English translations are being added article by article. The Chinese collection contains 858 articles; 736 currently have a full English translation. Dates refer to the original posts.
Traditional automakers consider used-car values and keep raising prices; Tesla takes the opposite path, with other commentary describing a Model S reduction from US$140,000 to US$100,000. Robin compares the Model T, launched above US$800 in 1908, whose assembly-line production enabled falling prices and Henry Ford’s mass-ownership vision. Tesla resembles technology and internet businesses: direct sales and online performance updates. If it followed the post’s version of Moore’s law, performance would double or prices halve every eighteen months. Musk envisioned cars earning money as autonomous ride-hailing vehicles and storing rooftop solar energy to exploit time-of-use rates. Do not let current habits limit imagination.
Key points
Traditional makers protect resale values; Tesla instead cuts prices.
The Model T fell from over US$800 in 1908 to US$260 in 1925 through assembly-line production.
Tesla uses direct sales and online performance updates like a technology business.
Musk envisioned cars as income-generating tools and energy-storage vehicles.
Robin argues that TSMC’s US$40–50 billion annual capital-spending scale is almost unaffordable for Intel. He considers talent, capital costs, focus, and business models: Taiwan concentrates technical talent at TSMC, while America’s best often go to Silicon Valley. He sees Samsung as the main competitor and EUV restrictions as a constraint on China.
Key points
Robin judges TSMC’s US$40–50 billion spending scale almost beyond Intel’s reach.
Taiwan concentrates engineering talent at TSMC; US talent often chooses Silicon Valley.
Capital costs, focus, and business models further support TSMC’s advantages.
Samsung is the main rival; EUV restrictions constrain China.
Rather than fighting in a crowded market, define a clear audience, enter through a small opening, dominate a segment, then expand. The clearer the target customer’s profile, the easier it is to establish a place in their mind.
Key points
Find a clear target audience rather than fight in a crowded market.
Start with a narrow opening, dominate the segment, then expand.
A clearer customer profile strengthens positioning in customers’ minds.
Reflecting on American divisions and a Facebook article, Robin questions whether greater freedom of expression and information have actually connected people. Algorithms can trap groups in echo chambers, showing only desired information and reinforcing beliefs, even shaping perception. He urges independent judgment and the ability to falsify claims when receiving algorithmic or AI-mediated information. A description of echo chambers explains repeated, distorted voices in closed environments. Seek varied experiences and perspectives while retaining your own reasoning.
Key points
Algorithms can show groups only what they want to see and believe.
The result may be greater division rather than connection.
Develop independent judgment and the ability to challenge and falsify claims.
Explore diverse perspectives while maintaining your own reasoning.
Described as a ‘little Tencent of the Middle East,’ Yalla began in Dubai with voice-based social networking and listed on the NYSE in September 2020. It illustrates building for the target market from the outset. Founder 楊濤 spent years with ZTE in the UAE and understood local needs.
Key points
Described as a “little Tencent of the Middle East,” Yalla began in Dubai with voice-based social networking and listed on the NYSE in September 2020.
It illustrates designing for the target market from day one.
The founder’s ZTE experience in the UAE supported local understanding.
Do not abandon customer needs and product goals to please investors.
Robin contrasts his subjective picture of earlier founders such as Jobs and Gates focusing on products rather than politics with today’s close Silicon Valley–Washington ties: Thiel’s support, Musk’s funding, and OpenAI’s US$6.6 billion round led by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital. He argues that geopolitics and antitrust pressures make what technology companies can do increasingly complicated.
Key points
The image of earlier founders avoiding politics is the author’s subjective generalization.
Silicon Valley is closely connected with Washington, illustrated by Thiel and Musk.
Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital led OpenAI’s US$6.6 billion round.
Geopolitics and antitrust pressure complicate companies’ choices.
Excerpt from 范冰’s 前線部署工程師 with Robin’s commentary; the original post did not name the author
Reading guide
Before writing the first line of code at an enterprise customer, map data, processes, organization, systems, and politics. Two weeks of diligence may look like pure cost but can prevent six months of work in the wrong direction. Robin argues that enterprise projects often fail because the team has not understood internal organization, responsibilities, and interests.
Key points
Map the customer’s situation before writing the first line of code.
Prepare five maps: data, processes, organization, systems, and politics.
Two weeks of diligence can prevent six months of misdirected investment.
Robin: understand the customer’s organization, responsibilities, and interests.
Before expanding overseas, ask whether the market actually wants your project. In Singapore, for example, investment may follow naturally when a project is both a globally recognized Taiwanese strength—such as semiconductors, AI hardware, IC design, or critical components—and something Singapore wants to develop. If neither condition holds, the effort may yield little. The central questions are whether you can prove world-class strength and how badly the market needs you.
Key points
Before expanding overseas, ask whether the market wants your project.
Investment may follow naturally when the project matches both Taiwan’s recognized strengths and the host market’s priorities.
If neither condition holds, the effort may yield little.
Prove that you are world-class and that the market strongly needs you.
A company with 500 billion in revenue must add 50 billion merely to grow 10% a year, so it may overlook small opportunities worth only 50–100 million today. Yet over a long horizon, today’s 50 million opportunity might become 500 billion in twenty years. Scale can be an advantage, but it can also become the greatest burden.
Key points
A company with 500 billion in revenue must add 50 billion to grow 10%.
It may therefore overlook opportunities worth only 50–100 million today.
Today’s 50 million opportunity might become 500 billion in twenty years.
Scale can be an advantage and also the greatest burden.
Robin applies Bill Gates’s observation—“we always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10”—to company value. A company may overestimate its present value yet underestimate what it can become over a decade. Hypothetical reflections on ASPEED’s 2013 listing and Kaori’s 2006 listing support the conclusion: face today’s valuation rationally, do not pull future value forward, and build value step by step.
Key points
Gates said we overestimate change over two years and underestimate change over ten.
Robin analogically applies that observation to present and long-term company value.
ASPEED’s 2013 listing at NT$110 and Kaori’s 2006 listing illustrate the hypothetical reflection.
Face today’s valuation rationally and do not pull future value forward.
Taiwan’s service sector and startups share a problem: low output per employee. Manufacturers and technology companies serve global markets and achieve higher output, while low productivity makes it difficult for service businesses to attract strong talent. The way forward is to use technology and digital tools to raise each employee’s output. Analysts watch this metric even at Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Netflix, and Amazon; Taiwanese startups cannot ignore it.
Key points
Taiwan’s service sector and startups share the problem of low output per employee.
Manufacturing and technology companies serve global markets and therefore generate higher output per employee.
Service businesses need technology and digital tools to raise employee output and attract talent.
Analysts monitor output per employee even at global technology giants.
Startup teams often rush to expand across regions and countries without a team that can consolidate and protect their gains. Expansion becomes meaningful only after the company has established a solid home base.
Key points
Expansion matters only when the company can retain users externally and has an internal team to support them.
A team that opens new territory must be matched by one that cultivates and protects it.
Establish a solid home base before expanding outward.
Four qualities describe the organization a startup team should build: rapid response, sustained value creation, transparency, and continuous evolution.
Robin’s commentary (personal views, not investment advice)
Reading guide
Investment performance depends on finding good teams and on when investments are held and sold. For a good company, the entry price is relatively less important; a fund’s finite life can create pressure to sell. These are personal views, not investment advice.
Key points
Performance depends on investing in good teams.
Holding periods and exit timing affect outcomes.
The entry price of a good company is relatively less important.
Taiwan’s venture capital ecosystem has five elements: capital providers, investment institutions, entrepreneurs, medium-sized and large companies, and accessible, efficient capital markets. Robin proposes the phrase “Venture Taiwan,” bringing together innovation, entrepreneurship, investment, and Taiwan.
Key points
Five elements: capital providers, investment institutions, entrepreneurs, medium-sized and large companies, and capital markets.
Channel long-term, patient capital into technological innovation.
Opening section reprinted from 效率為王 (original author not identified); closing commentary by Robin
Reading guide
A leadership team is not simply cofounders who dine together. It consists of people who can constrain you and apply the brakes. Robin adds that entrepreneurship is lonely: find at least one partner with whom you can communicate as an equal.
Key points
A leadership team includes people who can constrain the leader.
The test is whether someone can apply the brakes.
Robin: have at least one partner with whom you can communicate as an equal.
Opening section reprinted (original author not identified); closing commentary by Robin
Reading guide
Test startup ideas on a small scale and at low cost, changing one variable at a time. A street stall offers low costs and rapid feedback. Robin considers it a more grounded starting point than imagining customers behind closed doors.
Key points
Street stalls offer low costs and fast feedback.
Change only one variable at a time.
Robin: direct experience is more grounded than imagining customers behind closed doors.
Excerpt from 范冰’s 前線部署工程師, with Robin’s commentary (the original post did not name the author)
Reading guide
Enterprise AI delivery can draw on three kinds of partners: cloud providers and large platforms, consultancies and systems integrators, and customers’ own customers and supply chains. Robin adds that potential partners in Taiwan include the Big Four accounting firms, telecom operators, and systems integrators.
Key points
Three partner groups can support enterprise AI delivery: cloud providers and platforms, consultancies and systems integrators, and customers’ customers and supply chains.
Customers’ committed cloud spend is a practical lever for co-selling.
Partners can provide customer relationships that would take three years to build yourself.
Robin: potential partners in Taiwan include the Big Four accounting firms, telecom operators, and systems integrators.
Excerpt from 范冰’s 前線部署工程師, with Robin’s commentary (the original post did not name the author)
Reading guide
High-caliber FDE delivery capacity is always scarce, making scheduling a strategic tool. Establish a profitability threshold, prioritize strategic value rather than contract size, turn the waiting period into a service, and never promise more concurrent projects than capacity permits. Robin recommends dividing vague large contracts into smaller projects that can be delivered and validated quickly.
Key points
Scarce FDE delivery capacity makes scheduling itself strategic.
Set a profitability threshold: small contracts cannot support expensive FDE staffing.
Prioritize strategic value over contract size and make waiting time productive.
Robin: divide vague large orders into smaller, quickly validated projects.
Excerpt from 范冰’s 前線部署工程師, with Robin’s commentary (the original post did not name the author)
Reading guide
Most technical proposals describe features rather than business value. A strong proposal has four layers: business outcomes, a path for validating value, an implementation plan, and risks with responses. In an enterprise market damaged by overpromising, willingness to be judged by business results is a valuable sign of sincerity.
Key points
Most technical proposals discuss features instead of business value.
Use four layers: business outcomes, value validation, implementation, and risk responses.
Willingness to submit to business-result verification signals sincerity in enterprise markets.
Book excerpt attributed by the post’s tag to 于剛’s 激情創業 (CITIC Press,2019); closing commentary by Robin
Reading guide
Shared values, an equal partnership, and candid communication are three conditions for mutual success. Robin hopes Taiwanese entrepreneurs and investors can understand and support each other.
Key points
Share the same values.
Treat one another as equal partners.
Communicate candidly.
Robin: entrepreneurs and investors should understand and support each other.
Opening section reprinted from 效率為王 (original author not identified); closing commentary by Robin
Reading guide
Do not tell investors that an unprofitable location will become profitable simply by expanding. First develop the initial territory deeply and make it work. Robin adds that a home base needs provisions, troops, and defensive walls.
Key points
Scaling an unprofitable location does not automatically produce profit.
Develop the first patch deeply before expanding.
Robin: a home base needs provisions, troops, and walls.
Opening section reprinted (original author not identified); the seven points under “Robin’s Turn” are Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
The opening text contrasts corporate venture capital (CVC) and financially oriented VC in funding, incentives, and strategic objectives. Robin adds seven trade-offs for founders, including strategic orders, investor labels, equity-method disclosures, and combining strategic with financial investors.
Key points
Compare CVC and VC funding sources, incentives, and strategic objectives.
Robin offers seven considerations for entrepreneurs dealing with CVC.
Consider strategic orders, investor labels, equity-method disclosures, and financial co-investors.
The comparison is a generalization; practices differ among institutions.
Opening section relayed according to the tag #萬維鋼現代思維工具100講 (not compared word for word); closing commentary by Robin
Reading guide
Overruns receive extra funding and failed projects are repackaged because someone else pays. Robin adds that budget and revenue achievement help identify responsible founders. The original date given for János Kornai’s soft budget constraint concept is incorrect; a verification note corrects it.
Key points
Under a soft budget constraint, the spender is not the person who ultimately pays.
János Kornai developed the concept while studying state-owned enterprises.
A note corrects the original chronology.
Robin: budget and revenue achievement help assess a founder’s accountability.
Material relayed according to the tag for 寧向東’s management course (not compared word for word); opening quotation by Robin
Reading guide
Both leaders ask employees to speak first, but only one incorporates their views into the conclusion. Whether people feel they matter makes a profound difference to the team.
Key points
Good leadership creates participation and shared commitment.
Both leaders invite contributions; the difference is whether those contributions shape the conclusion.
Whether employees feel taken seriously affects team performance.
Reprinted material tagged #極簡增長 (author not identified), plus Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Contrasting Nokia with the iPhone, the article argues that piling on features looks complex but is easy; genuine simplicity requires innovation. Robin adds that feature accumulation reveals uncertainty about what customers really need.
Key points
Innovation lies behind simplicity; piling on features can reflect lazy thinking.
Robin: adding everything can reveal a lack of confidence.
Compilation of the original post (see the notes for source and verification limitations)
Reading guide
The post identifies 春澗資本 and 陳慶森, but its WeChat link currently indicates an account migration, and the same original text was not obtained for comparison. The full approved post is retained; limitations concerning sources, figures, and quotations appear in the body note.
Key points
Preserve the original post’s arguments and examples.
See the body note for limitations on original-source, numerical, and quotation checks.
Book excerpt from Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup, with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Before committing substantial time or capital, founders should rigorously assess unit economics. Pets.com failed to evaluate customer lifetime value against acquisition costs, losing more as its customer base grew; it was liquidated in November 2000, leaving investors with a $300 million loss. Groupon also stumbled on unit economics after failing to build a durable competitive advantage. Robin’s comment: “The best money comes not from shareholders, but from customers.”
Key points
Rigorously assess unit economics before committing substantial time or capital.
Pets.com did not adequately evaluate LTV and COCA; the more customers it acquired, the more it lost.
Groupon also struggled with unit economics after failing to establish a competitive advantage.
Robin: “The best money comes not from shareholders, but from customers.”
Book excerpt from Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup, with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Customer lifetime value (LTV) is a range, not a precise figure. What matters is understanding its components: one-time, recurring, and add-on revenue; gross profit from each revenue stream; retention; product life cycle; repeat-purchase rate; and cost of capital. David Skok’s rule of thumb for SaaS companies is an LTV-to-COCA ratio of at least 3:1. Robin’s comment: one practical way to estimate the cost of capital is to ask three to five venture capital firms what IRR they require.
Key points
LTV is a range, not a precise figure; understand the assumptions and components behind it.
Components include one-time, recurring, and add-on revenue; gross profit by stream; retention; product life cycle; repeat purchases; and cost of capital.
David Skok’s rule of thumb is an LTV-to-COCA ratio of at least 3:1 for SaaS companies.
Robin: estimate the cost of capital by asking three to five venture capital firms about their required IRR.
Book excerpt from Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup, with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Even when calculated LTV appears too low to support the business, founders should examine six factors they may be able to adjust: the business model; profit rather than revenue; operating expenses; gross profit by revenue stream, illustrated by LARK Technologies; retention; and upselling opportunities. Robin’s comment: don’t rely too heavily on intuition; many steps need to be quantified clearly.
Key points
When LTV looks too low, examine six secondary factors that could be adjusted.
LTV concerns profit, not revenue; do not overlook operating expenses.
Different revenue streams have different margins, as illustrated by LARK Technologies.
Robin: do not rely too much on intuition; many steps need to be clearly quantified and calculated.
Book excerpt from Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup, with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Founders routinely underestimate customer acquisition cost. Start by mapping the sales process and assessing it based on evidence rather than impressions. Four often-overlooked costs are sales and marketing activities, long sales cycles, outreach to prospects who never buy, and changes in the customer’s internal personnel. Robin’s comment: prepare thoroughly, budget conservatively, and leave room for error.
Start by mapping the sales process and evaluating it using evidence rather than subjective impressions.
Four overlooked costs include sales and marketing, long sales cycles, contacts with prospects who do not convert, and changes in the customer’s internal team.
Robin: prepare thoroughly, budget conservatively, and leave room for error.
Book excerpt from Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup, with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Customer acquisition costs are high at first and tend to decline as a business matures. The sales process can be divided into three phases: in the short term, create demand and orders, mainly through direct sales; in the medium term, fulfill orders and manage customers, using distributors where appropriate; in the long term, complete orders with the help of scalable channels such as the internet. Robin’s takeaway: make time a friend rather than an enemy.
Key points
Customer acquisition cost is initially high and tends to fall as a company matures.
Short term: create demand and orders, mainly through direct sales.
Medium term: fulfill orders and manage customers, making use of distributors where appropriate; long term: complete orders with scalable online channels.
Robin’s takeaway: make time a friend rather than an enemy.
Opening section: excerpt from Annie Duke’s Quit; the opening line and “Key takeaway” are Robin’s own words
Reading guide
“Keep going and you will succeed” is not always true. The key is to choose worthwhile things to stick with and quit the rest. A verification note addresses the provenance of the Edison quotation.
Key points
Perseverance does not guarantee success; choosing the right thing to persist with matters.
Quit other pursuits when the time is right.
The Edison quotation’s attribution cannot be substantiated.
Book excerpt: Bill Aulet’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship (identified by the post’s Chinese book-title tags); parenthetical notes and closing comments by Robin
Reading guide
Can customers afford it? Can you reach them? Do they have a reason to buy? Can you deliver a whole solution? Is there entrenched competition? Can you expand into adjacent markets? Does the market fit the founding team’s goals? Robin’s takeaway: fish where the fish are.
Key points
Customers need the funds, accessibility, and a reason to buy.
Can you deliver a whole solution, and how strong is the competition?
Can you expand into adjacent markets, and does the market fit the founding team’s values?
Translated from Steve Blank’s 2009 blog post “Lessons Learned: A New Type of VC Pitch”; opening paragraph by Robin
Reading guide
Cafepress’s founders focused on what they had learned from customers rather than promoting a methodology. Their pitch covered the market, three lessons, and why they were there. Robin’s takeaway: concrete experience gives you a better chance of standing out.
Key points
Cafepress’s founders replaced methodology talk with customer experience.
Pitch structure: market, three lessons, and why we are here.
Robin’s takeaway: the more concrete your practical experience, the better your chance of standing out.
Robin’s personal remarks and a paraphrase of Crossing the Chasm
Reading guide
High-tech products face a chasm between the early and mainstream markets. Crossing it requires focusing on one specific segment, winning it, and then expanding.
Book excerpt tagged #精益創業實戰 (“Lean Startup in Practice”), with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
An idea must balance customer, market, and technical risks. From CDs to MP3s to streaming, a better product does not necessarily mean better sound quality: what matters is what customers actually need.
Key points
Balance the three risks through desirability, feasibility, and viability.
A better product does not necessarily mean better sound quality.
Book excerpt tagged #矽谷創業課, with Robin’s commentary
Reading guide
Investors care about a market’s ceiling. Early-stage companies should not force market-size estimates into a spreadsheet. The US and Taiwan have different fundraising environments: neither is inherently better; the question is fit.
Key points
A market’s ceiling affects fundraising.
Early-stage market size cannot simply be estimated through a spreadsheet.
The US and Taiwan have different environments; fit is what matters.
Reprinted compilation (tagged #Dedao and #WuBofanWeeklyBusinessCommentary; author not identified)
Reading guide
Using Microsoft’s difficulties from 2005 and its recovery within three years of Nadella’s 2014 appointment, the course argues against rushing to judge a company. It describes three layers of refresh: products, from PCs to ubiquitous computing; systems and management; and culture. Culture is the hardest, it argues, with Nadella’s empathy, developed through experiences of disadvantage, supporting a more collaborative stance.
Key points
Suspend judgment: a struggling company may have an internal capacity for recovery outsiders do not understand.
From easier to harder: products, systems and management, then culture.
Empathy means a cooperative, collaborative, constructive stance, expressed through behavior rather than slogans.
Move from a dominant-player mindset to a service mindset, and from product-centered to customer-centered thinking.