Dun Xiao's pursuit of a quality education has taken him around the world, from Cambridge University to MIT and Harvard, where he studied electrical and information engineering. Armed with a lifelong passion for education and his technical background, Xiao Dun was inspired to found 17zuoye.com, (a.k.a. Homework Together), the largest online homework platform for K12 students in China.

And so today, we explore Chinese Edtech - a market of particular significance in China given its traditional reverence for learning and the lucrative commercial opportunity this yields. With Dun, we explore key topics and trends, including: how do you segment the Edtech market in China (e.g. by learning groups, product and delivery type?) How do you look at future of education… does this involve building disruptive products that can be applied immediately (e.g. Alt School or Minerva in the US), or should it be more of an evolutionary process where technology is used to complement existing models? What drives key stakeholders in education ecosystem, and why is it relatively more difficult to scale a education business that involves working with teachers, students, parents, school systems, and the government? What is the role of data in education? How do you apply customized learning solutions onto the existing education system? And lastly, how do you get teachers to buy in on using new teaching solution and onboard them efficiently?

Link to write-up here: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/a-gradual-evolutionary-approach-to-disrupting-education-with-17zuoye

A Gradual, Evolutionary Approach to Disrupting Education - with 17zuoye Cofounder Dun Xiao

These days it’s getting increasingly easy for people to build full featured products and companies. Why? Well, fundamental features are becoming modularized and can be readily incorporated into existing software. That way, companies can focus on developing their core capabilities while out-sourcing other requirements to 3rd party providers. For example, use Strikingly to build your own website within an hour, activate payments with Stripe, and host everything on AWS. Or in the case of most mobile apps, incorporate Agora’s SDK or API suite to active voice and video calls over a public internet.  

Today we have joining us Tony Zhao, who is the founder and CEO of Agora.io. Agora's SDKs enable mobile and web users to make high definition voice & video calls, share screens, whiteboard, and use data channels to exchange files.

Tony helps us understand: what are major trends in the global VoIP market and what are key success factors? Who are top competitors in this space and how do they differentiate? Why is Agora rolling out a virtual lens SDK on top of its classic VoIP offerings? Why does Agora have extensive operations in both Silicon Valley and China? What are examples of Chinese innovation, especially around video based social engagement and networking?

Link to write-up here: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/the-modularization-of-real-time-communication-with-agora-io-ceo-tony-zhao

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The Modularization of Real-Time Communication – with Agora.io CEO Tony Zhao

Following the broader trend of modularization, Strikingly abstracts away lower level code and design requirements, allowing any user to build gorgeous, mobile optimized websites in just minutes. On today’s podcast, we sit down with Strikingly’s CEO David Chen to learn more about his website builder product, how it works, and how it is enabling a new  generation of entrepreneurs to set up websites quickly and test out MVP products before scaling further. We also learn more about the B2B services landscape in China, how it differs from the U.S., and how to properly incorporate lessons from one market to another.

Link to write-up here: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/build-your-own-website-no-coding-required-with-strikingly-ceo-david-chen

Build Your Own Website, No Coding Required! – with Strikingly CEO David Chen

Harry Wang is the founding partner of Linear Venture, a $100m VC fund that specializes in early-stage technology investments related to China and greater Asia area. Harry has led investments into more than 40 technology companies, mainly focusing on data and AI-related firms. Harry has served as a CEO advisor to Baixing, Dianping & CSDN. Prior to founding Linear Venture, Harry was head of Facebook’s risk engineering team and led efforts on payments fraud control, and was one of the first engineers working on social ads and newsfeed. Harry received his MSE from Stanford and has a CS degree from Zhejiang University.

With Harry we first discuss his personal story, including moving from China to the U.S. and working at Facebook during its early years, to why he returned to China as a venture investor. Harry shares his insight into Linear Venture’s core investment areas, its sourcing and deals strategy, his views on Chinese vs. US tech leadership and strengths, and of course – if and how might Facebook enter the China market.

Link to write-up here: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/a-cross-border-perspective-on-frontier-tech-investing-with-linear-venture

Closing Frontier Tech Deals in China - With Linear Venture Founding Partner Harry Wang

We sit down with Stella Zhou, Principal at Qiming Venture Partners in Shanghai. Since joining Qiming from GE Capital in 2010, Stella has focused on “Inter-sumer” - Internet and consumer - companies like Musical.ly and Mogujie. 

We'll start today's episode by first talking a little more about Qiming's investment coverage by geography and by sector. Then we'll tackle some of the major trends within Inter-sumer, including the sharing economy, entertainment, consumer applications of AI, and consumer upgrade. Lastly, we'll cover cross-border investment opportunities, the growth and prevalence of social video, and also have a discussion around how niche social networks and platforms can generate tremendous value, despite the interference of large existing players.

Link to write-up here: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/the-new-chinese-inter-sumer-with-qiming-principal-stella-zhou

The New Chinese “Inter-sumer” - with Qiming Principal Stella Zhou

Your gateway to Asia's innovation economy. We interview Asia's top founders and investors to translate their stories for the world.

Originally created in 2017 by Adam Bao at Shunwei Capital (founded by Lei Jun).

The Modularization of Real-Time Communication – with Agora.io CEO Tony Zhao

Harbinger Asia