The Magic of Silicon Valley

“The magic of Silicon Valley is the shared belief system that some will succeed. Carry the flame.” – Dave McClure

I wrote a guest post for The Next Web the other day and thought I’d share here, too. I love that quote by Dave McClure, who is such an inspiration to those outside of the Valley. He is one of, if not the only VC who actually takes the time to jump on a plane and show-up to tech ecosystems around the planet. His efforts are tireless and what he is doing for the global entrepreneurial community is something nobody can put a price on.

For those living in the US, it may be hard to picture, but a majority of the world is a bit behind when it comes to technology and startup cultures. Just imagine the way Silicon Valley was around 2005-06ish — the ripples of the second dot com boom were just forming. Facebook and Twitter were just starting out. Entrepreneurs were building products and webapps — software — because the smartphone penetration would come a year or two after that. There was activity, but the space wasn’t as crowded as it is today. VCs and founders, influential tech bloggers and reporters were more accessible… that’s how I see a lot of regions right now, in 2014.

APAC, especially Southeast Asia, is really exciting right now. And Dave McClure is ON IT. If you’ve never heard him talk abroad, you should YouTube it. He repeats over and over how Silicon Valley is a spirit. A confidence. A mindset.  A belief… and continues to motivate entrepreneurs around the globe. I really wish other high profile VCs took the time to do what he does, to. Not just for themselves (investing) but for technological advancement around the world.

Anyway. My TNW post is here: “Startup founders in Southeast Asia: it’s time to step up”
The Red Herring also picked it up too: “Southeast Asia tech sees boost from emerging nations“

You are not Late

I came across this Medium post and it has been shared, re-shared, numerous times but it is so good I feel the need to bookmark on this blog as well.

It’s written by Wired‘s founder and Editor at Large, Kevin Kelly.
Reading the whole piece is recommended, but here is the meat:

So, the truth: Right now, today, in 2014 is the best time to start something on the internet. There has never been a better time in the whole history of the world to invent something. There has never been a better time with more opportunities, more openings, lower barriers, higher benefit/risk ratios, better returns, greater upside, than now. Right now, this minute. This is the time that folks in the future will look back at and say, “Oh to have been alive and well back then!”

 

The last 30 years has created a marvelous starting point, a solid platform to build truly great things. However the coolest stuff has not been invented yet — although this new greatness will not be more of the same-same that exists today. It will not be merely “better,” it will different, beyond, and other. But you knew that.

 

What you may not have realized is that today truly is a wide open frontier. It is the best time EVER in human history to begin.

 

You are not late.

 

Especially in 2014, where we live in the age of the Internet, it doesn’t matter where you live or who you or know or what you’ve done in the past. If you build it, and it is good, people will come. Just look at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Uber, Box, etc., etc.

Read the whole thing here.

Southeast Asia

Quickly: I joined Dave and Geeks on a Plane in Manila last minute. Justin Hall of GG Ventures best sums up my take away of Manila:

 

…which further enforces what I’ve been thinking about since coming back from Singapore and Bangkok. “Is a country’s GDP an accurate indicator of potential when it comes to startups from emerging nations?”

Manila particularly stands out to me, as the community is healthy and enthusiastic. Founders work together, there is a pay it forward type culture I haven’t seen elsewhere. This type of camaraderie is reminiscent of Silicon Valley around 2006-07ish, before the startup ecosystem blew-up.

Potential capital is of course, first and foremost the thing investors look at. But as someone who believes in the power of mentorship and how entrepreneurs nurturing other entrepreneurs is one of the main reasons why Silicon Valley is Silicon Valley, GDP shouldn’t be the only thing people focus on when it comes to building products. This is why to me, the Philippines is the country I am the most excited about in Southeast Asia.

Either which way, now is the best time to be in Southeast Asia, as the ecosystem is still in its infancy.

Added: just came across the blog of Oliver Segovia, founder of an eCommerce company AVA.
Aside from building a great platform, turns out he is an author of several books and blogs as well. He has an essay on the Philippines’ ecosystem and his vision of the innovation economy there. If you are the slightest bit interested in SEA, this insightful piece lays out the Philippines: “A Vision for the Philippines’ Innovation Economy, & a 4-Point Plan to Achieve It (and why it does NOT include Venture Capital)“

WhatsApp: Time to Grow-up and Start Making Money

There is a piece on All Things D about WhatsApp’s CEO calling out other messaging apps and their “bullshit metrics”.

“We want to steer the conversation to be about active users, not registered users,” said WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum. “We’re a bit fed up and frustrated about people talking about registered users. We think it’s important for us as a leader in the space to speak up and be ethical.”

…the CEO, Jan Koum says.

In a competitive space as messaging apps, it’s no longer just about mass adoption. WhatsApp is the most adopted in markets where users do not spend.

These charts basically speak for themselves. Their pay-per-dowload and one dollar annual fee is cute, compared to the business oriented players as Line, KakaoTalk and WeChat.

Messaging apps are not social networks. They are communication tools and now, moving on to becoming businesses, shifting from apps to e-commerce.

I can’t be the only one who thinks it’s peculiar how WeChat has the most MAUs (monthly active users), yet they are profiting the least.

Calling out other players in the messaging space is nice and all but “we have the most users! we are superior!” mind-set is no longer enough.

Time to grow-up and answer the question: Where is the monetization strategy? #1 in MUAs, last in revenues. Hi, Facebook.

*All Things D piece is here
chart sources 1, 2

When Japanese Efficiency Meets Creativity

Lovely example of when Japanese efficiency meets creativity.
From Peatix, the EventBrite from a Japanese startup.

…sadly, I don’t think a lot of venues will adopt, as lines creates the illusion of popularity, which leads to need then ultimately, conversions.

Would love to see US retailers adopt this to prevent Black Friday madness though (for example). And this, is why I still believe in Japan.

Quantitative vs Qualitative

I once heard a story of how the head of Morgan Stanley’s Emerging Markets spends time on the ground, for months, before drawing conclusions and making moves.

I am not head of emerging markets anywhere nor am I an analyst. I am a technologist.

I started out as a product manager in a Fortune 100 B2B enterprise software corporation. My role was to mobilize their main product. I then continued to find places within the intersection of product, Internet, users and content that aligns with business objects, and fell into marketing and content strategy. I’ve lived through one of, if not, the best, times in technology — experiencing the shift of hardware to software, software to web based apps then to mobile apps. I saw the disruption of music, telecom, hardware and electronic industries. I lived it. Breathed it. Worked in it — and still do. There is nothing I am more in touch with, than technology (even myself).

So yes, my posts are mainly qualitative observations. I depend on multiple analyses and news pieces, blogs and tech blogs, and even Twitter, to stay on top of hot topics.

Right now, there is a lot of focus on Asia.

As someone on the ground in Asia and knows the US market, I hope to bring cultural truths which supports numbers from people who get paid to conduct quantitative analyses.

I love technology. I also have a lot to say; too much sometimes, as I am living in one of the most exciting markets in 2013: Asia.

This blog, is the outlet I dump my thoughts. I hope you enjoy reading these posts as much as I love writing them.