don’t fear
the lack of revenue, we don’t fear the lack of incorporation,” said Lee, during
our fireside chat, outlining NLVC’s investment focus. “You really want to be
the people behind the stars, the stars are the entrepreneurs,” he added,
echoing another plank of the firm’s strategy, shaped initially by NLVC founder
Feng Deng. <br />As an example, one of the firm’s top deals was China’s group buying superapp Meituan.
Founded by CEO Wang Xing, Meituan jumped in as the 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup>
player to capitalize on China’s group-buying craze. It was a fourth startup for
Xing, who was known as the cloner of other Internet business ideas.<br />Lee chronicles that at times, NLVC didn’t know if Meituan would make it to
their next stage. But today, in a sign of what’s possible in China tech and
venture, Meituan is a public company trading for more than $250 billion.<br />Background on Meituan and its founder can be found in
Rebecca Fannin’s book, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Titans-China-challenging-innovating-ebook/dp/B07MJ5Y7B4">Tech
Titans of China</a></i></span>. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Hot Healthcare In China<br /></b>Seeing exciting trends in China healthcare, NLVC began enhancing
its healthcare investment in the sector five years ago. One-third of the firm’s
portfolio deals are in healthcare. Across the firm’s 30 medtech portfolio
companies, only 20 percent have FDA approval. To partner Yu based in Shanghai, this
signals that investors in China are up to taking more risk on early-stage
healthcare investments. While the firm typically avoids deals that involve such
controversial issues as personal data collection and genomics, the NLVC
partners both view the China/Hong Kong healthcare market, and overall economies,
as stronger than that of the U.S. right now.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Post 90s Deals<br /></b>The firm is keen on investments in deals positioned for the “Post 90s,” referring to an urban generation born between 1990 and
1999. In a rundown of post 90s online shopping leaders in China, Yu noted: Alibaba is
still the biggest engine to buy things, JD is the biggest for grocery, while Kuaishou, a Chinese equivalent to TikTok, offers a buying option on a social
media platform.<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Korea Tech</b><br />The VC firm’s Korean portfolio company Picky is an example of a post 90s
generation play. Jumping on the mega-trend of K-Beauty, Picky
is a mobile-first content platform providing customers with authentic
information in the $250 billion global beauty space.<br />To capitalize on the growing opportunity in Korean tech, the firm is looking to raise a Korea-specific fund. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Groundbreaker Female VC<br /></b>Yu is NLVC’s first female investment partner. She has overseen
16 deals over the past seven years, stemming from her start as an intern, to an
associate, all the way to her newly minted partner title. Although China is
regarded as having more female VC’s on average than the U.S., Yu is aware of
the impact she can make on the industry, particularly considering her expertise
in healthcare investing in China.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Dealflow: In Person Meetings Still Count<br /></b>With the adoption of Zoom, Lee points out that it’s now
easier for the firm to get initial and follow-on meetings from referrals. Yu
remarks that China entrepreneurs and VC’s have had to get extra comfortable
conducting business over WeChat and Zoom, but she notes that China’s quicker
response to Covid-19 leaves open the possibility for in-person meetings. She
believes that face-to-face meetings cannot be completely replaced with Zoom
calls.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The pandemic caused several portfolio companies to pivot. An
example within NLVC’s portfolio is Coyote, which is focused on breakthrough
innovations in molecular diagnostics that brings complex clinical testing
directly to the patient. Coyote created 30-minute point-of-contact Covid-19
tests with equipment the size of a carry-on bag. The tests were accessible at
airports, hotels, and other public places to quickly test large numbers of
people.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bios:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Jeffrey Lee</b> has
been involved in technology venture capital and entrepreneurship for 20 years
with a primary focus on North Asia. He is a Managing Director at Northern Light
Venture Capital, an early-stage technology fund focusing on opportunities in
China, which he co-founded in 2005 with Feng Dent. At NLVC, Jeffrey chairs the investment
committee and oversees strategic planning, investor relations, and value-add
activities for the portfolio.<br />Previously, Jeffrey worked in strategic and product
marketing at Agilent Technologies Wireless Semiconductor Division, the
predecessor of Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ: AVGO), working on front-end RF
components for high-speed wireless networks. This opportunity stemmed from running
business development at Wavics Inc., a venture-backed startup developing
advanced GaAs wireless components that was acquired by Agilent.<br />Earlier in his career, Jeff co-founded an early-stage
venture fund focused on South Korea, Newton Technology Partners. Jeff began his
career in TMT corporate advisory at Salomon Smith Barney and Jardine Fleming, a
Hong Kong-UK based merchant bank.<br />Jeffrey received an AB in economics from Harvard University
and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fiona Yu</b> joined
Northern Light Venture Capital in 2014, bringing her 10-plus years of experience
and understanding of the healthcare industry, as well as strategic consulting
skill set to the firm. Prior to NLVC, Fiona worked for Johnson & Johnson
for more than seven years. She also worked in Monitor Deloitte, serving local
and multi-national healthcare companies on strategic consulting.<br />Fiona holds a BS degree from Beijing University of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, and an MBA from Duke University.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><i>Summarized by Silicon Dragon contributor Mike Weiss</i>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-27684772971767486732021-02-01T11:16:00.007-08:002021-02-01T11:25:21.816-08:00Silicon Dragon Global: Ask Tech Titan Brad Smith Anything! Lessons In Leadership<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o6pZVVY--JQ/YBhP7oysFaI/AAAAAAAABrA/AdjxvUd9AkYW6ilghxQs98Se1LGccGaMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s225/Brad%2BSmith.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o6pZVVY--JQ/YBhP7oysFaI/AAAAAAAABrA/AdjxvUd9AkYW6ilghxQs98Se1LGccGaMgCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/Brad%2BSmith.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">For this edition of <i>Ask a Tech Titan Anything</i>, our
featured guest was <b>Brad Smith</b>, executive chairman at <b>Intuit</b> and co-founder of
The Wing 2 Wing Foundation. Our conversation covered Smith’s
leadership principles for success, design
thinking, and his view of the
four disruptive technologies of the future.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Key Takeaways: Online conversation with Brad Smith and <b>Rebecca Fannin</b>, host
of Silicon Global Online, January 28, 2021. <br />See <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhlMEyGZkQo">video replay </a>here. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Leadership Principles<br /></b></span>Smith remarked that he has never written a line of code in his
life, but he has been successful as a company leader by setting a grand
challenge and creating a space for employees to do their best work. Here’s how Smith
defines leadership:</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ability</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Leadership is a learned trait,
everyone can be a leader.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Inspire</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> is about winning the heart. When
people are passionate about their work, they do amazing things for their
customers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Others</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> A leader’s orientation is not about themselves
but is in service to others in the organization.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Shared Objectives </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Think
about the greater good, not just things in a particular area or team. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="text"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="transcript-list-item" style="margin-right: 3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Design Thinking and Experimentation Culture</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">At Intuit, design thinking is taught to all 11,000 employees
through a formula called Design for Delight. On any given day, some 1,800
experiments are going on throughout Intuit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Design thinking is about learning by doing and eliminating the
false notion that you can research your way to a great business, he said,
pointing to its basic elements: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Deep customer empathy – It’s about direct
observation and analyzing data to get underneath the “why?” and to develop a
solution for customer problems. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Go broad to go narrow – Taken from the Toyota
system in Japan, come up with seven completely different ways to solve a
problem to eliminate “group think.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rapid experiments with real customers – Teams develop
a hypothesis with a measurable metric, create an experiment that can get to
market in 48 hours or less, and then come back with real data to determine if
their metric held up or not. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Down Time<br /></b></span>Smith highlighted an experimentation culture at Intuit. Modeled
after Google’s 20% policy, all Intuit employees are given 10% unstructured time
to run experiments for new problem-solving ideas. As CEO, Smith funded all
winning experiments for 90 days to get them to the next stage of their
business.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Four Disruptive
Technologies<br />
</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith sees four disruptive technologies that will
be catalysts for the future. He outlined the skills needed to succeed with
these technologies will be in cybersecurity, data privacy, and data stewardship
principles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>AI (machine learning,
knowledge engineering, and natural language processing)<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Biotechnology (pharmaceutical,
environmental, agriculture)<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Internet of Things and edge
computing<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>5G<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Digitization for All<br />
</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You don’t have to be an engineer to be a part of
the digital economy. Digitization will shape all companies into becoming
technology companies.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Almost Heaven<br /></b>“Everything I’ve ever been able to achieve is because of you,” Smith
remarked in talking about his home state of West Virginia. He also praised his
alma mater, Marshall University and its mantra, “We Are Marshall.” Smith is investing in his home state and in
the university to bring about an entrepreneurial culture. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Eyes on China<br /></b>Although Intuit isn’t in China as a company, Smith looks to China as
a source of inspiration for new ideas. He said China is producing results that
cannot be ignored and the U.S. needs to recognize what’s happening and use these
learnings to continue to make strides in innovation. A decade ago, in his
travels to Asia, Smith would see Silicon Valley ideas being replicated. Now in
Asia, especially in China, he sees design thinking being applied to create
their own big successes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">5 P’s</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Smith crystalized his learnings for leadership success:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="text"><b>Potential </b></span><span class="text"> – A manager coaches
performance. A leader inspires.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="text"><b>Purpose</b></span><span class="text"> – A
mission or shared goal gets everybody thinking about “looking out the
windshield instead of down at the dashboard."</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="text"><b>People</b></span><span class="text"> – Team
players are worth more than great players</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="text"><b>Playbook</b></span><span class="text"> – A
methodology or playbook is needed so everybody in the organization can be
taught it and be expected to apply it daily.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 3pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="text"><b>Pay it Forward </b></span><span class="text">– Take
what you found and leave it better than you found it, whether it’s your company
or your community.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bio:</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Brad D. Smith is Intuit's executive chairman and is chairman of Nordstorm's board of directors as well as a board director of SurveyMonkey. Smith led Intuit’s transformation from a North American desktop
software company to a global, cloud-based product and platform company</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">. During his 11 years
as Intuit’s CEO, he nearly doubled the company’s revenue and increased its
stock price more than 500% while Intuit received several awards for best places
to work. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">In 2018, he co-founded
The Wing 2 Wing Foundation with his wife, Alys. The organization’s goal is to
advance the great equalizers of education and entrepreneurship in underserved regions. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Smith
received his BA in marketing from Marshall University in 1986, followed by his
MA in leadership development from Aquinas College in 1991. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">He resides in
Menlo Park, CA.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0.4pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Summary by Silicon Dragon contributor Mike Weiss<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-78625637379376192962021-01-25T15:05:00.003-08:002021-01-25T15:05:26.894-08:00Silicon Global Online: Ask A VC John Chambers of Cisco Fame<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R24Z8jC0jhs/YA9OHcb8aXI/AAAAAAAABqk/u2vzYt-vBo8ImR1174qBnLFChBGrmWB-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Chambers%2Bat%2BCrow%2527s%2BNest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="122" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R24Z8jC0jhs/YA9OHcb8aXI/AAAAAAAABqk/u2vzYt-vBo8ImR1174qBnLFChBGrmWB-QCLcBGAsYHQ/w244-h122/Chambers%2Bat%2BCrow%2527s%2BNest.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>For this edition of <i>Ask a VC Anything</i>, our featured
guest was John Chambers, the founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures and the former CEO
and Chairman of Cisco. In this conversation with journalist Rebecca Fannin, we discussed why Silicon Valley is
losing talent, what makes a successful CEO, Chambers’ high hopes for India and
France as new innovation hubs, and his connection to his home state of West
Virginia.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Biggest Disruptor: AI<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chambers views the biggest disruptor of the future to be AI.
He has made bets in the consumer experience space like India’s Uniphore, a world
leader in conversational AI that is poised to radically transform the booming
call center market. Another JC2 Ventures’ portfolio company is Cloudleaf, which is aimed at transforming
supply chain into a data-driven strategic asset that could be instrumental in
the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. Companies like Cloudleaf have an
ability to revolutionize the broken supply chain. Chambers sees AI as the
technology to go all-in on.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Silicon Valley is in Trouble</b><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chambers believes that the number one issue businesses face
in California is regulation. From privacy to the tax environment, businesses
face a wide array of challenges in California’s regulatory environment.
Chambers cites the departure of Hewlett Packard (Silicon Valley’s original
garage startup) and Charles Schwab (the original financial startup for new
ideas) from California as a major sign that the state is losing business
talent. Chambers cites the example of portfolio company ASAPP AI (an AI
platform radically increasing CX productivity), whose CEO lives in Montana and
gets monthly calls from the governor to ensure that the innovative founder is
happy in his state.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>China v. U.S.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">China is our top digitization competitor, says Chambers who
has long experience in the country having orchestrated the first high-tech VC
move in China when he was at Wang Laboratories. He notes that China’s five-year
plan to break away from the U.S. has goals of tech leadership and standard of
living improvements. Chambers believes that China will soon be the top economy
in the world, and that the U.S. and China would benefit more from working
together rather than continued conflict.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>What Makes a Successful CEO</b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> + </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->There is a market transition going on in their
industry, enabled by new technology<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> + </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The founder is a world class leader and wants to
be coached, and matches Chambers’ values<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> + </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Communication skills<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> + </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Value of culture</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chambers believes that culture is the first thing to go when
a company is rapidly growing. From overseeing 180 acquisitions while CEO of
Cisco, to his 20 investments at JC2 Ventures (with four unicorns), he knows how
important culture is to a successful company. He uses his track record of
strong relationships and trust to ensure that he is working with the best of
the best. Out of the 20 investments of JC2 Ventures, Chambers wants 10-12 to be
unicorns. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>France - Europe’s New Tech Hub<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chambers got to know France’s President Macron dating back
to his days as Economic Minister. Macron grasped the importance of a startup
attitude for job creation and that France had not innovated enough. Chambers
has even taught MBA classes with Macron, and firmly believes in the President’s
vision that has helped France increase the number of startups fivefold in the
last five years. Chambers views France as the new innovation gateway to Europe,
even though he previously believed this title would belong to the likes of the
UK or Germany.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>India – The New Growth Engine of Asia</b><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chambers also has a strong relationship with India’s Prime
Minister Modi. He notes that India, with a population of 1.3 billion, needs to
create 1.2 million jobs a month just to maintain its economy. Chambers views India’s
strong IT university system that graduates 600,000 engineers a year as a major
asset to execute Prime Minister Modi’s vision for a digital India. Modi made Chambers
the chairman of the U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum, and Chambers was
able to leverage his expertise and experience to turn the forum from a trade
organization into a major strategic partnership between the two countries. Chambers
made sure that along with his strong belief in India’s future success, he also
has personal investment to understand the intricacies of India’s startup
environment. Two of JC2’s 20 portfolio companies are from India.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Hyperloop in West Virginia</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop plans to open a
certification center and a testing track in West Virginia for its
transformative transport technology. Chambers was instrumental in bringing
together leaders of the state to mobilize and make attracting the Virgin testing
site a top priority. West Virginia competed with 17 other states and beat out
the likes of Texas and California to win the contract. It is estimated that the
new Hyperloop track will create 13,000 jobs in West Virginia. This adds to the
long list of contributions Chambers has made to his home state of West Virginia.
He remains a strong believer that his home state will emerge as a tech leader
in the US.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bio:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>John Chambers</b> is the founder and CEO of <b>JC2 Ventures</b>, a Palo
Alto-based firm helping disruptive startups from around the world build and
scale. Chambers invests in companies across categories and geographies that are
leading market transitions, helping them to act before their market shifts, tap
customers for strategy, partner for growth, build teams, and create disruptive
innovations. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prior to founding JC2 Ventures, Chambers served as CEO,
Chairman, and Executive Chairman at Cisco Systems. During his 25+ years at
Cisco, he helped grow the company from $70 million in revenue when he joined in
1991, to $1.2 billion when he became CEO in 1995, to $47 billion when he
stepped down as CEO in 2015. Cisco went from 400 to 75,000 employees during Chambers’
tenure and created 10,000 millionaires among its employees. As Executive
Chairman, a position Chambers held until December 2017, he led the Board of
Directors. His book, <i>Connecting the Dots</i>, shares his management,
leadership, and business principles that led to this success.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chambers has provided industry expertise to government
leaders from around the world, including nine U.S. Secretaries of State and
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He is the Chairman of the US-India
Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and Global Ambassador of French Tech for
President Macron. He is widely recognized for his leadership in philanthropy
and corporate social responsibility. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He holds a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts degree in
business and a law degree from West Virginia University, as well as an MBA in
finance and management from Indiana University.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><i>By Michael Weiss,
contributor to Silicon Dragon Ventures</i></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-60104589566703945882021-01-19T08:49:00.005-08:002021-01-21T09:03:14.911-08:00Silicon Dragon CES 2021: Chat with KPMG's Darren Yong<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mKmWueoV6Io/YAcM37L4WYI/AAAAAAAABqI/Uzs-b9RR_AMZ7Gn6YzpqjVl5rVLl3wfUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s424/Darren%2BYong.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="424" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mKmWueoV6Io/YAcM37L4WYI/AAAAAAAABqI/Uzs-b9RR_AMZ7Gn6YzpqjVl5rVLl3wfUgCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/Darren%2BYong.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />For this Fireside Chat from our 2021 Silicon Dragon CES
Event, our featured speaker was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Darren
Yong</b>, Asia Pacific Head of TMT (Technology, Media and Telecom) at <b>KPMG</b>. In
our wide-ranging discussion with Yong, we covered the disruption of banking and
finance sectors, 5G telecommunications, innovation cultures in the wide-ranging Asian Pacific markets,
the onset of hyper-localization, and data convergence in the home. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> Following are key takeaways. </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Hyper-Localization<br /></b>In the last five to ten years, a trend away from the strong
influence of the U.S. and U.K., and towards local inventiveness in the Asia
Pacific has emerged. A prime example is WeChat from China. WeChat evolved from
being just a messaging app to then include several more features including payments and marketplaces. This type of local ingenuity has
forced big multinationals to innovate quickly or be left to get disrupted by the
digital natives innovating in emerging markets.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Finance Ripe for Disruption<br /></b>Yong notes Asia’s banking and financial sector is ripe for
disruption, Yong notes, and has already begun. A recent example can be seen
from Singapore telco Singtel and food delivery company Grab being granted a
license to set up a fully functional digital bank. To further illustrate this
trend, Yong notes that he is currently working with clients in Southeast Asia
that are telcos setting up insurance companies as well as with insurance
companies moving into finance. A fully digital organization has unique
advantages when competing with a traditional bank, which can have less agile
data that is harder to combine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>5G Telecommunications<br /></b>We're seeing more and more consumer data with the convergence of 5G technology, Internet of Things, and telcos in the home. This is a leading to a wealth of monetization opportunities for businesses such as insurance, health with mass IoT being a core driver. Companies in China have broken many boundaries in trying to get into many new sectors such as Ant Financial. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Next Big Thing at Home<br /></b>Consumers want to be more digitally connected than ever,
especially in this Covid-19 era as so many are relegated to long periods in
their homes. In-home devices such as smart speakers have emerged as a new
market opportunity. Marketers need to gauge how easy a product is to use and
incorporate into a consumer’s daily life. For instance, the success of easy-to-wear
smart watches contrasts with Google Glass, where a better-integrated and seamless user experience is needed for future home products. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Data Science Nation Singapore<br /></b>When asked if Singapore is already a data science nation,
Yong was quick to note the huge government imperative driving multinationals to
bring in data scientists as well as the encouragement of training and skills
programs for coding and developing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b>Change-ready Vietnam<br /></b></span>Big ideas are coming out of Asia Pacific’s emerging markets but
in varying degrees. For instance, countries such as Singapore have
well-developed data ecosystems and established family lifestyles and
well-paying jobs, while up and coming nations like Vietnam are hungry and in a
position to bring change. The Vietnamese market is driven by a young
demographic of those in their 30s who are starting out and are hungry for
learning and innovating, and are in a position to embrace change. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bio:<br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Darren Yong</b> is
the Head of Client and Market Development and the Head of Technology, Media,
and Telecom for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">KPMG Asia Pacific</b>.
He is a highly accomplished executive with more than 20 years of experience in
telecommunications and information technology. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yong concentrates on business model and
technology disruption across a wide array of sectors including insurance,
banking, health, retail and consumer. <br />Before his time with KPMG, Yong was the VP of Commercial
Management and Strategic Growth Markets at Orange Business Services (a global
IT and communications service provider) where he worked on the mining, banking
and health sectors. Prior to that, Yong was Head of Solutions and Bid
Management for Verizon Asia Pacific where he led teams in Australia, Japan,
Korea, Hong Kong, and India. Yong was also the Director of Business Operations
at Sprint Asia Pacific before his tenure at Verizon.<br />He holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Sydney in Australia.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><i>Summary by Silicon Dragon Global contributor Michael Weiss </i></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-46840912024017546992021-01-19T07:51:00.006-08:002021-01-19T10:36:01.035-08:00Silicon Dragon CES 2021: VC & Founder Tech Chat > K-Pop Trends <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BpvwkYufbVw/YAb_s4Zhh5I/AAAAAAAABps/QR_Nuj2EFvo_hoTiAkE3ja8XTwdEJrYoACLcBGAsYHQ/s170/Jeffrey%2BLee.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BpvwkYufbVw/YAb_s4Zhh5I/AAAAAAAABps/QR_Nuj2EFvo_hoTiAkE3ja8XTwdEJrYoACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Jeffrey%2BLee.jpg" /></a></div><br />For this Tech Chat from our 2021 Silicon Dragon CES Event,
our featured panelists were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jeffrey Lee</b>,
Managing Director at <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Northern Light
Venture Capital</b> in Silicon Valley, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jihong
Lee</b>, Founder and CEO of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Picky</b>, a
newly funded digital skincare community company. This conversation with a
founder and VC touched on the emerging opportunities for a connected global
world, the growing K-Beauty industry, and if Covid-19 can be a tailwind.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Hyper-Connected World<br /></b>Northern Light Venture Capital has a focus on China with
roots in Silicon Valley. Learning from experience investing in China and
Silicon Valley, the firm sees a great opportunity emerging of a hyperconnected
world where big ideas and execution can happen from anywhere, not just the
well-known hubs like Silicon Valley. Northern Light is moving to execute on
this premise, and one of its concentrations is in Korea. That’s where new
portfolio company Picky factors in. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Global to The Bone<br /></b>When asked why Northern Light Venture Capital invested $1.3
million in Picky, Jeffrey gushed about how Jihong is part of a new exciting
generation of entrepreneurs who are globally connected. Jeffrey cited Jihong’s
experience expanding Supercell’s business in Asia, as well as his time with
Google in the U.S. to illustrate Jihong’s ability to be successful around the
world.<b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Social Norms<br /></b>When asked if being a male CEO in the beauty industry was
strange, Jihong noted the tremendous pressure for Korean men to maintain a
rigorous skincare routine for perfect skin. He added there is friction of
actually being able to find the right products. Picky is working to build a
community based around discussions and reviews of brands and products to break
through the friction in hopes that the K-Beauty market will explode with
growth. This is part of a trend that Jihong sees of influence going from east
to west, rather than west to east like in the past. New generations see beauty
and skincare regimens as an expression of themselves, and Picky is confident
the startup can capitalize on these trends. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Content is King</b><b><o:p> <br /></o:p></b>When asked about Picky’s competitors, Jihong does not see
global players that actually focus on content and information for personalized
skincare. He does note, however, that there are similar companies in the U.S.
that are receiving funding. Jihong believes that the momentum of the K-Beauty
industry as well as a dearth of good consumer-friendly content around beauty
products can propel Picky into a globally recognized brand. Jihong sees Picky
as the Yelp or Tripadvisor of the beauty industry, a platform to help make
sense of the cluttered beauty business.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Tailwinds Post Covid-19<br /></b>Before the onset of Covid-19, it was traditional for a
beauty shopper to go into a store to get advice to help them make their choice.
Now, going inside a store to have someone in close proximity to your face is a
rare and even dangerous endeavor. Picky is benefiting from this move out of brick-and-mortar
stores and is welcoming users into their digital community. This trend won’t be
reversing anytime soon, and Picky is well-positioned towards Jihong and
Jeffrey’s goals of becoming a global player in the massive beauty industry. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bios:<br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jeffrey Lee</b> is the
Managing Director and Co-Founder at Northern Light Venture Capital, an early-stage
focused firm operating for over 15 years with six funds and over 200 portfolio
companies. The firm is a China concept fund with roots in Silicon Valley. It invests
in IT, consumer services, clean tech and health care.<br />Prior to founding Northern Light, Jeffrey was a General
Partner and Co-Founder at Newton Technology Partners (a technology focused
venture firm in Korea that backed 18 companies). One of those companies was
Wavics, an RFIC company where Lee served as the Director of Business
Development.<br />Lee is a member of several boards, including Habitat for
Humanity San Francisco, the Harvard College Fund, and BSPK, a digital
marketplace for luxury products, backed by Northern Light.<br />Lee holds an AB in Economics from Harvard University and an
MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jihong Lee</b> is the
Founder and CEO of Picky, a company building a digital community for
discovering and interacting with beauty brands, tailored to the individual.<br />Prior to founding Picky, Lee was the second employee at
Supercell’s Seoul office (Supercell is an extremely popular mobile gaming
company and part of the Tencent family). He was also the Mobile Apps
Monetization Lead at Google.<br />Lee holds a BA in Business Administration from Seoul
National University. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Summary by Silicon Dragon
Global contributor Michael Weiss<o:p></o:p></i></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-70507308258545361612021-01-17T10:11:00.003-08:002021-01-19T10:18:26.696-08:00Silicon Dragon Global: Ask A VC - Ray Lane, GreatPoint Ventures<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymSKO5KgWFU/YAR9ydyGpII/AAAAAAAABpI/zjAiid263CE2Vo2ZLw8P3g2WtmMD2_PRACLcBGAsYHQ/s401/thumbnail_Photo_Lane_Raymond_NEW.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymSKO5KgWFU/YAR9ydyGpII/AAAAAAAABpI/zjAiid263CE2Vo2ZLw8P3g2WtmMD2_PRACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/thumbnail_Photo_Lane_Raymond_NEW.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />For our special edition of our <i>Ask a VC Anything</i> series,
held during our Silicon Dragon CES 2021 event, our featured guest was GreatPoint
Ventures’ <b>Ray Lane</b>. We had a wide-ranging chat with Lane, the former Oracle COO
turned venture capitalist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among other
takeways, Lane believes that Silicon Valley has peaked. See more takeaways
below and video highlights <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jsK7GKklLM">here</a>. <p class="MsoNormal">Online conversation with VC Ray Lane and Rebecca Fannin,
host of Silicon Dragon Global Online, January 13, 2021.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Silicon Valley Has Peaked</b><o:p><b> <br /></b></o:p>About half of GreatPoint’s portfolio companies come from
outside of Silicon Valley and Lane expects that number to only go up. Lane
notes, “I think we’ve seen the peak of number of companies that become
successful out of Silicon Valley.” There are new innovation hubs all across the
country. Lane cites Austin as foremost but also New York, Pittsburgh and
Chicago as places where next great companies are coming from.<b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Bringing Operating Experience</b><o:p><b> <br /></b></o:p>Lane brings many years of operating expertise as a top
executive at large company Oracle and 12 years consulting with Fortune 500
companies at Booz Allen Hamilton. From his vast experience in several facets of
the business world, Lane distills his operating experience right down to the
entrepreneurs within GreatPoint’s portfolio companies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Consequences of Being Too Large</b><o:p><b> <br /></b></o:p>GreatPoint Ventures, based in Silicon Valley, is investing
from its third fund, currently being raised at $350 Million with a cap at $400
million. Prior funds starting from 2015 were $210 million and $300 million. Lane
said he made it a point to not make the fund too large. He says that becoming
too large of a fund forces you to delegate too much. When a venture firm gets
too big, it is not able to operate at its best, he said, noting that a small
group of people at his firm well understand how to pattern match and what to find. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Covid, Covid, Covid<br /></b>GreatPoint is making investments remotely in this Covid
world without face-to-face meetings, although Lane notes that the firm’s partners
are now doing more due diligence on potential deals than before. As an
entrepreneur-first firm, GreatPoint spends a lot of time to get to know the
founders. GreatPoint would rather have a “good idea led by a great
entrepreneur, than a great idea led by a good entrepreneur.”<b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Alternative Meats Are Here to Stay<br /></b>As the first investor in Beyond Meat in 2011, Lane has been
involved in the alternative meat market way before it became more mainstream in
recent years. Lane visited Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown in his lab at
University of Missouri in 2011. After seeing the process of how proteins can be
made into meat-like textures, Lane knew it would be a big deal. He is a member
of Beyond Meat’s board. Lane believes that in 10 years, plant/lab-based protein
delivery will dominate. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Find the Villain<br /></b>With the success of GreatPoint’s Beyond Meat investment,
Lane and GreatPoint stumbled upon an investing theme. It is based around
finding a “villain”. In the case of Beyond Meat, the villain is red meat.
GreatPoint has set out to find other “villains” to root out. Another company
GreatPoint invested in is MycoTechnology. In this case the “villain” is sugar,
for obvious reasons. MycoTechnology uses sugar reduction technology through
mushrooms to trick your taste buds into thinking things are sweeter than they
are. It will be exciting to see what other villains Ray and GreatPoint can
defeat. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bio:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ray Lane</b> is currently the Managing Partner at<b> GreatPoint
Venture</b>s, an early-stage VC firm founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs and operators
solving problems around enterprise, healthcare, bio-tech, and food. <br />Prior to GreatPoint, Ray was the President and COO at <b>Oracle</b>
for 8 years where he was a major catalyst for the company’s success during his
tenure. Ray was then a Managing Partner at <b>Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Myers</b>. Lane
serves as the chairman of the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University,
where he earned an engineering degree and MBA. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2010, Lane funded CMU’s Computational
Biology program, with a mission of developing computational cancer research.<br />Lane is also supporting his alma mater West Virginia
University, where he earned his BS in mathematics. With his wife, he funded and
named WVU’s Department of Computer Science Electrical Engineering, which has
flourished into a program graduating around 500 students a year. More recently,
Lane founded the Lane Innovation Hub at WVU. The hub is dedicated to advanced
manufacturing and is open to high school students. Lane’s hope is that the hub
can expose students to engineering in a life-changing way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Summary by Michael Weiss,
contributor to Silicon Dragon Ventures</i><o:p></o:p></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-13141079085911401982020-12-16T08:36:00.001-08:002020-12-16T08:36:27.490-08:00China Power Debate 2020: Silicon Dragon Moved the Needle! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cceTVDkKk00/X9o28gET_zI/AAAAAAAABoQ/yotHOkDELVA2LQ1jmZz6ckMZN9vrzZ_dQCLcBGAsYHQ/s304/ChinaPower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="171" data-original-width="304" height="113" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cceTVDkKk00/X9o28gET_zI/AAAAAAAABoQ/yotHOkDELVA2LQ1jmZz6ckMZN9vrzZ_dQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h113/ChinaPower.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Selective U.S.-China economic decoupling will set back China’s emergence as a global high-tech leader." I WON this debate, arguing it WON'T! Agree or disagree? <br />China Power 2020 @ Center for Strategic & International Studies in DC. <br />Watch Rep. Rick Larsen, Hoover fellow Matt Turpin and me. Check out before/after poll! </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">December 15, 2020: CSIS China Power Debate </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> <br /><br /></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lKCwNqUKR8">VIDEO OF TALK & DEBATE</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #201f1e; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top: 9px;"><table align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; font: inherit; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="color: #001010; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="margin: 10px 0px;">On December 15 from 10:30 am - 11:00 am EST, Representative Rick Larsen will deliver keynote remarks on the challenges and opportunities posed by<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>’s growing<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">power</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>and the view from Congress, followed by a Q&A conversation hosted by Bonnie Glaser, CSIS senior adviser for Asia and director of the<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Power</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Project.<br /><br />Representative Rick Larsen represents the Second Congressional District of Washington State. Representative Larsen is a co-chair of the bipartisan U.S.-<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Working Group, which educates Members of Congress about bilateral issues through meetings and briefings with academic, business, and political leaders from the U.S. and<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>. Representative Larsen has visited<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>eleven times.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #201f1e; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top: 9px;"><table align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; font: inherit; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="margin: 10px 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><em>The keynote remarks will be followed by a debate on the proposition: "Selective U.S.-<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>economic decoupling will set back<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>’s emergence as a global high-tech leader."</em></strong><strong></strong></p><p style="margin: 10px 0px;"> </p><p style="margin: 10px 0px;">Following the keynote remarks by Rep. Rick Larsen, from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm EST, the<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Power</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Project will host a debate on the proposition: "Selective U.S.-<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>economic decoupling will set back<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>’s emergence as a global high-tech leader." This debate is the fifth event in the "<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>'s<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Power</span>: Up for Debate 2020" series.<br /><br />The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on exports to leading Chinese telecom and semiconductor companies. In addition, the U.S. has taken measures to encourage American companies to diversify their production and supply chains in order to reduce reliance on<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>. Given the interconnectedness of the global economy, these efforts could pose a challenge to the competitiveness of Chinese tech firms and manufacturers.<br /><br /><strong>Matthew Turpin</strong>, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, will argue that U.S.-<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>decoupling will set back<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>’s emergence as a global high-tech leader.<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><strong>Rebecca Fannin</strong>, Founder of Silicon Dragon Ventures, will argue that U.S.-<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>economic decoupling will not set back<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">China</span>’s emergence as a global high-tech leader. <br /><br />The debate featured pre- and post-event polls.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-36716542640367991422020-12-07T10:50:00.005-08:002020-12-07T14:45:03.821-08:00Silicon Global Online: Ask A VC Anything! Nazar Yasin, Rise Capital<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUOamEkTmtE/X855QakvSUI/AAAAAAAABno/eVI4klOuyMY7q9nKzv-ZAZvbyP7Asv6wQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Nazar%2BYasin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUOamEkTmtE/X855QakvSUI/AAAAAAAABno/eVI4klOuyMY7q9nKzv-ZAZvbyP7Asv6wQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/Nazar%2BYasin.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />For our 20<sup>th</sup> Silicon Global Online episode, <i>Ask
a VC Anything</i>, our featured guest was <b>Nazar Yasin</b>, Founder and Managing
Partner at <b>Rise Capital</b>. See these 10 takeaways from our discussion about
exciting trends coming out of emerging markets.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white;">Online conversation with VC Nazar Yasin and Rebecca Fannin, host of
Silicon Global Online, December 3, 2020.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Rise Capital – staying disciplined <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The 5 M’s of Rise Capital’s investment strategy
are Management, Market, Metrics, Moats, and Multiples. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It is common for funds in emerging markets to do
a Series A and then a follow on Series B for portfolio companies. Rise reserves
$2 for the Series B of every $1 for the Series A in these cases.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Rise takes a 5-25% equity stake in its portfolio
companies and a board or board observer seat. “There is no such thing as a
successful passive investor in emerging markets. It does not exist,” Yasin
notes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>The right CEO<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Founders must be able to adapt when a successful
startup scales up. The right person needs to be in place at the top to do so. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In addition, surrounding the CEO with people of
differing perspectives and expertise is a marker of successful companies.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>A new asset class<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Investing in emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia is a new asset
class. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->To illustrate this, Latin America is roughly 45%
of China in terms of GDP and population but the number of firms who can lead or
co-lead a Series A or B is low enough to “count on two hands” (including Rise
Capital). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>New business models<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Rise Capital portfolio company Gokada, founded
in 2018, is the leading multimodal transportation company in Africa.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Gokada is currently growing 10% per week and is
cash flow positive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Gokada provides drivers with a “Business in a
Box” that works well in light of Africa’s poor road conditions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This box includes a brand-new motorbike, a
Department of Transportation Certificate, and a smartphone.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The driver pays Gokada a daily subscription fee
to be part of the service, and after two years the driver has a fully paid off
motorbike and their own business. Gokada drivers in Nigeria make 3x the average
salary of other workers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Evaluating Risk<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Internally, Rise Capital deals with the issue of
actually not taking enough risk. There’s also the risk of not picking the “right
horses,” coming out of certain emerging markets. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Instead of viewing the risk of investing in
choppy waters as a negative, Rise Capital is investing in the fastest-growing
economies in the world, in the fastest- growing sector (the internet), and the
fastest-growing companies in that sector. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Trillions of dollars in market cap being created
in the internet sector coming from emerging markets in the next ten years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Imitating China<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia markets
see China’s quick and massive GDP creation from the internet sector and look to
emulate China more than the US.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Actions like India’s ban on Tik Tok and other
foreign companies help bolster this strategy in efforts to spur growth in local
startups. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chinese Tech Titans in emerging markets, friend or foe?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Large Chinese tech companies are not crowding
out the market for startups in Southeast Asia and
other emerging markets. They actually make great exit partners.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Peak Globalization<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The world hit peak globalization five or even
ten years ago. Since then, it has continued to grow more nationalistic. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Nationalism trends have helped Rise Capital in
some ways. Sovereign wealth funds from the countries that Rise invests in tend
to become LPs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Mini Jack Ma’s<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->There probably won’t be another Jack Ma. Due to
the raw GDP Ma was able to acquire in China, all under one umbrella, Alibaba’s
feat may never be duplicated. But there will be mini Jack Ma’s coming out of
emerging markets.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->One of them is Careem Founder and CEO Mudassir
Sheikha who has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of families in
the Middle East by helping them create their own businesses. Careem (which
Rise Capital funded) was acquired by Uber in 2019 for $3.1 billion, one of the
largest exits ever in the Middle East. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Advice to Wannabe VCs<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“There is no way you can be a successful VC
without having run or been an executive at a successful company yourself.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->He also recommends obtaining financial knowledge
of how businesses work, even if it’s not from an MBA or CFA. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Lastly, it’s incredibly important that if you
can join a successful startup, do it, don’t worry about your position.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bio: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nazar Yasin is a Founder and Managing Partner at Rise
Capital in Silicon Valley. Nazar is a seasoned entrepreneur and venture
capitalist in emerging markets. He is a firm believer that technology
entrepreneurs in emerging markets will become some of the most impactful
individuals in the world over the coming years. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nazar began his career at Goldman Sachs, where he led the
firm’s internet investment banking activities across the EMEA region. He then
served as the CEO of Forticom, a $1 Billion+ market value social networking
business in Russia, CIS, and Eastern Europe that was acquired by a consortium
of Mail.ru (LSE: MAIL), Naspers (JSE: NPN), and Tencent (HK: 0700).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After his successful exit as an entrepreneur, he became a
VC, first at Tiger Global in 2010 for three years. In 2013, he formed Rise
Capital in San Francisco, where he has backed several high-growth technology
startups across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nazar holds an MBA and JD from Northwestern University, and
a BS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.<br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Submitted by Mike Weiss, editorial contributor
to Silicon Dragon Ventures</i><o:p></o:p></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-90290855098862920212020-11-24T15:28:00.004-08:002020-11-25T08:59:17.494-08:00Ask A VC: David Lam, Atlantic Bridge > Why The China-Europe Bridge Is Widening<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s1ZqtmTfEY8/X72Wcm473AI/AAAAAAAABnM/Blsg7ht11hQruzYb5yIDC2xjRZ0zOCfpQCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/David%2BLam.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="153" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s1ZqtmTfEY8/X72Wcm473AI/AAAAAAAABnM/Blsg7ht11hQruzYb5yIDC2xjRZ0zOCfpQCLcBGAsYHQ/w153-h153/David%2BLam.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><br />For our 19<sup>th</sup> Silicon Global Online episode, <i>Ask
a VC Anything</i>, our featured guest was David Lam, a general partner at
<b>Atlantic Bridge Capital</b>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See these 10 takeaways
from our wide-ranging conversation about international business and investment
trends, with an eye toward China.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Online conversation with <b>VC David Lam</b> and <b>Rebecca Fannin</b>, host of
Silicon Global Online, November 18, 2020. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PC8VuFGhSA8/X72VpPJjBsI/AAAAAAAABm8/JBnb2EkgYWs-hPy-180EmXYpLYKd36AlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s750/s%2Bw%2BDavid.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="750" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PC8VuFGhSA8/X72VpPJjBsI/AAAAAAAABm8/JBnb2EkgYWs-hPy-180EmXYpLYKd36AlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/s%2Bw%2BDavid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Cash runway exam<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="background-color: white;">When the pandemic hit the US in March, Lam and Atlantic Bridge Capital
used it as an opportunity to look closely at their portfolio companies’ balance
sheets and calculate the impact Covid-19 would have on their businesses. The
findings were mixed: some segments were affected, some were not impacted, while
others actually saw positive momentum.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Growing portfolio despite the virus<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background: white;">Despite Covid-19, the firm remains right on its pace of three to four
later-stage investments a year: Caption Health, Syntiant, and a European
company in the semiconductor industry that is currently in stealth mode.
Caption Health is </span>an artificial intelligence company using AI for guided
ultrasound for echocardiograms (an ultrasound of the heart). It is the first
FDA approved AI guidance system. Syntiant makes an AI chip that is optimized for
voice in devices ranging from phones to smart speakers. The stealth company is
a semiconductor equipment company building technology around web processing.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Bill and Melinda Gates’ $5 Million <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">The Gates foundation recently gave a $5 million grant for Caption Health
to extend its breakthrough AI technology for heart ultrasounds, using vast data
to capture an echocardiogram at a high-quality level. Caption Health is used at
more than 20 hospitals in the US currently. Caption has huge relevance, since regular
echocardiograms are recommended for all Covid-19 patients.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Europe gains appeal for expansion<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">Many fast-growing US companies have highlighted China as an overseas
business opportunity because of the size of the market, but current tensions has
made expansion more challenging than ever. The interest from entrepreneurs to
go to China right away has dampened, although the market is still a priority
for many foreign businesses. In this environment, Europe is an appealing
location: world’s top research institutions, wide pool of hirable software
developers at a more reasonable salary than Silicon Valley counterparts, and strong
companies in both hardware and software.</span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Some of Atlantic Bridge Capital’s portfolio companies have chosen to
reincorporate in Europe. This allows them to run their businesses how they see
fit and investors to own the same amount under the same terms as they would
somewhere outside Europe. Most importantly, companies are able to sell their
products to other markets, including China, which want to see goods coming from
a neutral region.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Europe-China Bridges<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="background-color: white;">In Europe, Lam has leveraged Ireland’s particularly strong relationship
with China. One of his firm’s funds has a strategy of making equity investments
in technology companies with a presence in Ireland and a substantial or
strategic interest in China’s fast-growing tech companies.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">US-China positive synergy despite tensions <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">As an example, a new Atlantic Bridge portfolio company, Syntiant
(mentioned earlier), chose a general manager from China that was recommended by
Atlantic Bridge Capital. The hire took place after a rigorous independent
decision-making process by Syntiant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">IP advice for China<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">Lam is quick to note the importance of IP protection as a foreign
company. If the goal is to actually sell products to China and Chinese
customers, it would be best to identify ways to augment existing IP in China
for that specific market. You protect your IP by keeping your core IP where you
are based.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Semiconductor hardware opportunity <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">One of the implications of a flattening of Moore’s Law is that the
processing power starts to become more linearly correlated with power. This
creates a huge challenge in terms of power management and environmental issues
related shipping a lot of power. A number of exciting new technologies are
developing in the power management space. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Focus on data and speed<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">With so much data being generated, so fast, the current infrastructure
in most places is not equipped to handle these new data speeds. An investment
opportunity exists in companies that can move data very quickly into a
database. Atlantic Bridge portfolio company AtScale allows valuable content to
be produced and then securely and privately stored worldwide.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">CFIUS in a new US Administration<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white;">Lam expects to see some change in how CFIUS (Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States) laws are enforced in a new administration but it
will likely be seen in a more case-by-case basis than in sweeping changes. He
noted that the US Congress will continue to act on the belief that stronger
CFIUS oversight is in the best interest of US national security.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Bio:</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">David Lam is
General Partner of Atlantic Bridge Capital, a 15-year-old technology investment
firm focusing on adding value cross-border with offices in Palo Alto, Dublin,
Munich, London, and Paris. Lam led the firm’s investments in Caption Health,
Syntiant, and AtScale. He previously served on the board of Movidius (acquired
by Intel). David co-founded Summit Bridge Capital, which operates the
China-Ireland Growth Technology Fund.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Prior to
Atlantic Bridge, David was Managing Director of <b>WestSummit Capita</b>l where he
served as its representative on the boards of Twitch (acquired by Amazon),
Mirantis and Maginatics (acquired by EMC), among others. David was previously
Managing Director for <b>WI Harper</b>, a ground-breaking US-China cross-border
venture capital firm where he led the firm’s US office. His projects included
the formation of Kai-Fu Lee’s <b>Sinovation Ventures</b>). Prior to that, David was
Vice President at The <b>Carlyle</b> Group, a global private equity firm, after
serving as head of business development for a Carlyle portfolio company. He
also held various operating roles at CIENA Corporation, ONI Systems, Cisco
Systems, and Proxim. David began his career as an investment banker at
Robertson Stephens and Company. David is a board member, past president, and
past chairman of the Asia America Multi Technology Association (AAMA). He also
serves on the board of the Association of Asian American Investment Managers
(AAAIM).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">David holds a
BS and an MA from Stanford University, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of
Management where was a recipient of the Merit Scholarship and Patrick McGovern
Award.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i style="background-color: white;">Summary by Mike Weiss, contributor to Silicon Dragon</i></span></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-33428187888358953732020-11-16T11:36:00.003-08:002020-11-16T11:36:25.872-08:00Expect Softer Tone Toward China Tech In A Biden Administration: Gary Rieschel, Qiming Venture<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grcDcEPpr0o/X7LUAolYHtI/AAAAAAAABmU/XfeVammIgOokbr75utWzWGqdN5NTC30_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/03_Keynote_Gary%2BRieschel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grcDcEPpr0o/X7LUAolYHtI/AAAAAAAABmU/XfeVammIgOokbr75utWzWGqdN5NTC30_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h181/03_Keynote_Gary%2BRieschel.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br />What's the new normal for tech investing today, and how is it evolving?</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In a Biden administration, expect a softer tone in
the anti-China rhetoric and possibly less targeting of specific companies like TikTok
and WeChat that are primarily used for entertainment and communications but
have been drawn into a tech cold war. That's according to Gary Rieschel, a founding managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12pt;">In his keynote address at the recent Cyberport venture forum in Hong Kong, Reischel emphasized that Chinese
technology is increasingly considered a threat to Silicon Valley’s dominance. But he said it is primarily viewed as a long-term concern instead of the
existential threat that the current Trump administration has made it out to be.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBAoRWz_O0k&feature=emb_title">See video of his remarks</a> and Silicon Dragon's Rebecca Fannin introducing Rieschel. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">Rieschel also
pointed out how the rest of the world is getting a firsthand demonstration of Chinese entrepreneurship. While the rest of the world has been busy grappling with a year of
uncertainty, Chinese entrepreneurs stepped up to the challenge, he said. In a
way, they were always ready given how they wake up every day and face
regulatory, legal and competition-linked uncertainty with gusto. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">Additionally, Rieschel believes that all the talk of supply chain relocation is overly ambitious. It’s not about
resource availability or finding countries with lower labor costs. The network
of relationships built during the early years of globalization can’t be dismantled
so easily. Anyone running a supply chain knows this in their bones, he said. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12pt;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">China's drive towards self-sufficiency and technological independence should
only boost technology development. Chinese entrepreneurs are racing ahead in a
number of fields. As the robust health of the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock
exchanges show, they also don’t always need to look West to get capital now
that the two exchanges have relaxed listing requirements. </p><p></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-85766777891134119442020-11-12T11:53:00.003-08:002020-11-12T11:53:53.028-08:00Hong Kong's Progressing Role in the Greater China Edtech Market<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i0o84Yi05Uc/X62M4fct11I/AAAAAAAABl0/rxAtqsy3uqo5ldAoW6aSHvmFOcnG8g0zACLcBGAsYHQ/s1536/Reimagine%2Bimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1536" height="100" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i0o84Yi05Uc/X62M4fct11I/AAAAAAAABl0/rxAtqsy3uqo5ldAoW6aSHvmFOcnG8g0zACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h100/Reimagine%2Bimage.jpg" title="John Tsang" width="200" /></a></div><br />Hong Kong is well placed as an education technology nexus in
the region’s Greater Bay Area, as edtech accelerates digital learning
worldwide, according to several experts who spoke at the recent Edventures GBA
Summit, November 4, spearheaded by Esperanza founder John Tsang (photo), a former financial secretary of the HKSAR. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sector is ripe
for disruption after a slow start in this digital century. Edtech spending of
$200 billion has lagged in the $6 trillion education market. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We are
in a very interesting inflection point in the evolution of our species that will
have a profound impact on education and the future of the world,” said <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Kamran Elahian</b>, Chairman and Founder of
Global Innovation Catalyst, a successful serial entrepreneur, a cross-border
venture capitalist who is known as i-Ghandi for his work in bridging the
digital divide for children around the world. He pointed out that <o:p></o:p></span>innovation economy is all about algorithmic content, emphasizing that traditional knowledge bases have lost value and that the role of teachers
should change from teaching to being a mentor and a coach. <br /><br />Teachers are learning how to use technology effectively to personalize lessons and empower students to design their learning, pointed out Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and a former Obama education official. Elliott Masie, chairman of the Learning Consortium, who is widely credited with the term 'e-learning,' highlighted the importance of designing experiential learning for the workforce so that learning becomes more creative and collaborative. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 4.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-HK"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Edtech is fast progressing now as a
game changer with AI, robotics, data analytics and mobile technologies applied
to learning. </span>“There is a common perception that edtech
is used primarily to nurture digital literacy. “Literacy, 21<sup>st</sup>
century skills and numeracy are the top three skills that edtech innovations
can address,” said Esperanza founder <b>Tsang</b>, citing a Brookings Institution study. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In China, the education market has
grown to as much as 6-7% of the country’s GDP and it’s poised to </span><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;">become the world’s biggest and the
fastest growing edtech market</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> as venture capital and talent flows in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A threefold increase in China’s digitization
index has occurred in the past five years, according to the Tencent Research
Institute. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Out of 14 edtech unicorns globally (privately
held venture-backed companies worth at least $1 billion), eight are from China, according to market intelligence firm HolonIQ. Yuanfudao recently nabbed an after-deal valuation of $13 billion to become the
most valuable edtech unicorn worldwide. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As part of the Edventures summit and
a related fellowship, 10 growth stage edtech finalists pitched to a panel of
judges, with four awardees: CoderZ Technology is Israel, Cybint in Israel/US,
MEL Science in the UK, and Mandarin Matrix in Hong Kong. A virtual expo is showcasing
their work until November 22, at </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">bit.ly/Edgba_Summit2020. The fellows will get support in connecting with local localization partners, investors, markeet entry advisors and adopters of their solutions. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_s8OetUKdT0/X62McE_1c-I/AAAAAAAABls/gVHpCinyZcw4P3aqJkWGLzRF6w_j5H3tQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/panel%2B2%252C%2BEsperanza.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="125" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_s8OetUKdT0/X62McE_1c-I/AAAAAAAABls/gVHpCinyZcw4P3aqJkWGLzRF6w_j5H3tQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h125/panel%2B2%252C%2BEsperanza.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 4.0pt; text-align: justify;">Silicon Dragon
founder/editor <b>Rebeca Fannin</b> moderated a panel on China market opportunities
with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dr. Simon Leung</b> (Vice Chairman,
NetDragon), <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dr. Steven Li</b> (Vice Dean,
Tencent Research Institute) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Julian
Fisher</b> (Vice Chairman, British Chamber of Commerce, Beijing). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Li commented that many education
innovations take place outside the school systems with fewer government
regulations. The key market opportunities include pre-school, teacher training, homework and mental health. “<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A
broader trend is research-backed edtech because parents and governments want
results. They want to know that (the offering) is actually based on research
and not just sales driven or marketing driven,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Leung added that one of the few areas that
is encouraged for foreign players is vocational education. He also pointed out
that parents are increasingly interested in their children developing soft
skills.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Pointing to an advantage held by Hong
Kong in the edtech market, Tencent’s Dr. Li noted that while good quality
content is in short supply in China, Hong Kong has a lot of good content to
offer because of its concentration of good schools and universities. With their
internationally acclaimed research capability, Hong Kong universities could
also play the very important role of supporting, evaluating and validating
edtech solutions, he said. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A separate panel facilitated by
Jumpstart Media CEO <b>Relena Sei</b> brought in Elahian plus two investors <b>Bill Ning</b>,
founding partner of Blue Elephant Capital and <b>Matt Greenfield</b>, managing partner
of Rethink Education. Ning said that good education companies are labor
intensive businesses, where growth would be slower than a typical tech
investment. Greenfield added that while the return could take long to realize,
the loss ratio is lower. The successful
startups are often those with a social mission working on a peripheral
innovation to solve a problem that no one is working on, he remarked. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For
startups interested in entering the China market, these tips were offered by
the expert speakers:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Be realistic about the market, the price points, the competition, what
value can be added, the government regulations and the resources required<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Segment the market and look for the right partners to work with and
localize the offering<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Place senior members of the team locally <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In summary,
Esperanza founder and former HKSAR financial secretary <b>John Tsang</b> said that
successful edtech applications demand a
fundamental change in the mindset of educators, parents and the community at
large. It requires effective
collaborations among a complex and interconnected web of players outside the
classroom, from policy-makers, education technology providers, NGOs to funders
and the business community. “<span style="background: white;">Let’s join forces to reimagine
the future for our children,” he concluded.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 4.0pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278963885817361215.post-18946045664614463592020-11-09T11:20:00.007-08:002020-11-09T11:39:14.554-08:00Top VC of the Year Named at Silicon Dragon HK 2020: Recap<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hqYd_NgXnDc/X6mUoMe9PrI/AAAAAAAABlI/4usSzrSkTXAaszX1RZBus9DEXiqjHnXQgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="624" height="227" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hqYd_NgXnDc/X6mUoMe9PrI/AAAAAAAABlI/4usSzrSkTXAaszX1RZBus9DEXiqjHnXQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w404-h227/image.png" width="404" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Silicon Dragon HK 2020: Key Takeways</span></b></div></b><p></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><o:p><b> </b>Quick speaker highlights: <br /></o:p></span><div><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><o:p>November 4, 2020 </o:p></span></div></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2L6rpaeiqe8/X6mVGT1gQxI/AAAAAAAABlQ/TOyhGiI3x-I5whLkQzD5Q_eqhVMnJi5fwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="192" height="124" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2L6rpaeiqe8/X6mVGT1gQxI/AAAAAAAABlQ/TOyhGiI3x-I5whLkQzD5Q_eqhVMnJi5fwCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h124/image.png" width="113" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Silicon Dragon's Top VC 2020</span></b><br /><div>James Mi, Founding P<span style="background-color: white;">a</span>rtner at Lightspeed China Partners, was named Silicon Dragon’s 2020 Venture Capitalist of the Year. James lead this China-focused early-stage venture capital firm with approximately $1.9 billion under management and 8 funds. Among James’ many successful early stage investments are Dianping (Meituan), Pinduoduo, Rong360, and Baidu.<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Keynote</span>:</b><b><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b>Kamran Elahian, Founder and Chairman, Global
Innovation Catalyst, Silicon Valley <br />Elahian founded 10 companies
including three unicorns (Cirrus Logic, NeoMagic and Centillium). He previously
ran venture firm Global Catalyst Partners for 15 years. He now works in global
philanthropy and is an Advisory Member to the UNICEF Innovation Fund.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Society is moving from a knowledge economy to an
innovation economy. lies in algorithmic content. This is the case for finance,
education, media, and many other markets. <br /><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Over time, more tasks will happen with
algorithmic content or machine learning and automation. Less and less will be
manual. <br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Due to broadband and the diffusion of knowledge,
Silicon Valley is no longer the only place for unicorns to be created. <br />T</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">ech innovation will be propelled by a
convergence of engineering, business and design schools in addition to hubs that
consist of accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces, maker spaces, and micro-funds. T</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">ech hubs are emerging on the frontier, and spurring
the creation of new tech jobs. There are now over 1000 tech hubs in Africa
alone.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Venture Panel: Outlook 2021<br /></b></span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;">James Mi – Founding Partner,
Lightspeed China<br />Jeffrey Chi – Vice Chairman and
Managing Director, Vickers Venture Partners<br />Edith Yeung – General Partner, Race
Capital<br />Duncan Chiu – Managing Partner,
Radiant Venture<br />Olivia Wang – Former Head of US,
ZhenFund<b><o:p> </o:p></b></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Key points by panelists: </b><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Duncan Chiu – Managing Partner, Radiant
Ventures<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Radiant Ventures took a conservative approach
and slowed down its investment activity early in the year when Covid-19 hit. In
order to offset the slowdown in investments in Q1, Radiant Ventures did follow-up
rounds on previous portfolio companies, a common thread among other firms. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Now, investors are beginning to plan post
Covid-19.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Hong Kong market is split: later stage
companies are having no trouble raising money, unicorns can get funded even now
if they are not too aggressive with their valuation.<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: 196.0pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Earlier stage companies are having a more
difficult time because they are backed by personal investors and angels, who
tend to be more conservative. This makes it harder for these early stage
company to close a round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many are
calling this a gap year for these early-stage companies. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: 196.0pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Startups in the US and China are able to focus
on their own markets because they’re so big, but for companies coming out of
Hong Kong, they need to choose their market. The top choices in this case are
Mainland China, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.<b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>James Mi – Founding Partner, Lightspeed
China<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The investment pace slowed for Q1 but now it is
picking up for both early and late stage companies in search of funding.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Barriers are being put up for cross border
collaboration and innovation, but this also creates opportunities for startups
in each region because more local solutions are required.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Lightspeed has been advising its portfolio
companies during Covid-19 to keep a six-month cash reserve and raise funding
even if they think they can get by without it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Olivia Wang – Former Head of US,
ZhenFund<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A priority has been to prepare portfolio companies
for the worst case scenario and manage their cash burn. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->As opposed to Q1, the summer has been robust for
even seed and series A companies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Jeffrey Chi- Vice Chairman and
Managing Director, Vickers Venture Partners<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“It’s not about when Covid-19 will pass, but how
we are going to learn to live with it.”</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Tensions will continue whether Biden or Trump is
president. (<i>time lag here</i>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Innovation will take a step back as
tensions between US and China grow. Frictions in deals are happening when US and China are part of the transaction. <b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Edith Yeung – General Partner, Race
Capital<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Distributed deals geographically are the norm. Location
does not matter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Covid-19 is an accelerator for previously avoided
sectors like online education and healthcare.<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">IPOs:
Where Hong Kong Fits</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Michael Chan - Head of International
Issuer Services, HKEX<br />
Irene Chu – Partner, KPMG
China / </span>Head of New Economy and Life Sciences markets, Hong Kong</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hong Kong IPOs totaled $129.8 billion from
2016 through first half of 2020, compared with $96.6 billion for NYSE, $91.7
billion for Shanghai, $72.3 billion for Nasdaq, $53.2 billion for LSE, and
$41.7 billion for Shenzhen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">New economy companies account for about 25% of
all Hong Kong market cap.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Market appetite for companies in health,
fintech, and biotech is strong. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Even with social unrest, Hong Kong IPOs are not
having issues with raising money.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Look for more Southeast Asian tech companies
to go public. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Neither wanted to comment on the delay of the
Ant IPO in China, but it’s created some uncertainty in the market over powerful
influences. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><i> Summary submitted by Silicon Dragon contributor Mike Weiss</i></o:p></span></p></div>Rebecca A. Fanninhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156014721109735217noreply@blogger.com