https://robinshen.com/en/New English translations. Original publication dates are preserved on each article.enhttps://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5856616737684042/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5856616737684042/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-28. Robin reflects on the nature and mission of venture capital. VC means continually finding underserved needs, looking at larger markets, and using first principles to see beneath the surface and identify more disruptive opportunities. Capital accelerates and catalyzes the development of an industry. Early-stage investing requires working at the frontiers of technology, markets, and business. Practitioners need to stay young at heart, keep an open mind, continue learning, and exchange ideas with younger people. Robin sees VC as a force that helps capable entrepreneurs realize their dreams faster. Beyond financial returns, it should carry a sense of mission: helping bring about change in the world is valuable in terms of both social impact and influence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3967509186594816/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3967509186594816/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-17. Robin considers Shopify the closest comparison to 91APP. At the time, Shopify had a market capitalization of US$140 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 738, and a price-to-sales ratio of 56, while 91APP offered more functionality and had greater ambitions in online-merge-offline (OMO) commerce. His broader concern is what this means for Taiwan’s capital markets. Regardless of whether someone uses 91APP’s products or services, he hopes its entry into Taiwan’s capital markets will encourage more Taiwanese SaaS companies to move forward and break free of a hardware-centered mindset. Beyond a technology landscape dominated by TSMC, Taiwan needs new opportunities for transformation, and Robin sees 91APP as a pioneer opening that door. The valuation figures reflect December 2020.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6879200638758975/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6879200638758975/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-08. Robin says startup strategy means figuring out the single most important thing to do, and choosing not to do the other 99 things that also seem important. This is not a question of deciding which tasks come first and which come later. It is about recognizing that there is only one most important thing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8195065280505831/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8195065280505831/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-04. Robin says the familiar advice to keep going and never give up is incomplete: it leaves out the need to be heading in the right direction. Many entrepreneurial journeys resemble being lost in a desert. Those who make it out alive rely on more than persistence; they also need a compass.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4958216907524034/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4958216907524034/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-13. The preface to Blitzscaling quotes the famous scene from Glengarry Glen Ross: first prize is a Cadillac, second prize is a set of steak knives, and third prize is getting fired. In social networking, Facebook takes first prize; MySpace may have taken second, but that no longer matters; Friendster takes third—does anyone still remember Friendster? In the internet age, you have to win first prize to survive. Robin’s interpretation is that network effects leave no room for perfect competition or oligopoly, only monopoly: in social networking and search, the leader is far ahead. Competition is brutal and the rewards are enormous, which makes blitzscaling essential. If you move at a leisurely pace and are still not number one when time runs out, there is little left for you.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-519745259396312/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-519745259396312/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-19. Wan Weigang’s Elite Daily Lessons relays Morgan Housel’s model of bubbles: bubbles are not a moral issue; they arise when players with different time horizons are playing different games. First, a company delivers real results and attracts attention. Second, short-term players enter and push up the price. Third, long-term investors mistake short-term price movements for information the market is giving them. Fourth, short-term money leaves and the price collapses. The point is not to decide whether the market is right or wrong, but to know your own strategy and time horizon, and who the other participants are. This model is a tool for understanding, not a tool for timing the market.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6471074762904900/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6471074762904900/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-10. Reprinted news: CATL reported 2022 revenue of RMB328.5 billion, up 152% year over year, and net profit of RMB30.7 billion, up 92%. Its global market share of EV battery usage was 37%, ranking first for the sixth consecutive year; its share of energy-storage battery shipments was 43.4%, ranking first for the second consecutive year. R&D spending was RMB15.5 billion, up 101%. Robin comments that even before entering venture capital more than a decade earlier, he had reservations about Taiwan’s prospects in the battery industry if competition came down to economies of scale, volume, cost, or even basic-science capabilities. Looking back, he feels those concerns seem to have been borne out. He also jokes that “our Simplo makes a ton of money too.” The financial figures refer to 2022; the remark about Simplo is a personal joke and does not indicate any shareholding or fund relationship.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-672075620829941/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-672075620829941/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-14. This letter was written amid the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000, when Amazon’s share price fell 80%. It reports 20 million customers, an increase of 1.4 million; sales rising from $1.64 billion to $2.76 billion; gross margin growing 125%; and $1.1 billion in year-end cash. By every measure, it says, Amazon was in a stronger position than ever. Why, then, did the share price plunge? Bezos quotes Benjamin Graham: in the short run, the stock market is a voting machine; in the long run, it is a weighing machine. The 1999 surge reflected plentiful “votes,” not “weight”; Amazon wanted to be weighed. He also acknowledges the failures of the living.com and pets.com investments and underestimating how hard it would be for single-category online retailers to scale. Looking ahead, he draws confidence from advances in bandwidth, storage, and processors, believing roughly 15% of retail would move online permanently. As usual, he appends the first letter from 1997.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8201985679813791/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8201985679813791/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-05. Robin makes a rough calculation: reading from age 10 to 80 at five books a day would amount to about 127,000 books in a lifetime (5 × 365 × 70 = 127,750). In reality, someone reading about ten books a year after entering the workforce would read roughly 500 between ages 20 and 70, perhaps 1,000 if especially dedicated. That makes it important to choose carefully rather than read only popular business and management books. Literature, history, philosophy, geography, popular science, and medicine can broaden one’s horizons. He relays a colleague’s view that a narrowly practical reading diet, focused only on books with short-term usefulness, makes it harder to develop deep cultural grounding. He also feels he has lost his own ability to concentrate and read for long stretches.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6513099752035734/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6513099752035734/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-23. The first part of a speech labeled early 2016 by Allen Zhang says WeChat’s daily logins exceeded one billion in August 2015, possibly making it China’s first app with one billion daily active users. Its launch screen—a person standing before the Earth—has no standard interpretation: it leaves room for users’ imaginations, with a billion users offering a billion understandings, so it will never change. Robin adds a parenthetical question: hasn’t that Earth launch screen disappeared? A friend calls WeChat an outlier in the internet industry. Zhang is both proud and surprised: simply holding the line on what makes a good product has made it different, because many products treat neither themselves as products nor their users as users. He cites designer Rams’s ten principles: innovative, useful, beautiful, easy to use, unobtrusive, honest, lasting, attentive to every detail, environmentally friendly, and less is more. Software interacts with users even more frequently, so these principles apply equally. He criticizes traffic and monetization KPIs that mislead product managers. Why did Microsoft not put ads on Internet Explorer’s heavily viewed 404 page? If WeChat were a person, it would be your best friend: how could you put an ad on that friend’s face? Despite complaints about WeChat 7.0, he argues that changes should follow design principles and guide aesthetics rather than fall behind the times.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3671375212874883/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3671375212874883/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-07. Responding to online complaints that Formosa Chang is “expensive” and “raising prices,” Robin argues that a set meal at NT$120–150 still costs less than many Japanese ramen or pasta dishes. Wanting higher wages while rejecting businesses’ price adjustments is a paradox. He advocates allowing prices to adjust as the economy grows and wages to rise alongside them. Businesses should be encouraged to make good products, earn reasonable profits, and treat employees well. Consumers, too, should value good products over cheap, poor-quality ones, creating a virtuous cycle.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6942735479072157/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6942735479072157/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-26. Robin cautions entrepreneurs against skipping critical early steps, especially customer discovery. The most important starting point is not finding money, assembling a team, developing technology, building a product, or planning a business model: it is confirming the needs of target customers. He identifies another warning sign. You set out to do A, discover after testing the market that A will not work, and decide you first need B to make A possible—then add C. The most likely outcome is that neither A nor B succeeds. You may not recognize this, because one of entrepreneurship’s greatest traps is deceiving yourself.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-838345900869578/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-838345900869578/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-02. Robin uses Google, Tripadvisor, and Agoda as examples. Google used to be the first layer, search; Tripadvisor the second, reviews; and online travel agencies (OTAs) the third. But Google keeps moving downstream, forcing OTAs to move upstream. The quoted second half lists four characteristics of internet businesses: a natural tendency toward monopoly, the need for sustained high growth, a disruptive nature that lets one expansion support the next, and greater pressure to turn a profit amid a worsening market environment. As a result, internet companies expand horizontally and vertically. Their thinking shifts from “What can I do?” to “What should be done?” That is why technology giants move into finance, automobiles, and healthcare.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26452269727692108/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26452269727692108/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-02-05. This post reprints an essay about the narrative of “machines replacing humans.” In Homo Deus, Harari proposes that the most important economic question of the twenty-first century is how to create jobs for “useless people,” envisioning a small elite using technology to become “Homo deus.” The essay says this narrative dates to Aristotle, while the Industrial Revolution shows that machines both destroy and create jobs. The possible difference this time is that earlier machines replaced physical labor, whereas future intelligent machines aim to take over mental work across the board. Robin ends with a question: once printing became widespread, copying manuscripts by hand disappeared, but humanity moved to another stage. Are humans now being replaced, or are we on the eve of a new chapter? Harari’s predictions are relayed by the essay as hypothetical scenarios, not facts.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3500368856642187/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3500368856642187/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-13. In July 2020, Robin looked back at Tesla’s financial turning point and considered whether a company solves problems and creates irreplaceable value. The original post explicitly described the amount and conversion price of the 2019 convertible bonds as a hazy recollection. Tesla’s Q1 2019 documents record a $920 million convertible-bond repayment, while its May 2019 pricing document gives an initial conversion price of approximately $309.83 per share, rather than the roughly $250 recalled in the post. The statements about Model 3, cash flow, and the share price in 2020 remain a retrospective from that time; this round of review did not reconstruct the complete timeline. Share prices use the basis applicable before the stock split and should not be compared directly with later prices.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-505971857440319/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-505971857440319/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-28. The original post names Dedao / Wu Jun’s Letters from Silicon Valley and compares the investment approaches of Sequoia, KPCB, and YC. Some material about Sequoia’s three stages, explaining a business on the back of a business card, and a company’s DNA can be matched to the venture-capital chapter of Wu Jun’s 2008 Langchao Zhidian, but this does not establish the source of the entire post or confirm its other details. The accounts of KPCB’s investment outcomes and involvement with companies are relayed from the original post; they have not been verified by this site and do not describe current policy. YC emphasizes founders’ potential and mentors’ experience. Paul Graham’s own biography also names Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, and Trevor Blackwell as cofounders.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-584048859632618/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-584048859632618/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-30. Robin discusses venture capital’s time horizon. A VC fund commonly lasts around 10 years, or as little as five to seven. Compared with mutual funds in the secondary market, VC is still a medium- to long-term investor: it must consider changes in trends in years and need not worry about daily fluctuations. Within the protection and constraints of a fund’s term, investments with a five- to ten-year horizon are most suitable. VC practitioners must sense which trends will unfold over those years and which are merely brilliant but short-lived fireworks. A 15- to 20-year outlook, however, extends beyond the fund’s life. Even if an investor correctly identifies an industry trend 20 years ahead, being forced to wind up the fund after 10 years may mean falling short halfway and paving the way for later investors. The lesson: understand your industry’s conditions and apply your strengths within them. Neither short-term nor ultra-long-term thinking fits VC.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4917822231563502/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4917822231563502/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-01. Venture investing has two kinds of mistakes: backing the wrong venture and losing the principal, or missing a venture and forgoing substantial upside. Ordinary VCs worry about backing the wrong companies; top VCs worry more about missing them. If just one company in a portfolio delivers a 100-fold or 1,000-fold return, the others can fail without ruining the outcome, greatly increasing tolerance for failure. By contrast, a creditor-like focus on protecting principal leads only to low returns and does little to encourage innovation. For Robin, the challenge and appeal of the industry lie in continually learning, accepting new challenges, and refining investment logic through both bad investments and missed opportunities. He urges Taiwan’s VC industry to be more ambitious: an internal rate of return of 15–20% is good, but higher targets can inject fresh momentum for innovation and progress into Taiwan.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-360026378701535/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-360026378701535/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-05. In a shareholder-meeting Q&A, Buffett and Munger explain how they examine a business: look for a broad, enduring moat protecting a substantial economic castle, with an honest lord in charge. Under capitalism, however, every moat will come under attack, and most prove worthless. The task is to understand why certain castles have survived and what could destroy them in five, 10, or 20 years. Munger translates the honest lord into economic terms: low agency costs plus advantages of scale. They also distinguish businesses where you need to be smart only once, such as cable networks in an earlier era, from businesses where you must stay smart, such as retail, where the castle needs defending every day. In valuation, the moat and management inform an assessment of the certainty of future cash flows. No formula can tell you precisely that a moat is 28 feet wide and 16 feet deep; you have to understand the business. Berkshire’s good performance has come not from doing many brilliant things, but perhaps from doing fewer foolish things than most people.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-422129712491201/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-422129712491201/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-18. A framework from another source lists what investors look at in a venture: integrity, profitability, customer acquisition, key metrics, the team, runway, barriers to entry, market potential, and the competitive landscape. Robin adds his own comments: partnerships should benefit both sides, the business must be able to make money amid competition, and founders need to know their key numbers. At the end, he challenges the claim that the venture itself is unimportant, reaffirming the importance of the market and validation. Note that points such as a 12- to 24-month runway and refusing to invest without patents reflect particular investors’ preferences, rather than universal requirements.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-428639701840202/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-428639701840202/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-27. Material from another source discusses support from angel investors, fundraising windows, and equity and exit arrangements. Robin adds two comments: trust is the foundation, and valuations should be reasonable. Raise somewhat more than you need according to the circumstances, rather than relentlessly seeking the highest valuation and the largest amount of capital. The examples in the source—raising 1.5 to two times the calculated amount, a 5:3:2 ownership split, and four-year vesting—illustrate particular scenarios, not universal rules. Equity, exit, and profit-distribution arrangements still call for expert advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-429593291744843/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-429593291744843/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-28. Material from another source uses boxing and herd behavior in investing to discuss controlling default responses. Instinctive reactions are often wrong in investing, and markets are most dangerous at their most euphoric. In the final section, Robin connects the argument to entrepreneurship: building a business requires differentiation and a deeper understanding of fundamentals, rather than following the crowd. When everyone runs in the same direction, that is a reason to stop and think clearly about what you are doing. Going against instinct does not guarantee profits; it helps avoid responding passively.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-448902743147231/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-448902743147231/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-26. Following a discussion of four investment principles, this piece explains venture capital’s power law: a small number of investments drive the returns of an entire fund. A story about YC’s top two companies illustrates the risk of missing exceptional businesses and the challenge of recognizing unconventional founders. Note that “better to back a hundred wrong companies” is rhetoric, not advice to make unlimited bets. No underlying data is provided for the returns of YC’s 200 companies, and the possibility of survivorship bias must be kept in mind.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-473949747309197/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-473949747309197/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-05. Material from another source discusses developing interests and patience over time. Robin recounts 14 years in underwriting and investing, involving 25 transactions. He describes himself as conservative, with returns that are not particularly outstanding, but says his lasting motivation comes from helping small companies grow and a sense of mission to help Taiwan’s industries move up the value chain. The years and transaction count are his own account from 2021 and have not been independently verified; his self-assessment is not an external performance rating.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-475224493848389/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-475224493848389/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-07. The foreign-language material argues that early-stage founders should not sacrifice funding opportunities or good investors over a small difference in valuation. An excessively high valuation can become a constraint and add pressure in the next round. Robin adds that the goal is to find long-term partners, not someone to take an investment off your hands. The amounts and ownership percentages are hypothetical examples, not advice on an actual transaction. The highest bidder is not necessarily the worst investor, nor is the public-market price an absolute benchmark; dilution and other terms still need to be assessed case by case.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4267632263249172/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4267632263249172/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-03. A numbered digest of Wu Jun’s course material: John Doerr’s stealth-phase approach and independent perspective; the high margins and risks in the SGI case; and the value of a repeatable investment method and a network of companies that help one another. Performance figures have been left out of this guide, while the framework of looking at how the world may change is retained. The source’s numbering skips item 4 and is preserved. Details such as high margins being the sole cause of bankruptcy and the proportion of companies acquired by other portfolio companies have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-572018427502328/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-572018427502328/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-12. A compilation of three levels of business assessment. First, demand combined with scarcity allows a company to charge and make a profit. Second, technology changes what is scarce, so sustaining profits requires a moat. Third, scalability and pricing power determine whether returns can grow. Cautions: investors’ requirements vary; disruption does not erase all value overnight; controlling scarce resources also requires a workable cost structure and customers able to pay. Monopoly is not a prerequisite for growth, and any such position must comply with the law.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-593291928708311/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-593291928708311/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-13. The cash pressure of unit economics: customer acquisition cost (CAC) is paid up front, while customer lifetime value (LTV) takes years to realize. After finally reaching positive cash flow and profitability, founders face another decision: raise more money and increase spending again. Both founders and investors struggle with this choice; it takes foresight, patience, and resources. Caution: the original’s description of the CAC–LTV relationship raises questions about both direction and definitions. It is retained as written, has not been independently verified, and must not be used as a quantitative model. Reinvestment is not mandatory; it depends on resources and whether the expected returns can be validated.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-595440168493487/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-595440168493487/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-16. An examination of VC behavior through the influence people have on one another in finance: the industry has moved from an era of lone wolves to an era of the herd, with rotating hot sectors and increasingly similar investments. The argument favors independent judgment and perspectives from other disciplines as ways to look beyond consensus. Cautions: the “era of the herd” is an observation, not a statistical finding. Disagreeing with consensus does not make you right, and a cross-disciplinary perspective cannot replace professional due diligence. Independent thinking does not rule out exchanging ideas.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4706230256056035/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4706230256056035/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-27. Robin offers four points on long-term investing, then adds that wealthy people could consider a small allocation—say, 3%—to frontier investments such as venture capital, preferably with managers who have navigated cycles over several decades. A VC fund’s ten-year term, he suggests, forces investors to stay the course. Cautions: 3% is a hypothetical example, not Robin’s own allocation or a recommendation for yours. Not all funds have ten-year terms, and past experience does not guarantee an ability to identify the future.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-616692283034942/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-616692283034942/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-18. Robin’s observation: extraordinary returns come from the exponential growth that a company’s changes create. An excerpt from Surviving a Startup distinguishes two kinds of risk: risk in established fields can be controlled, while risk in new fields is unavoidable. It includes the Nike founder’s cash-flow bets and Robin’s self-deprecating suggestion that one might be better off remaining an employee. Cautions: the claim that a bigger leap in innovation increases the probability of a greater return has not been independently verified; taking more risk is not necessarily better. The account of Nike winning every time carries survivorship bias and is not a basis for advocating an all-in bet.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-635350347835802/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-635350347835802/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-16. Three bootstrapping cases from Surviving a Startup, all starting with a real problem faced by the founders or their customers: Mailchimp, which reached $700 million in revenue and was later acquired by Intuit for more than $10 billion; Shopify; and Shutterstock. Companies can grow large without venture capital, but the figures, including market capitalizations and acquisition amounts, refer to the time of the original text. A founder’s own need is a starting point, not sufficient proof of a market.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-637594817611355/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-637594817611355/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-20. The Unicorn Hunters series from Surviving a Startup looks at investing in teams. Smart investors bet on a team, not a particular idea or business. Startups are works in progress: even if their initial idea is wrong, a winning team will change direction and keep iterating until it finds a way forward. The CEO is the most important person on the team, yet investors’ most popular screening criteria can be traps. Elite universities select for test scores and extracurricular activities, not leadership. That mindset filters out rebels, free spirits, and late bloomers—neither Jack Ma nor Steve Jobs attended a top university. Senior VPs at major companies are often excellent executors, not natural risk-takers. Real due diligence goes beneath the résumé: how did the founder persuade cofounders to give up six-figure salaries for equity, what obstacles arose while advancing ideas, and what did they learn from failure? Outstanding leaders act like magnets, drawing people willing to take enormous, even irrational, risks to follow them. Almost nobody builds a unicorn alone; the CEO is the catalyst who gets everyone moving.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-638197984217705/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-638197984217705/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-21. The Unicorn Hunters series from Surviving a Startup turns from the team to the market. A large market provides room for growth, exits, and follow-on funding. A company can start in a small niche, but it needs a path to expansion: a local bakery and a bakery chain are different businesses. VC needs large exits, not a tenfold return in a small market; if your market is inherently small, do not rely on VC. Note the book’s qualification: starting small is fine if the company can expand. Claims such as “smart angels do not invest in companies without follow-on funding” are too categorical. Fund sizes and strategies vary, and small businesses are not without value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-640074090696761/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-640074090696761/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-24. The Unicorn Hunters series from Surviving a Startup examines market leadership: VCs look for a company's potential to lead its market, and price itself is an attribute of quality. Network effects, scale, and category recognition create real barriers to entry. Snap's move into mobile and teenage users, avoiding a head-on battle with Facebook, and Apple's transformation from a computer company illustrate category leadership. The author's call to give up unless you can be number one needs qualification: it applies where network effects and scale effects are pronounced, rather than serving as a creed for every business.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-645292816841555/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-645292816841555/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-01. This excerpt from Xuan Tian's Finance and Innovation: A New Framework examines the kind of capital that supports innovation. VC supports innovation through active governance, knowledge networks, and funding. It tolerates short-term failure and offers substantial rewards for long-term success—precisely the incentive structure innovation needs. A fund's own fundraising structure and liquidity constraints affect its investment behavior: research finds that young firms become more tolerant of failure after successfully raising a new fund. Career concerns can work in either direction, making young managers more conservative or more aggressive; researchers have not reached a consensus. The dates and methods of the studies cited in the book have not been individually verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-659972195373617/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-659972195373617/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-24. In Jason Fried's fictional press release, Basecamp announces that it will stop generating revenue, pursue a higher valuation, and raise an imaginary dollar. A fictitious professor proclaims a $100 billion valuation and uses an absurd social-media-and-burn-rate formula to project 12 billion users by 2016. The piece satirizes valuations built on imagined traffic rather than business results. Its fictional framework must remain clear: Basecamp did not actually stop collecting revenue, raise one dollar, or receive a $100 billion valuation. The formula is not a valuation tool.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-676160547088115/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-676160547088115/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-21. This excerpt from Dedao's book-listening service discusses early customer acquisition: the four-step approach to entrepreneurship emphasizes targeted discovery rather than casting a wide net. Customers fall into five levels of urgency. Those at level four, already cobbling together their own solutions, and level five, already intending to pay, are your earlyvangelists. To cross the chasm into the mainstream, an existing market calls for clear differentiation in positioning; a new market calls for a complete solution for a niche or a tipping point driven by key people. These customers are not angel investors. A small early customer base permits deep validation, but does not eliminate the need for research.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-688367829200720/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-688367829200720/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-10. 36Kr reported that Sequoia Capital restructured its US and European businesses on October 26, 2021. It established the permanent, open-ended Sequoia Fund as a parent fund; public-market holdings would return to it rather than face mandatory distribution. Sub-funds would remain closed-end, with investment returns throughout their life cycles flowing back to the parent. LPs could redeem annually, fee and carry arrangements would change, and employees could invest. Long-term ownership addresses the forced exits associated with traditional ten-year funds, allowing Sequoia to keep holdings that continue growing after an IPO. LP acceptance and the risk of concentrated redemptions test the structure, in contrast with traditional approaches such as Benchmark's. Fees, carry percentages, and fund sizes are those reported at the time, not today's terms.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-722074242496745/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-722074242496745/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-06. This excerpt from Touzi Yilei discusses angel investing. The earliest opportunities may have no team or company, only an idea; the basis for a decision is the person. Knowing the founder deeply matters more than files, and a spouse, relatives, friends, or colleagues can provide useful perspectives. The book also contrasts stages: angels focus on the right tail of returns, while consensus among seasoned investment-committee members often produces mediocre choices. VC and PE rely more on data and success rates. Claims that a spouse is the only person to ask or that valuation is impossible are strong rhetoric. Returns of thousands or tens of thousands of times are exceptional possibilities, not typical outcomes; basic legal and accounting checks remain necessary.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-846540053383496/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-846540053383496/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-14. Robin offers five observations on institutional investors' time pressure. First, funds must dispose of holdings at maturity, so investors need growth to generate high returns quickly; founders may feel time differently. Second, institutional investors and unicorn startups generally want more than linear growth. Without exponential growth within a certain period, unicorn status is unlikely and returns may be limited. Third, do not rush to institutional investors while still refining the product or seeking product-market fit (PMF): they will often demand exponential growth and greater market spending instead. Fourth, time pressure is not necessarily bad. If you are building the next big thing, the opportunity window may be short, and investor capital can help establish your position before giants enter. Fifth, corporate venture capital (CVC) and evergreen funds have their own financial pressures. As the fourth point suggests, a time-constrained VC may actually be the better choice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6052220621456985/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6052220621456985/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-31. Robin's late-2022 view of startup fundraising over the next one to two years: pandemic-driven remote demand and quantitative easing fueled capital markets and startup investment in 2020–2021. In 2022, the continuing Russia–Ukraine war, inflation following a decade of easy money, tightening and rate hikes in Europe and the United States, and spending shifting from electronics to offline activities battered technology stocks. Meta and Netflix fell over 70%; AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel over 60%; Zoom and C3.ai as much as 90%. Sequoia and Y Combinator warned of a funding winter. Startups must return to fundamentals: will customers pay for the product or service, rather than merely hoping VCs will? The era of burning cash for market share has passed. Be more focused and lean, and right-size the organization if necessary to weather the next one to two years. VCs assess investments over five to seven years, rather than being entirely driven by two to three years of volatility, but large portfolio write-downs create operating pressure and may require valuation adjustments. Stock declines are figures from 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6142851615727218/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6142851615727218/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-01. Robin opens with his view that the hottest investment area of 2022 has returned to AI, especially the widely discussed topic of AI generation: the future is here. The reprinted 36Kr Shenyiju report describes a San Francisco generative-AI gathering organized by Conviction founder Sarah Guo, bringing together engineers, entrepreneurs, and financiers, including Hugging Face's CEO. Stability AI announced $101 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation; Jasper raised $125 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's GPT-3 and DALL-E 2 fueled the excitement, with even Sergey Brin appearing at a related gathering. Investor Nathan Benaich observed considerable FOMO. Legal questions were emerging too: the boundaries of fair use for training models on copyrighted data were expected to be tested in court. Valuations and funding amounts are figures from 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6280643028614742/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6280643028614742/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-12. Robin opens with points he has often made: practice continually, raise money while you still have money, and approach your most desired VCs later. The excerpt from Build explains how to get noticed through a compelling story and an understanding of your audience. Most Silicon Valley VCs are not technical, so focus less on technology and more on why. A 15-slide pitch must appeal to reason and emotion; that art takes practice. Do not begin with top-tier VCs, who share information. Start with friendly investors who will give feedback. Allow three to five months for fundraising, begin before you need money, and avoid desperate financing when cash runs out. Remember vacations in August, Lunar New Year, and Thanksgiving through New Year. The checklist: no games; listen to feedback while holding to your vision; specify the amount, use of funds, and milestones; link valuation to milestones; build a data room; confront risks; seek two equally influential investors to balance each other; and, as in chess, think two moves ahead.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6280622858616759/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6280622858616759/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-12. Robin opens by urging founders to think things through and prepare before fundraising. From Series A onward, VC capital demands rapid scaling and exponential growth, not leisurely product refinement and product-market-fit validation. VC has a sense of urgency. Ideally, everything is ready and only the east wind is missing; money is that wind. If nothing else is ready, do not rush to summon it—it could blow you over. The excerpt from Build asks what the money is for and the minimum needed. Your business may not suit VC. Large VCs are surprisingly risk-averse, scrutinize growth, signups, and cancellations, and answer to LPs. Alternatives include niche or regional VCs, angels, and corporate investment arms. A deal is about the person in the room who will become your director. Once you accept the money, you are tied to that investor: VCs can combine to fire founders, but founders cannot fire investors. Ask founders who have weathered difficult times with the partner what they are really like.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6474695235876186/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6474695235876186/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-11. This excerpt from the Chinese edition of The Power Law, translated by Professor Xuan Tian, describes VC as a bridge between dreams and reality, once called humanity's last hope by The Wall Street Journal. VCs find promising seeds among imaginative ideas, nurture them, and eventually hand them to more suitable owners before stepping back. The industry's pioneers, uncertainty, decline, and renewal intertwine with new challengers. Yet hidden corners remain: growth-driven governance failures and scandals at Uber, WeWork, Theranos, and FTX warn that our understanding is incomplete. Robin adds two comments. Taiwan's VC engine has stalled somewhat, but he is confident it can restart and accelerate to make up for more than a decade of stagnation. VC carries dreams: its few celebrated successes imply many failures, yet losses must not extinguish confidence or hope. Bruised investors carry on, learning from bad investments and missed opportunities. He closes by adapting a line from The Three-Body Problem, described as essential reading in China's VC community: “We will give civilization to time, rather than time to civilization.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6483122388366804/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6483122388366804/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-13. An excerpt from The Power Law recounts Masayoshi Son's 2017 visit to WeWork. Arriving an hour and a half late, he offered only 12 minutes. After a tour, he invited Adam Neumann into his car. Their 28-minute interaction produced a proposed $4.4 billion SoftBank investment at a $20 billion valuation—more than fellow shareholder Benchmark Capital had raised in its entire 22-year history. Son's capital encouraged Neumann's hubris and global expansion, but also opened an exit window: T. Rowe Price sold as much as it could, while Benchmark sold about 20% of its holding and locked in a 15-fold return on its original investment. Robin adds six observations: Neumann's reality distortion field merits watching; after his downfall he soon secured backing from top Silicon Valley VC A16 for a new venture; a pitch's length matters less than winning attention and more time; effortless fundraising can hurt both sides, while constraints stimulate creativity; basic investment principles must be remembered; and the era of cash-fueled expansion may have ended with the Vision Fund's decline.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6504002066278836/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6504002066278836/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-20. Robin opens with the image of chained ships at the Battle of Red Cliffs: when one catches fire, the flames quickly spread across the fleet. Banks holding or issuing AT1 bonds immediately plunged. The reprinted Bloomberg Q&A describes roughly CHF 16 billion ($17.3 billion) of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds becoming worthless. Contingent convertible bonds, or CoCos, emerged after the European debt crisis as banks' lowest-ranking debt: high-yielding in good times but first in the path of a banking “tsunami.” As UBS acquired Credit Suisse in a government-brokered deal, FINMA said extraordinary state support would trigger a complete AT1 write-down. Investors were furious because shareholders ordinarily absorb losses first, yet Credit Suisse shareholders would receive CHF 3 billion while AT1 holders were wiped out. The departure from capital-structure seniority conventions dealt a blow to the $275 billion AT1 market, where average prices were just 82% of face value, among the deepest discounts on record. This is the context of the March 2023 Credit Suisse event.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7352697324742635/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7352697324742635/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-13. These notes argue that VCs should invest in the next big thing and next-generation products. Investing ahead of the curve creates a chance for monopoly, high market share, and uniqueness; a business generating current profits and regular dividends does not fit the VC mindset as well. Consumer businesses often have simpler models, can reach profitability quickly, and have near-zero marginal costs for advertising. B2B involves sales, presales, after-sales support, consulting, and implementation; each dollar of revenue carries meaningful marginal costs, and low initial gross margins are difficult to improve. Investors should examine net dollar retention (NDR) and customer acquisition costs. SaaS margins of 70–80% are presented as evidence of switching costs and uniqueness; customized-service businesses earn 20–30% because customers will switch if margins go higher. The notes cite Buffett's three elements—a good business, a good team, and a good price—with the business first. Robin concludes: invest in the future, monitor NDR, acquisition costs and lifetime value, and seek product businesses with high margins, reflecting competitiveness and switching costs.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7365062763506091/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7365062763506091/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-16. Robin proposes a hypothetical: you are a retired corporate executive who worked for 40 years and saved 100 million dollars, then became a startup adviser and angel investor. A sincere founding team puts in 1 million, while an angel club contributes 10 million. Each side holds 50% and receives 100,000 shares. Angels pay a premium nine times the team's cost, at 100 dollars per share. The same 100 dollars could buy a liquid stock such as 91APP in the secondary market, be sold for emergency cash, and perhaps still deliver a good return multiple over ten years. How would you invest? Robin adds that fundraising should follow a sequence. Do not necessarily raise externally so early; first build the minimum viable product (MVP) and refine it. Seeking a high valuation without results may bring repeated disappointment and complaints about an unfriendly environment. These figures are hypothetical; 91APP is a comparison, not a recommendation or assessment, and this is not investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9015362155142802/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9015362155142802/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-09. This book excerpt discusses fundraising practice: planning cash runway, addressing major risks before raising, interpreting investor interest through feedback, building fundraising momentum, and preparing alternatives. Robin's brief recommendation is to consult an experienced investor.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3475523729126700/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3475523729126700/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-04. According to reports at the time in 2020, €1.9 billion in cash on Wirecard's books could not be confirmed, and two Philippine banks denied holding the money. On June 22, 2020, the company said the cash probably did not exist. It filed for insolvency proceedings on June 25, becoming the first DAX constituent to do so. Passages in the original post match UDN Global's Zhuanjiao Shuo report of July 4, 2020. This page records contemporary news, not the latest developments in the case.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3587335347945537/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3587335347945537/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-11. Robin surveys routes to a US listing: besides a traditional IPO, there is direct listing. Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) were popular again in 2020, with examples including electric-truck company Nikola and Virgin Galactic, and he saw potential opportunities worth studying. He also offers a practical reminder: if annual earnings are below $5 million, set aside thoughts of a US listing for now. Underwriting, accounting, and other fees together start at $5 million.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5280122622000126/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5280122622000126/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-09. Bezos's 2017 shareholder letter opens the discussion: customers are never satisfied, and today's “wow” soon becomes tomorrow's routine. Focus on customers rather than competitors. Robin connects this with personal experience. After Xiaoshu Pharmacy's IPO, people asked about its operations and listing process, hoping to follow. Yet it became a public issuer in late ROC year 103 (2014) and listed on the OTC market in March ROC year 105 (2016), giving it a six-year head start after listing; pre-IPO preparation took another two to three years. Before joining the crowd because someone else is doing well, consider the time required and the gap to close. His conclusion: think carefully before trying to overtake others on the same track. Rather than trying to be better, create different value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9009012475777770/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9009012475777770/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-08. Robin argues that material information announcements on the Market Observation Post System should be factual and restrained. If a company wants to celebrate how wonderful it is, he suggests buying media space: Taiwanese readers and investors cannot distinguish a journalist's reporting from a company's promotional copy, and media outlets need advertising budgets to survive. Announcements on the exchange-supervised disclosure platform, however, must take the regulator's approach and standards into account. In the example, passive-component manufacturer YAGEO issued a September 26 announcement titled “YAGEO Group AI Summit Concludes Successfully, with Every Seat Filled.” On October 7, the Taiwan Stock Exchange imposed an NT$200,000 contractual penalty because material information announcements must not contain advertising-like statements. It reiterated that such disclosures must not provide unconfirmed information, expound management philosophy, or serve as an advertising platform.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-392576022113237/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-392576022113237/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-15. Drawing on The Great Game, this note describes Wall Street as both a foundation for and a driver of America's transformation and prosperity. It financed the Civil War, supported westward development, helped build a nationwide railroad network, and fueled the first major expansion of heavy industry. During the two world wars it became a global financial center; afterward, it helped incubate at least two new economic transformations, in automobiles and the internet. Adam Smith's “invisible hand” is the thread: securities dealers pursued their own interests while also providing a reliable mechanism to supply industrialization with working capital. Robin's opening argument is that Taiwan must not casually weaken or marginalize its capital markets. The most open capital markets support the strongest environment for innovation and entrepreneurship.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4348104768535254/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4348104768535254/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-29. As Appier's Japanese listing drew praise, Robin urged readers not to overlook the significance of another case: 91APP chose to list in Taiwan. He called for appreciation of this opportunity to set an example. A homegrown SaaS company's listing in Taiwan can influence more than its own share price; it can support digital transformation, the startup environment, and investors' understanding of the software industry. Capital markets need success stories to build confidence, and confidence takes time and accumulated examples. This is a short commentary from April 2021. The IPO valuation and events described at the time have not been externally verified and do not constitute investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4508264285852634/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4508264285852634/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-06-22. Commenting on 91APP's IPO, Robin notes its post-listing market capitalization of about US$1 billion. Although that differs from the definition of an unlisted unicorn, he emphasizes another significance: by choosing to list in Taiwan, 91APP set an example for the transformation of Taiwanese SaaS businesses and for the capital markets. Software companies have long lacked success stories in Taiwan's capital markets. Every company willing to stay and establish itself opens a path for those that follow. He uses the example to encourage startups to grow through difficult challenges. The market capitalization and assessment reflect June 2021; its value as an example is not a guarantee of current valuation or returns.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-562401155130722/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-562401155130722/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-06-27. Entrepreneurship brings difficult problems with no clear path; considering only your own preferences will never untangle them. One useful approach is to build an “inner board of directors”: imagine people with different perspectives sitting in your mind, and examine the problem from their viewpoints. A Shi, who leads Dedao's Listen to a Book Every Day team, imagines six decision-makers: a current paying user, a user ten years from now, an ordinary person without specialist knowledge who has a tribune's veto, a producer, a publisher, and an author. Another approach is to ask versions of yourself in different circumstances: if you had nothing, if you were leaving tomorrow, or if your future self ten years from now were beside you, what would you choose? Robin adds that this resembles Amazon's empty chair representing the customer in meetings.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-586711869366317/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-586711869366317/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-03. The reprinted article explains a listing as discounting a company's expected future profits into its present market capitalization. Once shares have a public price, equity itself becomes acquisition “currency.” Focus Media listed in the US first in 2005, then acquired Target Media six months later with cash and newly issued shares: listing first and acquiring a rival with equity created an overwhelming advantage. Tudou missed its window after its founder's shares were frozen. When it listed in 2011, its market value was less than a quarter of Youku's, and it was eventually acquired, even though the revenue gap between them was under 50%. Timing was critical. Robin closes with his frequent argument that people in the internet world remember only the leader, so companies must use capital effectively to secure first place. This is his strongly held personal view.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4772094569469603/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4772094569469603/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-17. On Gogoro's planned US listing through a SPAC, Robin compares it to Chien-Ming Wang and Chin-Feng Chen challenging Major League Baseball: top talent wants to compete on the world stage, and Taiwan should wish them well. He also raises three sets of questions. Are Taiwan's capital markets ready for companies with large accumulated losses, low equity, or even negative equity? Companies understandably choose the listing venue that suits them best; raising more money abroad to develop in Taiwan can be positive. And maintaining visibility in US markets requires a sufficiently large investment theme, a top-three position in a regional market, and sustained rapid growth. His concerns about Gogoro include the potential of electric scooters, revenue concentrated in Taiwan, limited international visibility, and slowing growth. The financial figures are hypothetical scenarios based on market rumors in 2021, not actual financial statements.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-834348724602629/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-834348724602629/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-27. Robin considers why people start businesses: earning a living and supporting a family, realizing a dream, pursuing an interest or passion, or changing the world. Goals differ. Some founders aim to exit through an acquisition; others want to run a lasting enterprise. Neither is right or wrong, but founders need a clear understanding of their venture and agreement with their partners. He emphasizes that capital markets are not a cash-out tool. They provide the provisions and ammunition to pursue an ambition and build a company that changes the world; a business run solely to cash out cannot achieve that. Nor does every venture need financing, unicorn status, or a place in capital markets. Some can stay small and be excellent, carefully crafted businesses. Do not let the outside environment dictate your choices. Not every venture must serve VCs or meet their expectations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5930168190328896/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5930168190328896/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-23. Robin believes Luckin Coffee's business journey deserves books by management thinkers. First, it took only 18 months from founding to a US listing. Second, exposure of financial fraud gave it the record for the fastest delisting of a Chinese company. Third, it began closing stores and cutting staff while facing enormous litigation from the US SEC and investors; everyone thought it was nearly finished. Fourth, after changes in senior management, it found turnaround strategies, including its hit coconut latte, and seemed to regain its footing. From capital-market darling to fraud case to comeback, the story spans almost every corporate-governance lesson. The “comeback” is an interim observation from September 2022, not a final verdict.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6049647495047631/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6049647495047631/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-30. Robin observes that Taiwan had about 970 TWSE-listed companies, more than 800 TPEx-listed companies, and 300 Emerging Stock Board companies. Excluding other public issuers, these markets together had over 2,000 companies, with another 40–50 applying for TWSE or TPEx listings each year. His point is that Taiwan's overall capital market is not particularly large, and most trading is concentrated in large index heavyweights. New companies without distinctive qualities may be ignored just months after listing. The conclusion is the same as for startups: develop clear, differentiated advantages and ideally ride a visibly rising trajectory, rather than peaking in the listing year and deteriorating afterward. The company counts reflect October 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6054835961195451/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6054835961195451/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-01. Using Perfect's prospectus, Robin explains why a company using an overseas fundraising structure can have negative shareholders' equity. After the original shareholders, each financing round involves preferred shares, which are classified as liabilities under IFRS because of their special terms. Before listing, Perfect had US$93.83 million in assets and US$252 million in liabilities, including US$231 million of liability-classified preferred shares. At the closing share price at the time, it was at unicorn scale. First-half 2022 revenue was US$23.38 million, with an 86% gross margin. Estimating full-year revenue at about US$50 million against a US$1.3 billion market capitalization gives a price-to-sales ratio of about 26. Listing expenses alone reached US$48.66 million, about NT$1.5 billion. These figures reflect the 2022 prospectus; the sales multiple is Robin's estimate.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6241437655868613/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6241437655868613/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-30. Robin compares the markets: the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market listed its first 25 companies in July 2019 and reached 500 in just over three years, raising RMB759.4 billion through IPOs with a total market capitalization approaching RMB6 trillion. Taiwan's Taipei Exchange had 808 listed companies worth NT$4.428 trillion, making STAR about 5.8 times larger by market value. STAR attracts hard-tech companies and supports investment in early-stage, small, technology-focused businesses. Nearly 90% of its companies had private-equity or venture-capital backing before listing. Market capitalization plus revenue can qualify a company without profitability; investors need two years of experience and at least RMB500,000 in their securities accounts. Robin hopes that after three to five years of development, Taiwan's Innovation Board can reach one-tenth of STAR's scale and significantly advance innovation investment in Taiwan. Figures reflect year-end 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6259021194110259/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6259021194110259/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-05. Facing an egg shortage, Robin offers a policy view. Extreme weather and avian influenza reduce laying rates, but structural problems include poor conditions at traditional poultry farms, an guaranteed off-take system that provides little incentive to upgrade, and aging smallholders unable to scale. His proposed response is policy support for automation, branding, and improved henhouses. Personally, he favors allowing large egg farms to conduct IPOs, raising capital for upgrades and expansion that can reduce environmental and disease risks. It is a concrete application of using capital markets to address industry problems. This is a personal policy commentary from January 2023.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6278508252161553/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6278508252161553/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-11. This reprint from Hulianwang Jinhua Shi recounts Netscape's August 9, 1995 IPO. The offer price rose at the last minute from US$14 to US$28. Demand was so strong that trading could not begin at 9:30; Charles Schwab even added a phone message saying, “If you are interested in Netscape's IPO, press 1.” The first trade, around 11 a.m., was at US$71, and the stock closed at US$58.25. A company only 16 months old, with US$17 million in revenue and no retained earnings, ended its first trading day worth US$2.1 billion. The Wall Street Journal said General Dynamics took 43 years to reach US$2.7 billion, while Netscape took about a minute. Barefoot on Time's cover, 24-year-old Marc Andreessen became a starting point for Silicon Valley dreams. Historical figures follow the reprinted source; original records have not been checked.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6390030524342658/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6390030524342658/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-14. An excerpt from Tony Fadell's Build identifies three kinds of board failure. An indifferent board sees obvious CEO problems but avoids solving them because that would create too much work. A dictatorial board intervenes and controls so much that the CEO becomes like a chief operating officer, responsible only for execution. An inexperienced board does not understand the business or ask incisive questions; its companies are always short of cash, and it blames the market. Yet companies still need boards even when they are imperfect. Even the best CEO cannot act unilaterally: everyone needs accountability and a pressure-release valve. A CEO who gets this right can shape the board; the board under Jobs differed from the one under Cook. Robin recommends seeking directors with expertise you can consult and proactively asking for guidance suited to each stage.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6391546250857752/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6391546250857752/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-15. An excerpt from Tony Fadell's Build argues that the best board members are mentors first, giving as much as they take. It identifies four useful kinds of directors: well-connected mentors who have done it before and can recommend talent, such as Nest's Randy Komisar; suitable investors who understand the hardships of building a business and whom you would want to have dinner with; operators who have been CEOs and can explain operational realities when investors criticize; and specialists, such as the Gap CEO Apple recruited when entering retail. Incentives involve more than stock. Bezos even advises against joining other people's boards. Robin closes with a personal observation: average director compensation at Taiwan's listed companies is painfully low. This is a subjective impression without supporting data.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6847997408545965/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6847997408545965/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-29. Robin reviews a landmark acquisition: cloud data company Databricks announced a US$1.3 billion acquisition of MosaicML, an AI startup less than three years old. Founded in 2021 with just 62 employees, MosaicML had disclosed only one financing round, at a US$220 million valuation; the acquisition represented a sixfold jump. Founded by a group of former Intel executives, its team enables enterprises to train and deploy AI models in secure environments. Automated training optimization promises training speeds two to seven times those of traditional methods. Databricks plans to combine its Lakehouse platform with MosaicML so enterprises can train generative AI on proprietary data at low cost. Robin's judgment: technology giants' acquisitions of generative AI startups are only beginning. Figures reflect company statements from June 2023.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6889260051086367/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6889260051086367/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-11. Robin starts with the documentary Monopoly, whose conspiracy-theory elements he personally dislikes, then turns to a corporate-governance observation: looking after investors helps protect management control. Professional managers with small ownership stakes can still have secure positions if they manage foreign-investor and broader investor relations well. Can major shareholders, including foreign and institutional investors, exert influence even without voting rights? In his understanding, voting rights bring influence, but buying and selling shares can also create influence without votes. If Buffett invites Coca-Cola's CEO to dinner, it is easy to imagine the invitation being difficult to decline. Such influence accumulates little by little.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6984148948264143/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6984148948264143/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-08. Robin reviews Nintendo's April–June 2023 results. Even near the end of the Switch's product cycle, quarterly hardware sales reached 3.9 million units, up year over year, helped by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom selling 18.51 million copies in under two months. The Super Mario Bros. Movie also generated US$1.357 billion in worldwide box office from a US$100 million budget. In simple terms, hit games lift hardware sales, while movies reconnect adults and introduce children to the intellectual property. His added market-value comparison is striking: Nintendo at ¥8 trillion, Sony at ¥16.36 trillion, and Panasonic at ¥4.03 trillion. Panasonic was worth only half as much as Nintendo. Times really are changing. Market values reflect August 2023.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7147513781927658/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7147513781927658/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-23. Robin explains a common puzzle: why do many offshore companies have negative equity? A startup's Series A, B, C, and subsequent financings involve preferred shares because of their investment terms. Even when they are not redeemable, anti-dilution provisions, liquidation preferences, and other special terms can cause future share counts to change. Under IFRS accounting principles, accountants classify these preferred shares as liabilities rather than equity. For a Taiwan listing, the company converts all previously issued preferred shares into common shares at once. The amount moves from liabilities to equity, turning equity positive. He also recommends consulting a professional accountant for the details.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7368202959858738/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7368202959858738/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-17. Robin's personal assessment of Gogoro's (GGR) third-quarter 2023 results: battery-swapping revenue rises as the electric-scooter fleet grows, and should have a relatively high gross margin. The quarterly loss narrowed to US$3 million, while operating cash inflow for the first nine months was US$31.5 million. However, revenue declined 10% year over year, gross margin was flat, and 95% of revenue came from Taiwan, making overseas expansion the biggest concern. Short- and long-term borrowings totaled about US$300 million. If lender concerns constrain refinancing, the company would need alternatives such as a cash equity offering to strengthen its finances, although the share price at the time made that awkward. This is a personal view from November 2023. Financial figures should be checked against official announcements; it is not investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-306872387350268/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-306872387350268/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-05. This reprint presents Alibaba's management philosophy of empowerment: the higher someone's position, the more their success depends on helping direct reports succeed first. Management means achieving results through others. It requires the generosity to give up the stage, the ability to build a stage for others, and restraint over the desire to monopolize it. Managers should play three roles. As a resource hub, coordinate resources inside and outside the company, supporting funding requests and introductions. As a coach—potentially more important than a mentor—roll up your sleeves, help, identify potential, and act as a mirror revealing blind spots. As an adviser, quickly identify the variables in a reported situation, rank and assess them, and offer sound judgment at critical junctures. Throughout, make clear that direct reports retain primary responsibility, so they develop accountability and grow.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-353388399365333/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-353388399365333/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-28. This reprinted article, with an original WeChat link, considers self-development for startup CEOs. Team, product, sales, and cash flow always seem to come first, while personal growth comes last. Yet reflection accelerates learning, and entrepreneurs cannot afford inefficient learning. The article offers three levels of daily reflection. “It” covers today's tasks, goals, achievements, and tomorrow's plans and schedule. “We” concerns the quality of relationships: did each interaction give others knowledge, energy, goodwill, or understanding? “I” concerns your daily state and attitude, and how you manage energy and emotions. The self is the foundation of leadership; if exhausted, you cannot help others. Startup executives often overemphasize “It” at the expense of “We” and “I.” Burnout means more than feeling tired: it erodes creative thinking. The proposed change is to do fewer things, but do them exceptionally well.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-442898117081027/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-442898117081027/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-17. This reprint of Wu Bofan's weekly business commentary examines Amazon. There are no ready answers about the future: users do not state them directly, and only extraordinary attention reveals signs of latent needs. The depth of your understanding of needs determines how far your product can reach. In 26 years, Amazon experienced more than ten major failures and billions of dollars in direct losses, but its apparent hesitation was really iteration. Bezos emphasizes repeatedly taking detours through nonfatal failures to approach success. Capabilities accumulated through hardware failures later combined with new needs to underpin Alexa and its voice platform. Everyone understands “fear standing still, not moving slowly,” but without supporting culture and processes, principles become slogans. The article uses Parkinson's Law to explain organizational entropy: more people require more coordination, consuming resources without creating value. Bezos's Day One approach puts as many people as possible directly in front of customers, solving concrete problems with the obsession of the company's first day.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-595944535109717/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-595944535109717/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-17. Based on a Dedao book-listening program, the original post summarizes executives' circumstances in Peter F. Drucker's The Effective Executive: others easily consume their time; daily operations keep them busy; their results matter only when others use them; and an inward organizational focus can obscure the outside world. These four points can be compared with “Executive Realities” in the publisher's preview. Executives should consciously learn effectiveness. The post extends “executive” to “entrepreneur” and emphasizes contribution rather than appearing busy. The Dedao speaker, installment, and Chinese retelling version remain unconfirmed. This is not an official Chinese translation authenticated by this site.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-794445975259571/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-794445975259571/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-06-27. These excerpts from Greg McKeown's Essentialism argue for doing only what most deserves doing, making “less, but better” an inviolable rule. The contrast with nonessentialism makes the idea clear: nonessentialists treat everything as important, indiscriminately pursue more, and become exhausted; essentialists recognize that few things matter, pursue less with discipline, and retain control. For life and work, it resembles organizing a closet. It is not an occasional trim of the task list, but purposeful, strategic elimination of the nonessential, including some good opportunities. Why is it hard? Success creates more opportunities and distractions, undermining the original focus. Social trends also favor nonessentialism: exponentially growing choices produce decision fatigue, information overload disrupts thinking, and the promise that “you can have it all” misleads. Three pillars support essentialist thinking: choice is a power; discernment separates the vital few from noise; and there are trade-offs rather than perfect solutions. The closet metaphor also illustrates three practical steps. Explore: ask not whether something is useful but whether it contributes most to your goal. Eliminate: ask what you would pay for it if you did not already own it. Execute: create concrete mechanisms for regular clearing and apply the rule at every decision.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6132262430119470/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6132262430119470/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-27. After the November 26 election, Robin shares The Five Temptations of a CEO and reprints translator Su Jin's preface. The five temptations are choosing career status over results, reputation over accountability, certainty over clarity, harmony over productive debate, and self-protection over trust. A manager's success is measured by results, not rank. Results are the entry threshold: without them, good character and relationships are not enough; once results are present, character becomes the make-or-break line. Overly close relationships can reduce criticism of mistakes to a token gesture. In a fast-changing world, cautious managers who wait for everything to be ready miss opportunities; they must learn to try, using judgment amid ambiguity. Good decisions require discussion before decision: encourage constructive conflict rather than superficial harmony or compromise for its own sake. Decisions inevitably bring mistakes, and saying “I was wrong” expresses trust in the team. Robin adds two questions: will loyal, close direct reports offer unwelcome advice when a manager errs? And what should be done with founding veterans who cannot keep pace or make major mistakes?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-310531566984350/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-310531566984350/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-10. This reprinted entrepreneurial Q&A puts survival first. Validate that customers will pay and that unit economics work before expanding. Expansion also has a logic: deepen business with existing customers, then expand geographically, and finally add business lines. The organization and founder can themselves become growth bottlenecks. Unsuitable early employees need attention, and the founder's outlook and learning speed set the company's ceiling. Before accelerating, confirm the ability to generate cash internally; otherwise, growth merely accelerates cash burn. The interviewees are not fully identified in the original, and the opinions belong to them.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-355089742528532/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-355089742528532/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-30. These book excerpts examine both sides of deadlines. Experiments suggest that urgent deadlines improve concentration and efficiency: a “focus dividend.” But a scarcity mindset has a cost. When deadlines capture attention, other important but nonurgent goals are systematically neglected—tunneling. Organizations in constant firefighting mode often lack slack rather than simply having too much to do. The response is not merely to use deadlines well, but to actively cut ineffective business activities and create buffers for what matters. Experiments and quotations follow the book and have not been independently verified. The benefit of deadlines should not be isolated from its costs.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-409081537129352/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-409081537129352/Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-03. This retelling traces Beike's evolution into a platform. Lianjia first developed in-house solutions to five tensions in China's property-brokerage industry: listing authenticity, commission sharing, transaction cycles, back-office services, and agents' careers. It then opened its Agent Cooperation Network (ACN) to smaller brokers, shifting from “running our own stores” to “building the track for the whole industry.” Accumulate capabilities through direct operations, then open them up as infrastructure: this is the classic sequence of platform development. Gross merchandise volume and market values are historical. Property transaction GMV should not be conflated with ordinary e-commerce revenue, and the original does not address conflicts between the platform and its own brokerage business.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-409968227040683/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-409968227040683/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-04. A compilation of three Chinese entrepreneurs’ views on management. Wang Xing on learning: most people will do anything to avoid real thinking; managers need to keep learning and identify the central problem. Lei Jun on people: find self-motivated talent; good management means managing less, because the right people do not need constant supervision. Ren Zhengfei on incentives: do not let those who work hard lose out; direct rewards toward people who create value. All three perspectives point to finding a management approach that fits your own organization rather than copying another company’s system. The conversations and quotations are reproduced from the reprinted source and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-435698111134361/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-435698111134361/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-07. A common way OKRs go off track is to confuse what has been completed with what has been achieved. Cost-cutting programs can look impressive and task metrics can look strong, yet a closer look reveals that the original purpose has been lost. The objective (O) and key results (KRs) must stay connected: every KR should answer how it advances the objective. Setting OKRs is only the beginning; ongoing course correction is what matters. As conditions change and the team develops, OKRs must adapt, or the system itself can drift. John Doerr popularized OKRs rather than inventing them; the historical examples in the article are simplified accounts.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-450173726353466/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-450173726353466/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-28. This reprinted article compares several leadership transitions: Iger’s repeated extensions at Disney and eventual handover, Morris Chang’s succession planning, a founder returning to take the helm at Airbnb during a crisis, and Musk’s close identification with Tesla. What would happen if Musk left? The hypothetical itself raises a risk question. The central argument is that a great CEO must do more than lead growth: the role also demands difficult decisions and a system that allows a business to keep growing without its founder. Iger’s departure as CEO in 2020 did not mean retirement; valuations and dates are reproduced from the reprinted source and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-463730971664408/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-463730971664408/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-19. Robin’s introduction: understand how you win and keep innovating. Reviewing past battles is valuable not simply for examining the past, but for extracting a repeatable way to win. The reprinted article traces Tencent Games’ lessons from setbacks with Kai Xuan and QQ Fantasy. Tencent used QQ’s social gateway to build a distribution advantage, entered casual competitive games that major incumbents overlooked, and let multiple studios compete on similar projects through an internal ‘horse-race’ system that encouraged rapid iteration. This combination of a gateway advantage, flanking entry, and internal competition helped turn Tencent Games from a follower into a dominant player. Daily active users and gross billings figures come from the reprinted source and refer to its original period.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-484199059617599/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-484199059617599/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-22. A compilation of Bezos’s management methods, presented as a book excerpt. A bet with a one-in-ten chance of returning a hundredfold should be taken every time—but that does not mean ignoring whether the downside is bearable. Failure is the price of invention. Small teams can be more effective than large organizations; the ‘two-pizza’ team is a metaphor, not a precise headcount rule. Important reports use six-page memos rather than presentations to force real thinking. Maintain a Day 1 mindset and always start from the customer’s perspective. Schedules and quotations are reproduced from the reprinted source and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4346772832001781/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4346772832001781/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-29. Observations on Wu Pao Chun’s business transformation, drawn from an interview. DIY baking experiences can generate long-term revenue rather than one-off purchases: making bread yourself creates a different relationship with the brand. Store layouts and customer flow must be redesigned around the experience to avoid disrupting ordinary shopping. Online communities extend the physical experience rather than merely serving as marketing channels. The hardest transition concerns people: bakers must become teachers, and store supervisors must become managers. The content is quoted from an interview; details have not been checked against the original source.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-526732885364216/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-526732885364216/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-30. Robin explicitly argues that managers and employee referrals should bring in people stronger than themselves. The quoted material offers two classic stories. Ogilvy’s founder David Ogilvy used Russian nesting dolls to illustrate that hiring smaller people makes a company of dwarfs, while hiring stronger people makes a company of giants. Wu Jun describes Google’s early recruiting tradition: making room for better people and hiring stronger talent can help both individuals and organizations grow in Silicon Valley’s competitive environment. The quoted claims about competition in Silicon Valley are the original author’s views. Robin’s stated agreement concerns hiring stronger people and does not extend to every exclusionary argument in the quoted passage.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-542500773787427/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-542500773787427/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-05-26. He Fan explains the offensive and defensive dynamics of disruptive innovation. Attackers such as steel mini-mills enter low-end markets that mainstream customers overlook and keep moving up the performance curve. By the time incumbents react, it is too late: their financial structures and mainstream customers constrain their choices. Large companies have defensive options: fund a small autonomous organization to pursue a new market while retaining existing strengths, as Quantum did through an independent subsidiary making smaller hard drives. Small firms should first make money in an underserved market, keep adjusting strategy, and avoid rushing recklessly. Dates and ownership figures are reproduced from the book and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-544991413538363/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-544991413538363/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-05-30. Beginning with pressures in the Anthropocene, He Fan’s course draws three organizational metaphors from ecosystems. Tolerate failure: nature does not pursue zero mistakes, and small failures are the price of system learning. Embrace diversity: uniform systems may be highly efficient yet fragile, while diversity supports resilience. Adapt locally: solutions emerge on the ground, and small self-organizing networks can respond to change better than central commands. For companies, the question is how to balance centralization and decentralization. Ecological metaphors offer inspiration rather than proof; the claim that zero tolerance for failure inevitably causes greater disaster is the original course’s view.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-590642178973286/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-590642178973286/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-09. Robin’s opening question: can employees feel the mission in their daily work rather than merely read slogans in a handbook? Jack Welch argues that a mission should answer how the business will win, involving choices and direction while balancing the achievable with the ideal. Values are concrete principles for action. Managers must keep mission, values, and everyday decisions aligned; repeated messaging is not the same as putting them into practice. Consistency between words and actions matters. The GE mission statement is reproduced from the book and has not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-595945088442995/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-595945088442995/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-17. A retelling of Drucker’s The Effective Executive. Time management begins not with planning, but with recording, as it happens, where time actually goes. Most managers’ perceptions differ strikingly from reality. Second, eliminate: cancel unnecessary work, delegate what others can do, and develop systems for recurring crises. Third, consolidate fragments into uninterrupted blocks for important work. Do not remain busy with tasks whose costs are already sunk, or rank priorities by pressure alone. Examples and proportions come from the book; the claim that a busy factory must be poorly managed is overstated, and genuine emergencies cannot be ignored.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-596736365030534/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-596736365030534/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-18. Drucker’s approach to people asks what someone can do rather than what weaknesses they have. Organizations enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things, not by finding all-round perfection, but by placing each person’s strengths where they matter. The Lincoln–Grant story illustrates this: when others complained about Grant’s drinking, Lincoln reportedly asked what brand he drank so he could send barrels to the other generals. The same logic applies to managing up: help your boss use their strengths rather than merely complain. Historical details follow the book’s account; accepting shortcomings does not mean tolerating harm or violations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-608109577226546/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-608109577226546/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-05. An excerpted account of 37signals’ Rework. Once goals are set, behavior can be distorted to meet them: cancellation becomes difficult to protect retention, or charging by company size to increase revenue drives away small customers. The authors are not saying goals are wrong; they remind us to keep the essentials beneath our feet in view while looking toward distant goals. Preserve both perspectives: do the work at hand well, and keep looking for new opportunities. This is an excerpted version; the original includes later discussion of opportunities and efficiency.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-610900213614149/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-610900213614149/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-09. The authors of Rework remind us that staying small can be a company’s final form; expansion need not be the default goal. Size should follow real needs. Retail and some other industries require scale, but many low-capital service businesses can operate without external financing. Financing creates commitments to growth, which can distort judgments about actual needs. Reducing requirements, focusing on the core business, and protecting enduring usefulness matter more than pursuing size. The article does not reject all financing or expansion; it challenges an unexamined default assumption.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4876085579070501/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4876085579070501/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-19. Asked about the harshest thing he had said to entrepreneurs, Robin answers: think it through. He tests commitment through concentric circles. Will you commit full-time? Can you discuss several years of income uncertainty with your partner? Would you ask your parents to risk retirement savings? Can you persuade talented people to join for less pay? Customers are the outer circle: can you convince them to replace their current solution? Each circle requires persuasion; do not rush outward if you cannot persuade those closest to the center. ‘Risking everything’ is a metaphor for testing commitment, not advice to use essential family assets.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-661259465244890/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-661259465244890/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-26. This reprinted article examines a motivational mistake: chasing tasks and transmitting anxiety will not bring out employees’ best work. Underappreciated alternatives include sincere recognition in conversation, attention to health and sustainable working rhythms, and thoughtful seating arrangements that support collaboration. Leaders need three kinds of language to mobilize a team: clear direction, empathy for people’s circumstances, and meaning in the work. Goals without meaning leave a team merely following orders. The reprint does not identify the studies it cites; measures such as seating changes must account for employees’ needs.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-668054467898723/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-668054467898723/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-07. Hermann Simon’s research on hidden champions describes little-known companies leading extremely narrow global markets. They offer few products, serve customers worldwide, and keep innovating; specialization and globalization lie at the heart of their eight characteristics. Japanese craftsmanship provides a parallel: Jiro Ono spends his life making sushi and pursues excellence in a tiny restaurant. Such wholehearted mastery is itself a competitive strength. Both suggest that doing one thing better than anyone else can be more powerful than doing a little of everything. Company counts and thresholds reflect the research period; the Jiro account is presented at the documentary’s 2018 reference point.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-669011424469694/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-669011424469694/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-09. This excerpt links entrepreneurship and giving. Start by solving real problems and creating value; in business, generosity can then extend influence, while sharing equity turns talent into partners. Examples include Feng Xuan ‘buying goodwill’ for Lord Mengchang, Duan Yongping lending employees money to buy shares, Niu Gensheng giving away his shares, and Sun Ce trading an imperial seal for troops. The historical anecdotes follow the book’s account. ‘Giving more makes you richer’ is a statement of values, not a guarantee; giving must begin with creating value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-683222286381941/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-683222286381941/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-01. This excerpt groups startup mistakes into three areas. Product: a founder thinks it will change the world, but the market does not urgently need it—painkillers beat vitamins. Leadership: founders cling to the CEO role even though different stages need different leaders; replacing a CEO does not invalidate the founder. Finance: discipline breaks down when any investor’s money is accepted and burn becomes uncontrolled. The book argues that many startups die from financial mismanagement rather than the product. Products matter more than celebrity endorsements or patents. Claims such as most failures arising from financial management are the book’s views and have not been verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-700874454616724/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-700874454616724/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-31. This excerpt from Amazon’s 2015 shareholder letter explains how retail and AWS, though seemingly different businesses, share a culture of customer focus, invention, long-term thinking, and operational excellence. Bezos discusses failure and scale: take every bet offering a one-in-ten chance of a hundredfold return, and let the scale of failures grow with the company. Yet size cuts both ways, enabling accomplishments while potentially slowing the organization. Prime Now’s 111 days from concept to launch illustrates speed inside a large company. The betting logic is the letter’s view, not a claim of unlimited capital or permission to ignore losses; figures refer to 2015.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-702075197829983/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-702075197829983/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-02. This account of James Kilts’s Gillette turnaround describes a ‘doom loop’: unrealistic 18% growth targets, short-term measures to inflate results when targets are missed, then another disappointing quarter. Kilts prepared in detail before taking over, established direction and responsibilities immediately, and forced the organization to confront reality rather than repeat unrealistic targets and expedient fixes. His reforms addressed strategy, finance, and organization together. Merger values and financial figures are reproduced from the book and have not been independently verified. This is part one; the detailed measures follow in part two.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-710060057031497/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-710060057031497/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-15. Robin asks whether we truly understand users or merely imagine them. The article introduces five elements of a user experience map: persona, goals, touchpoints, journey, and emotions. Mapping the whole experience from arrival to departure reveals emotional highs and lows. Tencent’s story illustrates insights drawn from a user-centered narrative rather than lists of data. At the Open University, Pritti’s difficulty understanding course options prompted a guided journey based on learners’ stories instead of a bare catalog. Valuing stories does not mean abandoning quantitative analysis; the learning example is not an endorsement of overwork.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-741705363866966/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-741705363866966/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-07. Lei Jun’s experience suggests that hundreds of bilingual business-plan pages can fail to secure investment. Busy investors begin with the recommender’s credibility, then assess the team, then give you five minutes to explain what you do and the opportunity five to ten years ahead. Robin draws four lessons: seek a reliable personal introduction from someone willing to invest too; do not scatter business plans indiscriminately; make the first three to five minutes count; and get to the point without fashionable jargon. Disliking long plans does not eliminate information needs, and a recommender’s willingness to invest is a trust signal rather than a substitute for due diligence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6164235703588809/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6164235703588809/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-08. A translation published by 36Kr’s translation desk compares Musk’s 2018 Tesla Model 3 production hell with his actions after taking over Twitter: layoffs, sleeping at the office, and bankruptcy warnings. Former Tesla managers and management scholars question whether crisis-driven management can build a stable company, warning of a culture of fear. Robin comments that it may be a good growth strategy for a rapidly expanding startup, but its suitability for a mature company such as Twitter remains to be seen. Perhaps the turmoil is deliberately intended to force transformation. Layoff figures are quotations from reporting in 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6411939278818449/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6411939278818449/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-21. Robin’s opening thought is to do meaningful, valuable work that helps others grow and makes a difference to them. An excerpt from Build follows: the greatest benefit of being an Apple executive or Nest CEO is the opportunity to help people. Many arrive able to do one thing well and leave able to do a hundred. They simply need a push beyond their own V1 and the limits of what they imagine they can do. Like a product’s first version, V1 is never good enough, but development does not stop there. Leaders keep providing momentum, even when resented. The reward may arrive years later in a letter: ‘I hated every minute then, but that moment changed my career.’https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7098039223541781/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7098039223541781/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-10. Robin’s personal impression is that YC selects teams for their promise rather than the quality of the initial idea. Airbnb’s idea was doubted, but selling cereal impressed Paul Graham; reportedly, more than a third of teams change ideas during the program. Changing direction early is therefore not the problem—pivoting promptly matters more. A case in Gao Chengzhang Siwei describes Apple’s integration of podcasts into iTunes devastating Evan Williams’s Odeo platform. The board asked whether he had other ideas; a hackathon surfaced Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey’s group-texting project, later Twitter. The YC selection account is Robin’s impression; quotations have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-723189305718572/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-723189305718572/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-08. Robin begins with Facebook’s famous financing story: Reid Hoffman introduced twenty-year-old Zuckerberg to Peter Thiel in 2004. Thiel invested US$500,000 for 7%, and Hoffman added US$40,000. The point is the trust behind the introduction rather than the amount. The later section reuses ‘Why Should I Invest in You?’ Angel investing is personal, offers limited scope for due diligence or management involvement, and demands integrity. Unsolicited business plans rarely succeed; if friends and relatives will not support you, other angels are hard to persuade. Lei Jun’s investments in acquaintances and Jerry Yang’s fifty or sixty unsuccessful calls illustrate why unfamiliarity discourages investment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7282950241717344/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7282950241717344/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-26. Notes from Silicon Valley 101’s discussion of the Middle East. The Arabic-speaking Middle East and North Africa is described as a roughly 400-million-person cultural market with similar language and culture. The Gulf Cooperation Council states, described as about 100 million people, are the wealthiest segment. The proposed path is to validate the business in Dubai, around four million people, expand quickly across the Gulf, then reach the wider region. Dubai’s ecosystem is described as self-sustaining, while Riyadh and Abu Dhabi remain government-led. Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Abu Dhabi sovereign funds, each described at hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars, are active investors. Robin recommends the episode to startups seeking overseas markets.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4379969852015412/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4379969852015412/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-05-10. The article first acknowledges David Swensen’s pioneering contribution to endowments and alternative investments, then recounts Buffett and Munger’s criticism of Robinhood for turning shares into casino chips. Robinhood responds that elitist commentary blocks broader participation. Then-SEC chair Gary Gensler also worries that platforms turn stocks into games and encourage more trading. Buffett’s advice to fear others’ greed and stop digging when in a hole leads to a reminder that platforms should prioritize users’ financial health. Robin concludes that investing should return to reason and value creation rather than become a giant casino. Robinhood’s planned IPO refers to 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5134646606547729/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5134646606547729/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-01. In his New Year’s Day 2022 reflection, Robin observes that the pandemic changed life and work. Rather than chase every change, invest resources in enduring fundamentals. At work, portfolio company 91APP listed and became a Taiwan-born startup unicorn with market value above 30 billion; Great Tree’s revenue exceeded ten billion, and Zhen Yu Hardware listed on the OTC market. These were milestones, not endpoints. Robin sees VC itself as a traditional industry that must evolve; Taiwan’s VC, corporate VC, and private equity sectors need their own paths. He anticipates Web3, the metaverse, and digital assets shaping the next decade. Personally, he continues learning how to parent Shen Xiaobao. Values, revenue, and project progress reflect the end of 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-467380587966113/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-467380587966113/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-25. An overview of Alibaba in early 2021. Core commerce formed a domestic/international and retail/wholesale 2×2 matrix, including Taobao, Tmall, 1688, AliExpress, and Lazada. In the global ‘3A1G’ cloud landscape, AliCloud had the largest share in China and Asia-Pacific. Digital media and entertainment included Youku, UC, and Alibaba Sports; innovative businesses included Amap and DingTalk. Investments included roughly 10% of Didi, 20% of Suning, full ownership of Ele.me, and over 70% of Intime. Cainiao covered 224 countries and territories and 2,800 Chinese cities and counties. Ownership, valuation, and structure reflect early 2021 and have since changed substantially.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6477912098887833/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6477912098887833/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-12. An imagined scene from The Power Law: an engineer at a large company has a great idea but an unsupportive boss—Christensen’s innovator’s dilemma. Without VC, the idea dies. With VC, a conversation opens: quit and I will invest; never founded a business? I will help; need engineers? We have a database; worried about failure? We can find work elsewhere in the portfolio. Eric Schmidt reportedly joined Google because John Doerr promised another CEO role if it failed. VC offers more than money: it makes risk less frightening. Robin says Taiwan’s VC industry must work harder at helping founders build teams and introducing senior executives.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7368472896498411/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7368472896498411/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-17. Beginning with Musk teasing Buffett for not investing early in Tesla, the article collects Buffett’s circle-of-competence ideas. Size matters less than knowing the boundary; someone who knows it can become wealthier than someone with a circle five times larger who does not. ‘We have no way to knock out Tyson’: do only what you can handle. Understanding what you do not know matters more than what you know. If no investment inspires confidence, wait rather than widen the range. Robin distinguishes knowing boundaries from learning to expand them. Buffett’s reading, independent thinking, avoidance of noise, and patience show how extraordinary results can emerge within known limits.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-636585027712334/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-636585027712334/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-18. A legendary story describes a retired Navy SEAL, John Jin’en, whose armored-vehicle company lacked money for a second-generation prototype. A large black box in the showroom was presented as holding a top-secret vehicle. Curious investors supplied funding, the vehicle was built and sold out—but the box had been empty. Robin is reserved: he does not recommend this and sees a parallel with Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes. Delivery may bring hero status and failure fraud allegations, yet successful delivery does not erase earlier false statements. Advertising also sells imagined futures; delivery is the distinction the story proposes. Details are reproduced from the retelling and have not been verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5789658124379904/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5789658124379904/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-05. An investment scenario: the sector is hot and growth impressive, but investment manager R has not fully understood the destination or path. Should he invest? Early-stage teams and investors often cannot see the endgame or sequence clearly. R identifies three situations. A clear story, well-developed thinking, and strong data attract fierce competition. A great storyteller with ordinary products and metrics warrants more observation; experienced investors have learned from years of being misled. The key is the second case: a good product, favorable market momentum, and rapid growth without a clear path. R would try to advance the investment and then jointly explore operating data, traffic conversion, and possible business models. An aside: R is short of deals.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-681224153248421/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-681224153248421/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-29. Robin reviews eight investment waves during pandemic-shadowed 2021: Clubhouse’s early surge and later silence, though audio-based knowledge sharing strengthened; electric vehicles ahead of carmakers’ combustion-engine deadlines; AI and robotics; space travel and low-Earth-orbit satellites, including Bezos, Branson, and Starlink; the metaverse, propelled by Facebook and NVIDIA; blockchain-based Web3 and its connection to metaverse narratives; biotechnology and gene editing; and quieter but continuing SaaS development. In a tenfold-speed era, he expects faster progress over the coming decade, with VC continuing to enable change. These judgments reflect late 2021, not current investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7408018285877205/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7408018285877205/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-28. Taiwan Cement announced increased low-carbon cement investment in Turkey and Portugal at a late-night material information press conference. The backdrop is the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The article describes an initial five-sector scope—cement, steel, aluminum, fertilizers, and electricity—representing about 45% of the EU carbon market. Of 248 covered products, Taiwan supplies 212, mainly steel products. Robin argues that Taiwan’s later start in emissions-related investment requires faster action to avoid carbon charges and export constraints. Local production can reduce transport emissions and accelerate supply-chain restructuring. Timelines and statistics reflect 2023.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5461016723910714/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5461016723910714/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-13. Robin sees a classic Taiwanese angel-investing case. In 2015, 500 Startups launched 500 Rookies, Taiwan’s first student VC fund. Six students trained for almost a year independently led a US$5,000 investment in voiceprint-encryption payment tool TapPay. In 2022, PChome subsidiary 21st Century announced a share swap and strategic investment totaling NT$940 million to merge with TapPay’s parent, Cherri Tech. Its Cross-site no-redirect technology, Apple and Google payment-processing licenses in Taiwan in 2017, and payment volume above NT$50 billion in 2021 illustrate the trajectory. The guide contrasts that student-fund investment with what it describes as a 900-million merger nine years later.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5577744348904617/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5577744348904617/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-05-24. Robin’s personal judgment is that anyone choosing to invest in China should seek sectors the government currently supports, or at least does not strongly suppress. He lists internet services, fintech such as Ant, education, healthcare, property, entertainment, gaming, and livestreaming as targets of pressure. Supported fields tend to involve hardware or perceived social stability: semiconductor self-sufficiency, critical components, surveillance, AI and IoT smart cities, agricultural and food security, defense, aerospace and satellites, EVs, batteries, energy, environmental protection, and industrial automation. These are personal observations from May 2022, not investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9048944485117902/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9048944485117902/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-13. The article challenges common misconceptions: Amazon did not go ten years without profit. Founded in 1994, it first reported a quarterly profit in Q4 2001 and a full-year profit in 2003, with intervening losses attributed to the September 11 shock. It listed in under three years and raised only US$48 million, less than many companies’ Series B rounds today. Nor was it always favored by Wall Street: value remained depressed after the internet bubble, before a post-2009 transformation led investors to value it as a technology company. The closing reflection favors examining one’s own actions over attributing others’ success to benefactors or inventing excuses.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-655558065815030/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-655558065815030/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-17. Media, content, distribution, and influence have become part of venture capital fundraising in Europe and the United States. Finance has used this approach for years: expanding influence through media and broad distribution to influence or even manipulate prices. Internet-enabled influence has spread into e-commerce, through influencer livestream selling, and other fields. The quoted article says that the ability to propagate a viewpoint at scale is a new and significant function in financial markets. Firms such as a16z build their own media platforms, while individual VCs use Twitter, podcasts, and YouTube. Their ability to shape portfolio companies’ narratives can affect hiring, capital costs, and exits. Creators with large audiences can also use their influence to enter investing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4916799828332409/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4916799828332409/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-01. Robin’s reading notes on Tsinghua professor Xuan Tian’s Finance and Innovation: A New Framework: statistical analysis, experimental research, and a literature review offer empirical evidence on how U.S. capital markets and venture capital affect corporate innovation. Key points include VC’s contribution to innovation through active involvement, board seats, governance frameworks, and knowledge transfer that help companies avoid detours. Tolerance for failure supports innovation, but fund life cycles and fundraising difficulties constrain VCs’ risk tolerance. The resulting inference is that established, reputable firms face fewer capital constraints and tolerate more risk and failure; funds with lives of 10–12 years can tolerate failure better than those lasting 3–5 years.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-720761829294653/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-720761829294653/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-04. Paradigm partner Casey Caruso’s early-stage due diligence checklist starts with founders: the team is the constant in the early-stage equation, so ask whether you would work with this person. Next, assess the opportunity’s size and think ambitiously about the market. Always use the product yourself—a frequently skipped step. Talk to users about how they discovered it, what they used before, and what would make them leave. Analyze growth and drop-off rates against competitors. Ask why now: most ideas have been tried before, so understand why earlier attempts failed. Examine competition, moats, and whether the market is winner-take-all. Finally, trust your sixth sense: decisions sometimes need to happen faster, and intuition should not be underestimated.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-677076146996555/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-677076146996555/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-22. Geoffrey Moore’s The Gorilla Game was published in March 1998, before the internet bubble burst, and revised in March 1999 at the bubble’s peak. Its central idea is to invest in the few high-tech companies with outstanding competitive advantages—the ‘gorillas’—to improve the chance of profit. Moore’s Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado were already bestsellers in high-tech venture capital. Their technology adoption life cycle framework describes how high-tech markets nurture companies with enduring competitive advantages and provides a basis for an investment strategy model. The post describes both books as required graduate reading at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford business and engineering schools, and as desk references for Cisco, HP, Microsoft, and SAP executives.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4274479289231136/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4274479289231136/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-05. Robin expresses admiration for AI company Kneron. MTS AI, a subsidiary of Russia’s largest telecom operator MTS, signed an agreement to invest around US$10 million in the Taiwanese edge AI chip developer. MTS AI would receive exclusive Russian distribution rights for Kneron chips and use its technology to develop an AI product line of its own. Robin notes that Taiwanese AI software had just delivered good news in Japan and hopes Taiwan’s hardware, an even greater source of pride, would bring good news from the U.S. market within a year or two. The investment and market developments refer to April 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-580071420030362/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-580071420030362/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-24. VC is intensely results-oriented, and backing a good company offers the greatest sense of achievement. Yet young investors often lack even the opportunity to invest. Of 100–200 projects reviewed in a year, roughly a tenth reach the boss for further evaluation; after full due diligence, perhaps only 3–5 remain worth championing all the way. An investor may finally persuade the partners, bring a term sheet to the founder, and return with it untouched. Championing a deal can end in self-doubt. After investing comes another kind of powerlessness: no amount of preparation removes exposure to macro conditions, changing technology, competitors, or a giant’s sudden entry. Investors must monitor developments and may worry that cash will run out in a month or two.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-580072193363618/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-580072193363618/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-24. Continuing the earlier discussion, the post considers VC’s time horizon: more than seven years may pass between a first investment and a full exit. Leaving too early because of anxiety, confusion, or powerlessness can mean never experiencing enough complete cycles to advance. Outcomes range from an almost vanishing chance of unicorn fame to a successful exit, a small loss, or a write-off; more often, companies linger without an exit. Growth comes from reassessing evaluated and completed investments, building a personal investment logic, and learning repeatedly from supervisors, colleagues, and entrepreneurs. Robin adds that he is not good at socializing and has almost none outside work, but still needs to find a niche in which to survive.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6209374749074904/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6209374749074904/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-19. Robin urges patience in choosing investors. Investment is a two-way choice, and rushing to choose an investor or portfolio company can create lasting problems for both parties. Entrepreneurship should create and deliver value and earn reasonable, sustainable profits. The quoted article warns that investor money is not free: taking certain investors’ funding can change a company’s goals and displace its original purpose with a drive to satisfy investors. When faced with a lengthy three-to-six-month process versus immediately available money, founders may make impulsive mistakes. Robin adds the reverse warning: investors should not be taken in by polished pitches from ‘2VC’ teams that cater to investors rather than customers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6424778657534511/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6424778657534511/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-25. Robin also received the fundraising email behind a controversy in e-commerce, with details omitted to protect those involved. It was sent in September 2019, before the pandemic, when liquidity was relatively ample and some money was moving from technology stocks to ‘new consumption.’ Nobody foresaw a three-year pandemic and the subsequent funding winter. Robin rejected the approach for two reasons. First, the asking price was so unrealistic that it removed any incentive to continue the discussion: test the market before naming a price. Second, intellectual-property-based products and toys lay outside his interests and knowledge. It is hard to earn beyond one’s understanding, and without convincing himself he could hardly convince his boss.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3991695357509532/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3991695357509532/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-26. Venture capital returns follow a power law. In an early internal analysis, when Y Combinator had backed around 200 teams, its top investment returned more than numbers 2–200 combined; the second returned more than numbers 3–200 combined. The fear is therefore not losing money on a bad company but missing a good one. FOMO—fear of missing out—means preferring a hundred mistaken investments over missing the one that determines success. This helps explain backing seemingly eccentric founders: you might have passed on Jobs in 1978, an undergraduate Zuckerberg in 2004, or the Mars-obsessed Musk in 2003, yet each could change an entire generation through individual effort.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4706230259389368/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4706230259389368/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-27. When someone promises extraordinary returns, one of three things is usually true: the investment is extremely risky; the person has genuinely found an overlooked opportunity and kindly wants to share it; or the person is lying. Often it is the third. Economists argue that most people earn only average market returns, making long-term holdings in broad-market index funds a rational approach. Charles Wheelan says he cannot know tomorrow’s or next year’s Dow close but is almost certain it will be substantially higher in 25 years. Robin’s reminders: distrust stock tips, develop independent judgment, and take the long view. If you can identify the richest deposits of investment gold, invest patiently; otherwise, stick to indexing rather than expecting a windfall.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4068950899783977/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4068950899783977/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-24. Joe Tsai may well have been the greatest gift Jack Ma ever received. Tsai describes three levels of CFO contribution: avoiding financial detours; helping the CEO commit to moving forward at critical moments, beyond risk control; and allocating resources. Robin proposes three corresponding levels for venture capital and private equity. First, invest in promising companies, help them grow quickly, and exit. Second, raise funds by earning shareholders’ trust, creating wealth for them, and helping them transform. Third, use investing and fundraising to change industry structures and support industrial upgrading. These levels reinforce one another in a flywheel. Robin asks what the three levels are in your own field, observing that helping others succeed can bring success to yourself.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4715614235117637/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4715614235117637/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-30. After discussing share-price volatility with a portfolio company’s chairman and general manager, Robin recommends first sending employees an internal letter. Prices reflect excessive optimism and pessimism; what goes up can come down. The company cannot control capital markets, but it can do its work well. Its real purpose is creating and delivering value to consumers, who should determine the company’s and employees’ value. Even employee shareholders should not let daily price moves dictate their mood or distract them from long-term value creation. Robin’s real concern is an unsettled management team losing focus, rather than the price itself. He closes by joking that he hopes his child’s writing will surpass Dad’s.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-664219781615525/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-664219781615525/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-01. A global flood of capital is bringing a new VC wave. Where is Taiwan’s opportunity? Early-stage and growth-stage VC may represent only 1–2% relative to real estate, fixed income, and secondary equity markets, yet that small share helped create Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Tesla. Taiwan’s long-term planning should direct a small amount of capital toward the future. Defending Taiwanese VC, Robin argues that the industry is deeply local: the best deal flow requires lasting roots, trust, and reputation. China Development’s early U.S. and China offices did not ensure first access to the best deals. The priority should be helping Taiwanese teams internationalize effectively, rather than appearing international through overseas offices.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5378884255457295/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5378884255457295/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-14. Robin’s fundraising advice to portfolio companies: the paradox is that you need money to raise money. Start another round before spending half your cash, and coordinate fundraising with burn rate so you are not constantly raising. If investors expect the next round to struggle or become a down round, they may refuse this round or demand a discount, setting off a vicious cycle of lost confidence. Ample cash gives you room to negotiate patiently. Seek existing investors’ continuing support, ideally with shareholders able to provide sustained support of at least 30%. Deliver results that make investors approach you, and tailor each pitch to the target investor’s concerns rather than giving everyone the same presentation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6223724887639890/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6223724887639890/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-24. Entrepreneurship often runs against human instinct, and chasing a high valuation is a major trap. When capital is plentiful, a barely started company can be valued above many listed businesses. Founders may develop an inflated sense of importance and think they run a large company when little exists yet. Rising valuations also impose competing demands: justify the last round to existing shareholders, make the current round attractive to new investors, and prepare a bigger story for the next. Attention shifts from products and customers to financing and valuation. Trying to serve three rounds’ valuations leads to poor decisions and misallocated resources. Written in late 2022 as the capital environment changed.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4311647032181028/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4311647032181028/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-17. Robin recounts a hiring interview. A strong candidate—second-round VC interviewees generally have good backgrounds—was asked to recommend an AI investment. The candidate named Knxxxx, which Robin’s firm had also backed that year. The problem was not the company; it was recommending it simply after reading favorable coverage, without a distinctive view that could withstand deeper questions. Journalists and taxi drivers have abundant information too. Due diligence means using the product, assessing strengths and weaknesses, comparing the segment and competitors, and explaining a view of your own. Investing requires independent judgment. The company name remains masked as in the source.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4079913838687683/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4079913838687683/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-28. Klook raised US$200 million, bringing cumulative funding to US$720 million, with each round a multiple of KKday’s; KKday had completed a US$75 million round the previous year. Robin compares this with Lion Travel, Taiwan’s largest travel agency, whose market capitalization was under NT$5 billion: a single Klook round exceeded the market value built over Lion Travel’s decades in business. Three lessons follow: traditional giants must transform digitally; startup business-model innovation can always challenge incumbents; and capital remains a powerful way to accelerate change. The figures refer to January 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-707847547252748/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-707847547252748/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-12. Why do seemingly similar startup ideas with strong teams diverge, with some quickly attracting investment and others eliminated? A company’s speed and ceiling depend heavily on the future its founder can see. That understanding shapes market positioning, strategic choices, business models, product development, and competitive barriers. Teams that look similar initially can be far apart within a year or two. An investor said Didi founder Cheng Wei thought most deeply and saw furthest into ride-hailing and mobility among more than twenty companies reviewed, which explained the investment. Wang Xing leading Meituan out of China’s group-buying wars illustrates the same idea. Robin asks what future you see, whether investors will join you, and whether you have Jobs’s reality distortion field.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4263405240338541/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4263405240338541/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-02. While taking a train with his child, Robin shares four observations on venture capital and recommends Da Ying’s Taiwan VC guide. First, high returns come not from bearing high risk but from enabling change: new technologies and models replace old ones. Second, VC is a special, disproportionately small form of private fund because genuinely transformative innovation is scarce and needs relatively little capital; excess inflows can create bubbles. Third, the limited number of practitioners and amount of capital contribute to the industry’s mystique. Fourth, the ideal investor applauds from the audience after investing. Deals requiring aggressive intervention or even a coup to remove the founder mostly end in failure.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5030891020256622/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5030891020256622/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-05. In episode 77 of M觀點’s (M Viewpoint) Investing Is Hard, Miula compares NVIDIA and Tesla using three considerations: industry prospects and trends, the company’s moat, and management capability. Founders seeking VC should explain four things: industry structure and future trends; why the team deserves investment, including its accumulated advantages and responses to difficulty; why it can succeed rather than giant competitors; and completed validation and feedback. The reprinted passage argues for investing in ‘the day after tomorrow’: yesterday is past, today is crowded, and tomorrow is already expensive. The day after tomorrow is taking shape but remains uncertain, with early-round pricing and ample room to develop—the stage that most excites venture investors.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5942635552415493/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5942635552415493/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-27. Robin argues that internationalization is Taiwanese finance’s biggest challenge. Banks, insurers, and securities firms still primarily take money from Taiwanese customers. How much revenue comes from overseas even at financial groups as large as Cathay and Fubon? How many foreigners know Taiwanese financial companies? Even Mega, with 37 overseas branches, subbranches, and representative offices, raises the question of how much business extends beyond Taiwanese people and businesses. A news link about consolidation among government-controlled financial holding companies provides context. The office count refers to 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3914018958610506/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3914018958610506/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-27. In this installment on thinking about capital, Robin argues for a reasonable rather than high valuation. A high valuation can corner a company when capital markets, its industry, or the business turns down. Raise somewhat more than current needs, rather than assuming more is always better; steady, small steps are another option, depending on circumstances and careful planning. Entrepreneurship is lonely, and angels back founders with real money on trust alone; that trust should not be betrayed. The reprinted passage says founders must remain the protagonists, with investors serving behind them. Founders need clarity about needs, goals, and methods, and the ability to decide what to accept, reject, and say no to at the right time.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5270902452922143/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5270902452922143/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-06. Robin says good stories are influential, memorable, easy to spread, and emotionally effective; founders should develop a complete story for their startup and fundraising. The quoted text argues that brains naturally prefer stories to abstract lectures. The quoted text says a cigarette warning that ‘smoking harms your health’ had little effect, whereas adding the vivid detail that smoking causes impotence reduced purchases and prompted reconsideration. In a Jewish tale, naked Truth enters a village and frightens everyone. A wise elder gives Truth clothes, and under the new name Parable, Truth returns to a warm welcome. Stories can give ideas greater influence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5496128097066243/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5496128097066243/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-26. Secondary markets react quickly to company value. Netflix, a global streaming giant spending US$18 billion a year on production, was built by visionary founder Reed Hastings, who defeated Blockbuster, created a streaming industry, disrupted cable television, and influenced Silicon Valley through a distinctive culture. Even such a legendary company could lose 70% of its market value in six months. Why should private-market startups insist on last year’s peak valuation—or more? Robin adds that global inflation, monetary tightening, and rising interest rates would make fundraising harder in the near term than in the second half of 2021. To keep moving, founders need tangible results and compelling reasons for investors to support them. These observations date to April 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7368202949858739/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7368202949858739/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-17. Robin reviews GGR’s first three quarters of 2023. Revenue fell 10% amid currency effects and price cuts by gasoline-scooter rivals, but battery-swapping revenue grew 10%, or 14% excluding currency effects, and should rise with the installed base in Taiwan. Losses narrowed to US$3 million; operating cash flow and EBITDA turned positive. Concerns remain: falling startup revenue and sales are warning signs; Taiwan still supplies 95% of revenue; and US$31.5 million in operating cash inflow included US$73.29 million in depreciation added back, while ongoing battery investment contributed to total cash outflow of US$84.55 million. With over US$300 million in borrowings, cash burn could worry lenders and necessitate an awkwardly priced equity raise. Overseas expansion is the biggest concern. These are November 2023 observations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6392498220762555/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6392498220762555/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-15. Robin offers five observations on recovering startup relief loans. Administrators know many recipients probably cannot repay, but must follow written rules and contracts. Civil servants who depart from those contracts risk accusations of improper favoritism or dereliction of duty. The National Development Fund is public money, subject to auditors, accounting authorities, and legislators. Officials cannot simply initiate extensions or waivers, but an external body such as the legislature can convene discussion of general rules, giving lawful implementation more flexibility. Converting relief preferred shares into common shares is also difficult: what conversion price is fair, and could par-value or net-asset-value conversion make the fund a controlling shareholder and turn a private startup into a state enterprise? Robin also calls for more innovation, investment, and open capital markets in response to AI.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4094453760567024/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4094453760567024/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-02. Robin records his first investment in a company headquartered in Japan with a predominantly Japanese senior management team, listing through Taiwan’s capital markets. His brief reflection: an IPO is only a new starting point, and he hopes the company will keep growing through Taiwan’s capital markets. A media link is included; the company’s name appears there. These observations date to February 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4918172658195126/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4918172658195126/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-01. In late October 2021, Microsoft overtook Apple in U.S. market capitalization by less than 0.5%. The top six companies’ founding years are revealing: Microsoft in 1975 and Apple in 1976 belong to the PC era; Amazon in 1994 and Google in 1998 to the internet era; Tesla in 2003 and Facebook in 2004 to the millennium generation. Google was only 23 years old yet worth nearly US$2 trillion. Robin’s reflection: over another 30 years, times and trends will keep moving quickly; the question is whether you grasp them. U.S. capital markets are highly efficient and encourage innovation, and Taiwan should move in that direction. Values and rankings refer to October 30, 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6277398208939224/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6277398208939224/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-11. Robin guesses that fewer than 5% of general managers at Taiwan’s 2,000 listed or emerging-stock companies earn more than NT$10 million a year—less than a senior Silicon Valley engineer’s US$400,000–500,000. A Silicon Valley coder, he jokes, is Taiwan’s king of salaried workers. For comparison, cited reports put the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taipei Exchange chairmen’s salaries and bonuses around NT$8 million, and the premier’s monthly salary and public allowance around NT$330,000, or roughly NT$4.5 million annually. His playful conclusion: his child should study hard and become an employee in Silicon Valley. These figures reflect early 2023 and quoted reporting.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6984148918264146/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6984148918264146/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-08. Nintendo’s April–June 2023 results showed that even near the end of its life cycle, Switch sold 3.9 million units in a quarter, up from 3.43 million a year earlier. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom drove the increase, selling 18.51 million copies in under two months and entering Nintendo’s top ten bestsellers. Meanwhile, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, made on a US$100 million budget, reached US$1.357 billion in worldwide box office. Robin’s conclusion: hit games lift hardware sales, while an animated movie renews adults’ Mario memories, introduces children to the intellectual property, and generates substantial box-office income. Figures reflect August 2023.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5789598254385891/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5789598254385891/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-05. Pixar is synonymous with creativity and innovation, while Steve Jobs participated in, influenced, or led two great industry transitions: mainframes to PCs and PCs to smartphones. Yet even Jobs had to respect capital and its influence when deciding Pixar’s future. He chose to take the company public when its first animated feature, Toy Story, opened, persuading creatives and engineers after intense internal debate. After the IPO, he worked toward Disney’s acquisition of Pixar and became Disney’s largest individual shareholder and a board member. Ten years of exile had made his understanding of capital more mature and perceptive.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4014551351890599/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4014551351890599/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-04. Robin notices a company openly posting its broker’s listing timetable on its website and offers two reminders. Brokers compete intensely, but should watch whether clients repurpose their plans, for example to promote fundraising by claiming an imminent listing. Protect reputation while seeking business. Investors should not get excited simply because a listing plan exists. One company signed an advisory agreement and paid NT$30,000 a month for broker staff to visit. The staff worked on other companies’ cases in a small room, while the company brought investors to look, exchange cards, and hear that listing preparations were actively under way. Their presence was the point, regardless of actual work.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4815811705097889/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4815811705097889/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-30. A first in Taiwan’s stock-market history: IKKA-KY (第一化成控股, 2250) listed on May 31, 2021, at the pandemic’s worst point, without a listing ceremony. The Taiwan Stock Exchange thoughtfully arranged a delayed celebration at Taipei 101 on September 30, with a simultaneous WebPro broadcast. Robin’s brief comment: the exchange was considerate in arranging a make-up listing celebration for a portfolio company.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4547480231931039/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4547480231931039/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-06. Management teams have partnered with private equity funds to take companies such as Fusheng, Nien Made, LCY, and On-Bright private. The first two returned to capital markets, with Fusheng first separating its golf business; LCY and On-Bright still needed time to reorganize after their acquisitions and delistings. Privatization can simplify restructuring before relisting, while some companies seek higher price-to-earnings ratios and valuations in another market. Robin warns that abundant capital may bring more such deals but can also signal a bubble. Many private equity deals made before 2008 became difficult hot potatoes once the industry’s best moment had passed.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4178254392186960/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4178254392186960/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-03. Robin praises Taipei Exchange’s president, Mr. Li, and hopes to help Taiwan create a capital-market environment for innovation and entrepreneurship that supports digital transformation and upgrading. He also reads the story through its English names: Main Board, Emerging Stock Board, and Pioneer Stock Board. At the time, the Pioneer Stock Board appeared to be the highest priority. This refers to the board’s 2021 framework, which was subsequently merged.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6259021197443592/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6259021197443592/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-05. Robin sees market economics and access to capital as the best response to egg shortages. Extreme heat and cold reduce laying rates, while disease and avian influenza kill chickens. Traditional farms have poor conditions and unstable supply; guaranteed off-take arrangements offer little incentive to upgrade, while aging smallholders cannot scale. Policy support can accelerate transformation through automation, branding, and better poultry houses. Robin’s own proposal is direct: encourage and guide large egg farms toward IPOs so they can raise capital for upgrading and expansion, reducing environmental and disease threats.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4154567021222364/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4154567021222364/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-24. Appier was scheduled to list on Japan’s Mothers market on March 31, 2021, under stock code 4180. Robin includes links to the Japanese- and English-language prospectuses on JPX and jokes that the prospectus is in Japanese. A brief record of a Taiwanese AI company listing in Japan.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4676168152395579/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4676168152395579/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-17. After receiving 科技巨頭解碼’s (Tech Giants Decoded) analysis of Google’s explosive new quarterly results, Robin jokes that he made the same point in early 2020. Google is beginning to reap revenue from related products: Google Photos, which began charging midyear; the long-promoted YouTube Premium subscription; Google Play commissions; and hardware sales. Related quarterly revenue reached US$6.62 billion, up 29.25% year over year. These figures refer to 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6669146789764362/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6669146789764362/Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-11. Sharing-economy giant Airbnb posted four consecutive profitable quarters. First-quarter 2023 revenue was US$1.82 billion, up 20% and above analysts’ US$1.8 billion forecast. Net income was US$117 million, compared with a US$19 million loss a year earlier and expectations of US$90 million profit. Robin’s one-line conclusion: ultimately, running a business means demonstrating your ability to make money.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5925681794110869/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5925681794110869/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-21. The Taiwan Innovation Board substantially relaxed its listing requirements: the first category’s minimum market capitalization fell from NT$1.5 billion to NT$1 billion, and its revenue requirement for the latest four quarters fell from NT$150 million to NT$100 million. The second, biomedical category’s market-cap threshold dropped from NT$3 billion to NT$2 billion; the third remained at NT$4 billion. The waiting period to apply for a board transfer shortened from two years after listing to one. A record of regulatory easing in Taiwan’s capital markets, as of September 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4766479143364479/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4766479143364479/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-15. An observation from an afternoon corporate-governance class: topics like this have little to do with an ordinary, cash-strapped person. In this #WhyStartABusiness post, Robin says that if you can talk Alibaba’s 18 founding members into joining, as Jack Ma did, and persuade Joe Tsai to leave a job with an eight-figure annual salary, move to Hangzhou, and accept RMB500 a month, you may be ready to begin that great journey.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6054835964528784/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6054835964528784/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-01. It is time for Perfect Corp.’s financial statements. Robin’s hope is straightforward: Taiwan’s investors should grow more accustomed to negative shareholders’ equity—and, of course, so should securities regulators. A succinct observation on the gap between startup financial structures and conventional thinking about listed companies, as of November 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4887019927977066/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4887019927977066/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-22. After FITI, the From IP to IPO Program, ended, Robin continued introducing startup teams to a listed company with a market capitalization of NT$10 billion for business discussions. There seemed to be substantial progress, and investment was being discussed, too. A brief glimpse of day-to-day work in venture capital.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5963672546978460/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5963672546978460/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-04. The second half of an interview with Shen Nanpeng. On an era dominated by leaders: the internet is winner-take-all, with perhaps two food-delivery companies and four or five e-commerce survivors. Mergers need clear commercial logic: no one wants 1+1=0.5, while everyone is eager for 1+1=5; investors act as advisers who articulate that logic. Three investment criteria have remained unchanged for fifteen years: the entrepreneur, industry size, and business model, including natural barriers to entry. Early-stage founder assessment remains an art. “Invest in the track rather than the racer” is a major misconception: the founder comes first, and confidence in values and ability can justify a “blind bet.” Long-term thinking requires resisting short-term temptations, intellectual honesty, and the courage to knock again on the door of a company you misjudged. Fund life matters more than size: how can you think long term with only seven or eight years?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-356369979067175/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-356369979067175/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-01. Three interpretations of long-term thinking: Luo Zhenyu describes compounding over time, with long-term certainty helping us withstand external uncertainty; Liang Ning describes meeting uncertainty with inner order; Harvard Business Review describes Amazon’s success as a victory for long-term thinking. The main text is a long essay by Zuoyebang founder Hou Jianbin: invest time, energy, and resources in lasting competitiveness, and ask whether each day’s work builds something or consumes it. If something can simply be bought, it does not distinguish you from peers. His examples include achieving 80% market share in photo-based question search, building an internal teacher-development system, and separating curriculum research from teaching. Milestones mean stronger core capabilities, not a listing or market share. Hiring weights culture six parts, ability three, and experience one. Written in 2020, before the subsequent upheaval in China’s tutoring industry.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-334587431245430/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-334587431245430/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-11. A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), also called a blank-check company, has no operating assets and promises to use its IPO proceeds to acquire a business. In 2020, roughly one-fifth of newly listed US companies used this structure. Compared with an IPO or direct listing, a SPAC skips many steps, has no lockup period, and can take a company public in weeks. Its sponsor, usually a private equity or asset management firm, covers listing costs, initially contributes about 5%, and receives 20% of the equity after listing. A private target must be acquired within two years of the IPO. For the target, it is effectively a backdoor listing through a clean shell containing only cash. Roadshows explain a vision rather than operations—“fundraising by slide deck,” in a sense. A record of the enthusiasm as of August 2020.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4771013762911017/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4771013762911017/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-16. Robin’s extended response to Gogoro’s announced US listing through a SPAC. First, Taiwan’s capital market: it is not psychologically ready for a business with potentially over NT$10 billion in accumulated losses, very low or negative equity, and continuing large losses. Regulators and investors need to learn together. Second, Gogoro itself: choosing the most suitable listing venue is reasonable, but US-market visibility requires a large opportunity, a top-three regional position, and high growth, as with Grab. His concerns include the potential of electric scooters, revenue concentrated in Taiwan, the closure of European partner Coup, and slowing or declining figures. Third, advice to regulators: 91APP is accepted because it has demonstrated its model. Taiwan may not yet accommodate a US$2 billion unicorn, but could best support startups valued at US$100 million–US$1 billion, attracting strong international teams to list here. Written in September 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-446128366758002/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-446128366758002/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-22. Google is among the world’s most technologically advanced companies, yet product development is not always smooth: it has launched and abandoned more than a hundred products. Google Glass provides a case study. Its spectacular skydiving livestream at I/O 2012 was followed by problems: a US$1,500 price consumers resisted, marketing that overhyped a prototype whose features were still in development, Bluetooth and battery issues, privacy concerns about the camera, and no killer use case. A deeper issue was that a star engineering team was still arguing halfway through development about whether it was a consumer device or a professional tool. An unclear direction set it up to fail. Explaining failure afterward is easy; judging it in advance is hard.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-662967718407398/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-662967718407398/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-29. Many entrepreneurs discover halfway through a project that their idea rests on a false premise. The difficulty is judging implementability in advance: something impossible three years ago may work today; what team A cannot do, team B may accomplish. Three tests: first, an idea that plainly violates accepted laws or theorems is unworkable, but distinguish immutable principles from old rules that can be broken—using the former to break the latter is a means of innovation. Second, geographically constrained projects cannot conflict with local mainstream culture; online-to-offline projects especially must respect differing habits. Third, ideas requiring new user habits or skills demand special psychological and financial preparation. Educating a market is expensive, but success can create the strongest barriers, as the iPhone did for iOS users.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-441596573877848/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-441596573877848/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-15. Three excerpts from Tools of Titans. Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink: real freedom comes from discipline; unrestricted freedom brings the paradox of choice and decision fatigue. Take full responsibility for everything in your world. Humility means listening to others; its highest form is observing yourself from a third-person perspective. NFL champion coach Bill Belichick’s canvas strategy: clear a path for others, give them credit, “be lesser, do more,” and keep doing it indefinitely. Dilbert creator Scott Adams: develop a system rather than obsess over individual goals. Reach the top 25% in two or three fields and combine those skills to achieve something remarkable.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-490602255643946/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-490602255643946/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-04. Learning to relax and rest does not reduce efficiency; it can support creativity. Brain research finds the resting brain as active as the working brain, with stronger connections between some regions. Active approaches include walking to relax your thinking, perhaps as a walking meeting; exercising to improve circulation—Haruki Murakami compares finishing a book to physical labor and trains for marathons; developing a napping habit, even for half an hour, as a learnable skill; getting enough sleep while the brain integrates memories and repairs damage; and learning “detachment,” focusing entirely on something other than work, especially after high-pressure tasks.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-548587299845441/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-548587299845441/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-06-05. Professor Christensen’s fundamental point: even excellently managed companies can fail. A success formula hardens, trapping a business in a value network governed by customer orientation, profit assessment, and resource allocation. That network cannot accommodate a new-business team, so an independent small organization outside the established system should confront disruption. One company can rarely sustain two cost structures and operating models. Three tests: can the innovation disrupt the original market—did people previously need an inconvenient centralized location, or lack the money, equipment, or technology to use it? Does it work at the low end—will customers pay less for imperfect performance, and can a low-priced model remain profitable while “overserving” them? Finally, can the strategy disrupt all major incumbents?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-484159499621555/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-484159499621555/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-22. After Bezos announced that he would step down as Amazon CEO in Q3 2021 and hand over to cloud-business leader Andy Jassy, Robin revisits his decision-making through Keji Daodu’s introduction. Bezos distinguishes irreversible, consequential one-way doors, which require careful, methodical, slow deliberation, from reversible two-way doors that teams can handle quickly. Ideally, the first type takes 10% of working time; avoid it when angry, hungry, lonely, or exhausted. A suboptimal reversible choice can be undone, but reversibility is no excuse for recklessness. Bezos even saw founding Amazon as reversible: if it failed, he could return to work, having learned much and without regretting the attempt. “If I make three good decisions a day, that is enough.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-608517860519051/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-608517860519051/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-05. The founders of 37signals discuss opportunities. Faced with many possibilities, people often choose what looks easiest: low-hanging fruit. But fruit may look low only because it is far away; approach it and it becomes unreachable. When something seems easy, often the reason is not simplicity but your lack of understanding. 37signals was once overly optimistic about unfamiliar, fashionable areas, only to find everything harder in practice. It then adopted a rule: never enter a completely unfamiliar business, however easy it looks. The psychological explanation is the Dunning–Kruger effect: the less people know, the more confident they are—the half-full bottle makes the most noise.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4000522459960155/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4000522459960155/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-30. Robin began introducing Zoom and Eric Yuan around 2016; Taiwanese entrepreneurs were also its most important angel investors. Born in Shandong, without an elite-university background, with limited English and eight visa rejections, Yuan eventually became a CEO loved by employees. His startup began with unhappiness: at Cisco, he wanted to rebuild WebEx as a mobile-first, video-centered solution, tried for a year, and left when it did not happen. He concluded that life is about happiness, and lasting happiness comes from making others happy. A CEO’s first job is therefore not customers or products, but employees’ happiness: happy engineers write better code. Zoom’s value is one word, “care.” His father’s advice: do your best and stay humble every day. Robin also urges seeing the world with as few personal filters as possible.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4675753255770402/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4675753255770402/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-17. Published in 1966, The Effective Executive remains fresh and thought-provoking. Drucker on time management: executives spend enormous amounts of time on work that contributes nothing, yet few recognize it. If you cannot know yourself, at least know your time. Record and review its allocation; ruthlessly eliminate waste, cancel what should be canceled, and delegate what should be delegated. Stop keeping the organization in firefighting mode, make exceptional situations routine, and consolidate fragmented time into blocks for deep thought. Two priority rules: do not stay busy with yesterday’s tasks—abandon sunk costs and path dependence decisively—and do not let pressure set priorities. “Later” really means “never.” Finally, do one thing at a time.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-719875669383269/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-719875669383269/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-03. A technology giant’s rebirth. Nokia once dominated smartphones, but lost over 90% of its value in four years after the iPhone and Android arrived. Experts thought bankruptcy was only a matter of time. Yet under chairman Risto Siilasmaa, its enterprise value grew more than twentyfold from 2012 to 2016, and it became the world’s second-largest 5G communications-equipment giant. The book offers a firsthand account of the crisis, courageous changes of course, and the details of rebuilding, reading like an adventure novel. At its core are “paranoid optimism” and entrepreneurial-leadership principles for both prosperity and crisis. Robin’s recommendation is simple: browse it when you have time.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-713995069971329/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-713995069971329/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-21. Google is often seen as abandoning products such as Google+ before seeing them through. But Robin also admires its product management: when something is not working, it closes it without worrying about saving face. This reflects bottom-up innovation and high tolerance for failure. Success produces a killer product like Gmail; failures like Buzz, Wave, and Glass are decisively stopped, backed by financial strength and the willingness to cut losses. After acquiring YouTube, Google even abandoned its own heavily funded video service. Apple works differently: top-down, with a small product line and usually one major product in development at a time. Neither philosophy is inherently superior. What matters is finding product-market fit sooner than rivals. Google was fortunate to achieve it before burning through its funds.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-658305098873660/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-658305098873660/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-21. Years ago, Henry Mintzberg flew Eastern Airlines, then the world’s largest airline, and ate terrible scrambled eggs. A flight attendant said frontline staff had repeatedly told management, which never listened. Mintzberg wondered whether management was running a business or merely reading financial statements. Analysts might explain problems through load factors, but he says Eastern closed because of those eggs. Years later, someone from IBM added a story: Eastern’s CEO boarded at the last minute; a paying first-class passenger was moved to economy. The CEO later apologized and introduced himself. The passenger replied, “I’m the CEO of IBM.” The issue was status, not a seat. Management has nothing to do with your customary seat, and everything to do with the eggs.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-620580169312820/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-620580169312820/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-24. Robin: “Do not start a business assuming you can depend on others. Face real-world problems and build a sustainable business from the outset to improve your chances. Fundraising can temporarily conceal problems, but if you have not reached orbit before the rocket’s thrust ends, gravity will bring you crashing down.” Rework challenges the startup myth of a magical place where spending is someone else’s problem and revenue need not spoil the fun. Market forces and economic rules still apply: solve real problems, deliver value, generate revenue, and either make a profit or close. A business built on “we’ll figure out how to make money later” becomes a joke. Without a path to profit, it is a hobby, not a business.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-597356194968551/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-597356194968551/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-19. From UCLA professor Richard Rumelt’s work. Robin sums it up: “If you cannot make clear trade-offs, you can only produce bad strategy.” Much bad strategy comes from refusing to give things up. Abandoning goals hurts interests and meets resistance, so organizations choose a mishmash to please everyone, requiring neither serious analysis nor rigorous logic nor sacrifice. It covers everything and fails. Operation Desert Storm in 1991 provides a contrast: feint in front and outflank from the side. The difficulty was focus—keeping 8,000 elite Marines waiting aboard ships, using airborne troops to distract attention, rejecting a simultaneous air-force attack on Baghdad, and suppressing proposals inconsistent with the main strategy. Concentrating key resources on a few right targets often produces unexpected victories.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-609257230445114/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-609257230445114/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-06. Most productivity methods draw on management theory. The founders of 37signals approach the issue through brain science: attention is among the brain’s scarcest resources and has high switching costs. Interrupt writing to make a slide deck, and you need time to shift gears. That transition is attention switching. Their culture therefore includes “protectionism”: preserve long, uninterrupted working blocks against meetings, approvals, reports, and other interruptions. They compare time to money: exchange it all for one-unit coins and you buy only scattered trinkets; spend it as one sum and you can buy lasting value. People busy across many projects may achieve less than someone focused on one. An hour and sixty separate minutes are entirely different.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-631141741589996/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-631141741589996/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-10. Ben Horowitz’s book on business culture follows The Hard Thing About Hard Things. He does not offer a universal standard for the “best culture,” because none exists. His point is that culture manifests in concrete behavior, not slogans on a wall. Unlimited snacks and a gym are amenities; value statements help shape culture but are not culture itself. “What you do is who you are”: culture appears in everyone’s actions. The book argues that culture is the most powerful productive force, capable of overcoming seemingly insurmountable structural constraints and even changing behavior across an industry or society.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7030388213640216/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7030388213640216/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-22. Robin recommends Liu Jianguo’s book to technical professionals: a former Baidu manager recognized for outstanding management examines management and entrepreneurship challenges. Robin adds that management principles apply broadly, but technical people have distinctive commitments: pursuing new technology and designing products from their own perspective. Working in isolation, they may build something they admire without considering each detail from users’ perspective, leaving abundant unused features and desired features hard to find. The book describes seven “demons” at the technical-versus-management crossroads: uncertainty about the road, confusion over whether to manage, not knowing how to enter management, wavering about returning to technical work, anxiety about technical competitiveness, doubts about personality fit, and insecurity about performance. Settle your inner direction before managing with full concentration.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-612587486778755/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-612587486778755/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-12. Four concluding points from Rework. Culture: plans, meetings, workaholism, and rules may look useful yet kill productivity; judge them by whether they help the company make money. Scale: a company need not become large to matter. Smallness can itself be a great goal, and limited resources spur creativity. If the business performs and earns money, remaining small and efficient can be a manager’s ambition. People: control headcount, slow hiring, and add nobody unless absolutely necessary. Degrees and experience should not determine suitability; doing the work well makes someone a good employee. Finally, maintain your judgment. Do not copy competitors or let customer demands dictate your direction. Keep doing your own core work well.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5556531347692584/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5556531347692584/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-05-17. More than a decade ago, Taiwan’s game companies commonly told VC evaluators that Chinese games were poor-quality and uncultured. In under ten years, most Taiwanese firms became operators of licensed Korean and Chinese games, despite earlier leaders such as Softstar and influential titles such as 軒轅劍 and 仙劍奇俠. Film, television, and music have also declined: the gap after Jay Chou, A-mei, and Mayday’s generation is substantial. Huawei offers a comparison. Taiwan’s networking firms dismissed it 20 years ago; now even the United States is wary. A huge market turns quantity into quality. Robin argues that resource-constrained Taiwan must understand global trends and its own cultural strengths, rather than follow whatever others do well. He sees growing opportunities amid US–China tensions and urges Taiwan to position itself for the next wave.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-715409583163211/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-715409583163211/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-24. A once-fashionable distinction says leaders do the right things while managers do things right. It sounds convincing—until you focus only on the right things and neglect how to do them. Separating the two and placing leadership above management harms both. Royal Bank of Canada CEO John Cleghorn called from his trip to the airport to report a broken ATM, one among thousands. This was leading by example, not merely attending to minutiae. The best leaders participate in management. Stanford’s James March put it well: leadership requires both plumbing and poetry. We do not lack lofty leadership; we lack engaged management. Even a grand vision must be drawn through grounded, practical details.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4892899024055823/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4892899024055823/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-24. After listening to a Tim Cook biography, Robin returns to a previous question: which matters more, zero to one or one to N? Jobs and Cook exemplify each. Jobs was a creative genius and business legend whose epoch-making products changed lives and left such a personal imprint that Apple still evokes him ten years after his death. Any successor faces intense scrutiny. Cook exemplifies one to N: a reserved, careful master of operations and supply chains. Under him, Apple’s market cap rose from over US$300 billion past US$1 trillion and US$2 trillion, the first company to do so. Robin believes business talents who scale one to N are relatively numerous; legends who create disruptive businesses from zero are rarer and more readily remembered.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4544587008887028/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4544587008887028/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-05. Good leaders have views but stay open, adjust when appropriate, acknowledge weaknesses, ask questions, keep improving, and stay connected to team members. Technical leaders often mentor colleagues and have more experience in some areas, but cannot know everything. When facing the unknown, they should still support people and guide them toward solutions. It is normal for team members to be stronger in some areas: their combined knowledge exceeds any leader’s. Good technical leaders admit ignorance and ask apparently stupid questions. Better to look foolish and learn now than remain ignorant throughout your career. “Ask a stupid question and you may feel stupid; do not ask, and you stay stupid.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8967504453261906/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8967504453261906/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-04. Many founders distrust everything teammates do, repeating instructions to prevent surprises. But employees may simply think differently. Working on the front line, they may have better ideas than senior leaders. Growth requires trial, error, and improvement; without mistakes, people cannot see shortcomings or know what to improve. Trust each employee as a capable person responsible for their work. Merely allowing mistakes is not enough: share the consequences when they happen. Robin adds: “The founder’s progress alone is insufficient; the team must move forward together. Allowing mistakes is part of learning. Demanding perfection may stifle employees’ room to grow. Give them enough trust.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5921850011160714/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5921850011160714/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-20. Observe not only how a company performs in good times, but whether senior management can lead it out of trouble. Robin’s long-term assessment of Netflix’s team is positive: DVD-by-mail disrupted Blockbuster; streaming disrupted its own DVD business; then it invested heavily in original content. It transformed substantially at least twice. During the first-quarter share-price plunge, he retained confidence in a battle-tested team that had challenged giants and reinvented itself. The shares later rebounded 50% from the bottom. Beyond price increases and account-sharing enforcement, Netflix was entering advertising, linking viewing time to performance. Past growth came from subscriber numbers; future growth would come from keeping subscribers with video and games, turning longer attention into greater returns. Written in 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4869983006347425/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4869983006347425/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-17. Robin jokes that he may soon be removed from FITI’s mentor database after telling a team to revisit why they started: not every venture must keep growing, raising capital, and listing. A grand dream helps in a FITI competition, but is it the life you want? Another option is a lean software company with annual revenue of 50–60 million, twenty-some employees, annual profit of 15–20 million, good benefits, modest growth alongside customers, and several million in annual shareholder dividends. No endless pursuit of acquisitions, overseas expansion, and listings, nor investors interfering after financing or small shareholders watching after listing. Life involves choices: more people can build practical businesses, solve problems, create value, and serve stakeholders without immersing themselves in grand dreams.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-630046145032889/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-630046145032889/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-09. Robin: “Find a business model that works in the real world over the long term, rather than scale built solely by burning VC money. When spending stops, you may fall from heaven back to earth because you have not created real value or solved real customer problems.” The reprinted observation is equally sharp: new consumer brands can reach 100 million more easily than ever, but annual sales of 1 billion are harder and 5 billion less likely than ever. VC-backed projects may race to 100–200 million, stall at 300–500 million, then shrink. Burning VC cash, promotion on Xiaohongshu, and loss-making livestream sales create no defensible niche or position in consumers’ minds. Stop the stimulant and sales contract, morale falls, talent leaves, and a vicious cycle begins.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3933200096692392/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3933200096692392/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-04. As physical retailers pursue online-merge-offline (OMO) commerce, they must grow store sales as well as capture online demand. 91APP product chief Li Kunmou describes three engines—a data-driven cycle, traffic-growth cycle, and OMO momentum loop—to connect websites, apps, and stores in an omnichannel member experience. Responsive-site advertising and app operations acquire new customers and increase repeat purchases. Online/offline coupons and points create seamless shopping. A distinctive “referrer engine” awards points, bonuses, and revenue sharing for store service, helping online and store sales grow together. OMO is more than integrating channels: it is digital, and even organizational, transformation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5416771161668604/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5416771161668604/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-28. Many factors cause startups to fail; running out of funding is probably the main one. Watch cash flow constantly and prepare more than one script in which fundraising succeeds and problems disappear. Smooth operations plus smooth fundraising are rare; setbacks, harder fundraising, core-team departures, and giant competitors are more common. Prepare for varied and worst-case scenarios. Stable cash flow keeps you from losing in the short term; the right talent is what lets you win. Find a way to attract exceptional people, as Liu Bei’s three visits illustrate. Different talent models have trade-offs: Netflix’s high pay, top performers, strict removal of low performers, and “not a family” approach is harsh but effective; others favor a family atmosphere. Make your culture clear and find people who fit.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4437251539620576/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4437251539620576/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-05-28. Two Western oil giants faced decarbonization blows on the same day. A historic Hague District Court ruling ordered Shell to cut total group carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. Meanwhile, a decarbonization-focused investment fund won two seats in Exxon Mobil’s board election. Traditional oil-industry power structures on both sides of the Atlantic faced a major challenge, potentially marking the beginning of the oil giants’ twilight after a century of dominance. A record of governance and ESG forces reshaping an industry, as of May 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4199315783414154/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4199315783414154/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-11. Why did PayPal become so influential in Silicon Valley, even exceeding the Google of its era? Robin identifies four factors: an ambitious goal; exceptional people drawn together by it; a difficult founding journey, unlike Google’s relatively smooth one, dominated by survival battles that forged deep mutual trust; and, after acquisition, battle-tested people spreading through Silicon Valley with experience, skills, and unfinished ambitions to build new companies. A business like PayPal—successful through countless battles but without a perfect ending, ultimately sold to eBay—may be best placed to keep creating remarkable achievements.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5112295532116170/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5112295532116170/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-25. When Robin worked in underwriting, a supervisor remarked that women generally outperformed men of the same age in expertise, depth of thought, and expression. Yet securities work sometimes meant accompanying clients into uncomfortable or risky settings, so the firm lowered its hiring bar for some men to spare female colleagues those situations. Similar differences appeared at school: girls often had stronger grades and greater maturity. But broader conditions meant that 30 years later, most senior executives were again men. Board gender ratios became so unequal that reserving seats for women was actively encouraged and rewarded in governance evaluations and ESG. A candid observation on workplace gender disparities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7411072498905117/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7411072498905117/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-29. Taiwan’s workplace culture has long emphasized managing up. Robin argues that, in a new era, broad peer recognition matters even more for leading a team forward. Google offers an interesting example: before promoting someone, obtain approval from at least five colleagues who may work with them. Bosses cannot observe every office behavior; coworkers can notice details such as rudeness or frequent lateness and offer relatively objective judgments. Securing their recognition before promotion makes future collaboration smoother. From Dedao’s audio summary of 矽谷模式 (The Silicon Valley Model, descriptive translation).https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4138391172839949/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4138391172839949/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-19. The best way to get to the market is not to rush there, but to live there. When everyone else arrives, you discover that you have long been part of it—and have inadvertently become one of the earliest arrivals. The same goes for catching a trend: rather than chase it deliberately, be firmly in position when the wind picks up. Robin uses Kuaishou as an example. The arrival of the 4G era suddenly propelled its existing short-video business, helping it grow rapidly among users in third- and fourth-tier cities and small towns. An entire era helped create Kuaishou. He suggests studying its development and following how a small company manages the strategic transitions involved in becoming a large one; there should be much to learn.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4744554242223636/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4744554242223636/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-08. Robin’s four-part formula: “Restraint, focus, simplicity, greater efficiency.” He follows it with a blunt jab: “Yes, you MBAs who like turning simple things into complicated ones—writing endless plans, designing endless processes, holding endless meetings, setting endless goals, and creating endless rules just to demonstrate your own value. In reality, you are the ones dragging down the company’s efficiency. To save Taiwan, start by drastically shrinking university business schools.” Rework identifies planning, meetings, workaholism, and rules as productivity killers. Robin notes that this may fit small startups particularly well, but these efficiency killers spread even more alarmingly in large companies—which makes the book especially relevant to their managers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4099658660046534/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4099658660046534/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-04. Jeff Bezos handing over the reins was the biggest technology news at the time. But he said he was not retiring; he wanted to devote energy, time, and resources to other projects, including climate change and space exploration. Robin’s view: at a certain stage, founders can try handing over operational responsibilities, stepping away from daily operations to think about longer-term positioning and other important issues. Google founder Larry Page and Microsoft’s Bill Gates offer good examples. (Written in February 2021.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6887851107893928/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6887851107893928/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-10. A reprint of Vista magazine’s account of the documentary Monopoly: Who Owns the World? The article argues that the apparent competition between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, or Apple and Android, is an illusion: Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, dubbed the “Big Three” in University of Cambridge research, are the largest shareholders of industry leaders across almost every sector and collectively manage more than $15 trillion. It goes on to describe how passive index funds separate ownership from control, BlackRock’s close relationships with the Federal Reserve and the White House, and concerns that concentrated share ownership could weaken competition. (A reprinted article; its figures refer to around 2021.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-506430574061114/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-506430574061114/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-29. Wu Jun examines legendary KPCB investor John Doerr’s approach: invest in the future and the impact a venture can have on the world; then consider the founder’s DNA, seek companies in stealth, and emphasize network effects after investing. Doerr often asks entrepreneurs three questions: how will the world be different two years after receiving the investment? Why aren’t Microsoft or Google doing this? If a large company does it, what are your barriers to entry? Using Google’s shelved and restarted facial-recognition project and its complex-question answering system, the article explains the approach Doerr values: tackling old, previously unsolved problems from a new dimension. He does not judge people solely by outcomes. Despite failures with Segway and a new-energy fund, he maintains that money should be a tool not merely for making more money, but for changing the world.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6363043217041389/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6363043217041389/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-07. In Build, Tony Fadell explains how Nest approached marketing. The central tool is the customer journey: list every way people discover the product, identify which parts of its story they encounter at each touchpoint, and build a messaging activation matrix that turns the right facts in the right places into advertising and content. Marketing must be honest—even a harmless lie can destroy trust, and every claim needs supporting data. It should also participate from the first day of product development. The “Why We Made It” page evolves alongside the product, giving marketing a voice in product decisions. Despite limited resources, Nest invested heavily in high-quality imagery; ten years later, Google Nest was still using those assets.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-508552183848953/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-508552183848953/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-01. Wang Shuo outlines five features of cycles: everything important has them; they overpower people and institutions; each cycle rhymes without repeating exactly; live long enough and you will experience everything—ergodicity; and cycles are layered and nested, with individual fortunes often shaped by higher-level cycles. He distinguishes three types: positive-feedback bubbles in assets without income, reflexive loops in which share prices and profits reinforce each other, and credit-driven economic cycles that eventually reach a Minsky moment. Responses differ by horizon. In the long run, survival is victory: avoid maximum leverage in good times and endure without giving up in bad ones. In the short run, do not imagine you can reliably catch turning points; use a simple, sensible yardstick, such as Shiller’s valuation measure, to gauge whether levels are high or low. Be skeptical of any theory claiming precise turning-point predictions, including the LPPL model.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-368085624562277/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-368085624562277/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-15. In this dialogue, Zhang Lei advocates “doing the difficult but right thing.” He says three things stand opposite to value: zero-sum games, a gaming mindset, and trend chasing. Understand what value is not before discussing what it is. Lu Qi shares why he founded MiraclePlus at 57: China has talent, technology, markets, and capital, giving it the potential to become the world’s largest innovation ecosystem. Early-stage founders need to survive and accelerate product-market fit; in an uncertain age, faster iteration is the only way to improve the odds of success. He also discusses cycles—raising capital in a tight market can be more valuable—sudden disruptions such as the pandemic, and choosing partners whose motivations fit, abilities complement one another, and values align. Bill Gates was the person who impressed him most that year.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4106746499337750/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4106746499337750/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-06. The first principle of early-stage fundraising is to secure the first term sheet quickly. Once you have it, you gain the initiative. Three guidelines follow. First, plan investor meetings as you would job interviews: do not meet your favorite first; practice with investors whose processes are simple and decisions quick, but do not leave your preferred investor until last either. Paul Graham suggests an expected-value calculation: probability of investment multiplied by the weight the investment carries. Second, only written terms count. Treat anything an investor says as a no unless the terms are written down for signature; investors have strong incentives to delay. Third, create a concentrated competitive process. Schedule fundraising within the same period. Once the first offer arrives, harsh terms may disappear, and firms previously too busy to meet may suddenly make every partner available.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-358039442233562/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-358039442233562/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-03. In an age of frequent black swan events, there is no master key. Zhang Lei nevertheless sees long-termism as a compass through cycles: commit time and conviction to things that create lasting value, learn the most effective ways of thinking, follow first principles, and keep seeking truth. For individuals, it offers clarity against short-term temptations and noise. For businesses, it provides perspective, rejecting zero-sum games and continually rebuilding a dynamic moat through innovation. For society, it is a passion that brings resources to education, science, and the humanities, sustaining a positive cycle. The article concludes that investment has one true standard: whether it creates genuine value that contributes to society’s overall prosperity. Flowing water does not compete to arrive first; it seeks to flow without end. Be a friend of time.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6899448896734149/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6899448896734149/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-14. Dedao Headlines explains Richard Koo’s theory of balance sheet recessions through his book 大衰退 (Great Recession, descriptive title). After Japan’s bubble burst, falling asset prices left businesses and households owing more than their assets were worth. Everyone repaid debt rather than borrowing: innovation stalled, economic activity froze, and confidence collapsed so completely that even zero interest rates could not induce borrowing. Toyota, with its rule against debt, was a rare exception. Individually rational decisions produced a macroeconomic catastrophe—Samuelson’s “fallacy of composition.” Koo’s prescription was for government to increase deficits, borrow, and spend, buying businesses time to repair their balance sheets, while businesses restored confidence and resumed appropriate borrowing and spending. Robin adds that government can lead investment and expand innovation amid uncertainty, giving people—especially the young—confidence in the future and helping Taiwan move forward.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-666766424694194/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-666766424694194/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-05. Once an investor meeting is secured, founders need three preparations. First, explain what they intend to do. Investors care about monetization and trends: not yesterday’s opportunities, already irrelevant; not today’s, already crowded; and not tomorrow’s, where mature opportunities favor large institutions. Their favorite is the “day after tomorrow.” Explain the industry’s past, present, and future, the opportunity you see, and your preparations. Second, demonstrate a distinctive edge. Barriers may come from advanced technology, industry experience, or—most often—people. With the right team, a second-rate idea can produce a first-rate outcome. Third, prove execution. Investors increasingly value the second-in-command who turns ideas into action. Use past achievements to show that you move quickly; even running in the wrong direction and correcting promptly is better than standing still.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-847150856655749/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-847150856655749/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-15. Six lessons for first-time founders. Hire people more knowledgeable and experienced than yourself to fill gaps in your understanding; do not insist on being the smartest person in the company. Attend to both the big picture and details, balancing direction with execution. Assess every aspect of the business objectively: “getting many things done” is not the same as completing what matters; ask whether a decision is necessary and serves the ultimate goal. Consider opportunity costs, including the cost of not acting or acting later. Validate before investing: gather information, test in small steps, and iterate rather than spending months building something customers do not need. Finally, invest more once the approach proves effective. Apply the Pareto principle and deepen the one or two activities generating 80% of revenue rather than spreading effort too broadly.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-509869047050600/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-509869047050600/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-03. Wu Jun continues his discussion of John Doerr. The best time for venture capital is the stealth phase, when an industry and company are still young and most people have not recognized the opportunity. Risk is high and opposition inevitable, but by the time everyone agrees, the best entry point may have passed. VC therefore requires insight and risk-taking rather than committee-style democratic decisions. Reviewing a successful portfolio company, Doerr’s only concern was that its gross margin was too high. SGI had died that way: a 70% margin led it to ignore necessary but lower-margin opportunities, leaving it unable to endure hardship after the bubble burst. In Doerr’s era, KPCB limited each fund to $800 million–$1 billion, invested in fewer than 300 companies, took nearly 100 public, and generated returns of 40–50 times per fund. One secret was encouraging portfolio companies to help and acquire one another, creating a broad alumni network.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-741087187262117/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-741087187262117/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-06. Lei Jun’s fundraising advice: the worse your character, the harder raising money becomes. The first funding should be pooled from people you know. American angel rounds may involve twenty people contributing $10,000 or $20,000 each. The real question is not whether wealthy people are around you, but why they should trust you. Fundraising reflects credibility accumulated in work and life. If you cannot persuade parents, siblings, or close friends, why should Lei Jun invest? He openly invests only in acquaintances, extending at most to their acquaintances. He cites YY founder Li Xueling: a journalist who criticized him yet refused press-event travel allowances, had principles and ambitions, and loved technology. Ten years of interaction built trust. In 2005, Lei invested RMB 4.15 million and lent another RMB 4.15 million. Taking your conduct seriously is the first step toward credibility; begin looking for money close to home.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-563644905006347/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-563644905006347/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-06-29. Zhang Lei sets out four elements of Hillhouse’s approach. First, uphold an investment philosophy and a broad perspective. Its three principles emphasize ethical discipline and independence, restraint and depth in familiar areas, and doing the right things so like-minded partners naturally arrive. Consistency is not rigidity: Hillhouse fundamentally invests in change. Second, remain even-tempered and return to common sense. Returns should come from business profits and growth, not fashionable concepts or short-term games. He cites Bogle on long-term, risk- and cost-adjusted returns, and Buffett on not holding a stock for ten minutes if unwilling to own it for ten years. The best investment needs no exit. Third, preserve entrepreneurial spirit, put fund investors first, practice empathy, and support a positive cycle in the real economy. Fourth, develop talent and teams built on trust and mutual inspiration. Talent is an investment that never requires an exit.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-554458969258274/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-554458969258274/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-06-14. Retelling Lao Yu’s article: becoming wealthy depends not on how often your judgment is right, but on whether you bet when right and limit losses when wrong. Magnitude matters more than frequency. Druckenmiller says the most important lesson from Soros was how much you make when right and lose when wrong. Buffett advises catching rare windfalls with a bucket, not a thimble, and imagining a lifetime investment card with only twenty punches. Munger says removing their ten best investments would make their record a joke. Behind this is the power law: in Zero to One, Peter Thiel says to seek only the best, because the largest winner outperforms the rest combined. Even a16z’s 312-fold Instagram return barely covered part of a $1.5 billion fund. Zhang Lei concentrated Yale’s $30 million in Tencent and insisted on investing $300 million in JD.com. But how do you identify the moment for a concentrated bet? The author admits, “I don’t know; I even think nobody knows.” The truth may be simple, but it has no operating manual.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-718317132872456/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-718317132872456/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-28. Duan Yongping’s philosophy: missing an opportunity is not the concern; taking the wrong one is. The one reason not to sell a stock is “I’ve already made money,” just as its past price is not a reason to buy. The only test is value. When accounting problems led Nasdaq to suspend NetEase in 2001 and its share price fell from $15.50 to $0.64, Duan found a company valued at $20 million with $60 million in cash, only $14 million in liabilities, a fast-growing SMS value-added business, and plans to enter the gaming market he understood. After lawyers assessed the litigation risk as manageable, he used almost all his available $2 million to buy 1.52 million shares in April 2002. Even gains of dozens of times within two years did not prompt a sale. He ultimately held for more than five years and earned over a hundredfold.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-639288300775340/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-639288300775340/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-22. When raising capital, your priority is not just to discuss the business but also yourself. First, you are the real competitive advantage. A Stanford survey of hundreds of investors found that founders, management teams, and their experience and passion were the most important investment factors. Introducing yourself reveals capabilities and values, helping investors assess company culture. Second, closeness builds trust. Baylor research involving 600 executives linked trust to leaders’ technical competence, conflict-resolution ability, and integrity. Share your background, inspiration, motivation, experience, and mission. A Harvard-administered global survey found all institutional investors valued ESG and how corporate purpose was communicated. Third, investors want to know whether you can withstand pressure. Nervousness may be read as an inability to handle difficult business decisions. Begin your presentation by speaking confidently about yourself.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-781403073230528/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-781403073230528/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-06-07. Xuan Tian’s empirical research, published in Review of Finance in 2012, examined more than 30,000 US startups founded between 1980 and 2005. Seventy percent received funding from at least two VCs, while 88% of VC-backed companies that went public had syndicate funding. The article uses Didi’s $4.5 billion Series F as a case: Apple, China Life, Ant, Tencent, China Merchants Bank, and SoftBank pooled resources that helped it evolve from a taxi app into a smart-mobility leader. A parenthetical note records its later market-value decline as a point-in-time observation. Syndicates create product-market value through complementary expertise, networks, and information, and greater willingness to fund risky innovators. In financial markets, multiple VC backers send a positive signal affecting IPO underpricing and valuation. But an informed investor with unusually strong conviction may exclude others to retain all the gains; in that case, solo investment could produce better exits.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-705623584141811/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-705623584141811/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-08. Excerpts from 領導 (Leadership), coauthored by Manchester United’s legendary manager Ferguson and Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz. Moritz divides the leadership lessons Sequoia learns from other fields into two categories. Internally, they concern recruiting, team building, standards, motivation, avoiding complacency, and removing underperformers. In portfolio companies, Sequoia is a minority shareholder alongside brilliant founders in their thirties who are driven and sometimes volatile; it can help only through persuasion, encouragement, sensible advice, and patience, with results that may not be immediate. Ferguson refused to define Manchester United by its opponents: the club’s destiny was shaped inside Old Trafford, and money could not buy success. The same applies in Silicon Valley. No company becomes great by continually reacting to competitors. Page and Brin built Google because existing search engines dissatisfied them. Successful founders focus on what they control and stay off powerful rivals’ radar for as long as possible. Novell, Netscape, and others learned the cost of attracting Microsoft’s attention at its peak; Google’s low profile meant that by the time Microsoft noticed it, it was too late to respond.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7147401361938900/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7147401361938900/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-23. The post opens with Peterson’s observation that opportunities ultimately force a choice between immediate and long-term interests, and Jorgenson’s remark that truly smart people do not take shortcuts. It then draws on Sun Taoran’s 創業36條軍規: a company must make money, and entrepreneurs must give their all, but neither justifies winning at any cost. The 36 rules ultimately come down to one: take the ethical path. If there is a shortcut to success, it is the only one over the long run. Acting ethically supports survival: underhanded methods consume energy, create disputes, and can lead to imprisonment. Doing the right thing may mean earning less now, but it avoids risks and builds a reputation. The text argues that reputable companies receive faster listing approvals and better prices when issuing shares. How should a company respond to a rival’s smear campaign or manufactured provocation? Sun proposes three responses: compete through market action rather than verbal battles; put users’ interests first when speaking; and act openly, especially in a crisis. Robin adds that the financial industry’s bottom line is the safety of funds—risk management, controls, and regulatory compliance.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7363997496945951/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7363997496945951/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-16. Xiong Fei of Matrix Partners reflects on founder assessment. During the 2017–2018 wave of returnee-led “copy to China” startups, many investors bought into stories about overseas comparables worth tens of billions of dollars without thinking them through. Other founders were less skilled at grand narratives but understood users, worked on the front line solving real problems, had spent years developing and testing their ideas, committed themselves fully, and attracted well-regarded friends and colleagues. Xiong argues for a dynamic assessment of people. If running a company with a few dozen employees has a difficulty of 10, a company with hundreds may be 10 times 10 squared; management complexity rises geometrically, and differences between founders become apparent. Openness and learning ability determine whether a founder can grow from handling a difficulty of 10 to handling 1,000. Robin adds that growth shifts interactions from individuals to teams and departments. As a Taiwanese saying puts it, it is easier to raise a top scholar than a capable businessperson: academic and research ability do not necessarily reveal management ability, which is often more important to entrepreneurial success.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8167789563233403/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8167789563233403/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-05-29. Andrew Chen’s newsletter explores the dark side of being data-driven. Data measures yesterday rather than tomorrow and can produce analysis paralysis: intuition may provide an answer in seconds, whereas A/B tests take weeks. The tyranny of the majority can reduce a product to a compromise around averages. Noise and false signals abound, correlation is not causation, and historical data struggles to predict a future that has never occurred. Startups competing with giants such as FAANG need intuition, speed, and bold moves rather than copying those companies’ data processes. The ideal is to be data-informed, neither blindly data-driven nor data-ignorant.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-563002678403903/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-563002678403903/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-06-28. Cai Yu examines Hefei’s investment-based approach to attracting industry. When BOE considered locating there, Hefei backstopped RMB17.5 billion. When Sharp intervened, Hefei offered to accept both projects, prompting Sharp to withdraw. It also invested in LCD and plasma technologies to hedge competing technical paths. Investments in ChangXin, GigaDevice, and NIO followed. The RMB7 billion NIO investment involved a NIO China joint venture, a RMB420 billion revenue commitment, an IPO within 60 months, and clear exit arrangements. The underlying approach is to follow a coherent industrial strategy, buy promising assets when they are out of favor, and train investment-promotion teams to conduct due diligence like investment managers. Robin suggests that Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taoyuan could learn from this ambition. A city should first answer four questions: Who am I? Where am I now? Where do I want to go? How should I get there?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24722976190621479/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24722976190621479/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-07-24. A Caijing article discusses the “one-person unicorn” in the AI era. Li Zhifei used AI to produce 40,000 lines of code in two days; Sam Altman described “one person plus 10,000 GPUs.” Pokee AI, associated with Zhu Zheqing, raised a $12 million seed round with only six people. A view attributed to Sequoia suggests hierarchical organizations are giving way to dynamic collaboration. Highly capable generalists and lean AI-powered solo businesses are emerging, while Chen Yiran comments on the employment market. Cal AI, built by high-school students including 17-year-olds, reportedly earns $1.12 million a month. Robin reminds venture capital professionals that they, too, must keep pace with the times.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-670904270947076/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-670904270947076/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-12. In his 1998 shareholder letter, Bezos emphasizes fearing customers rather than competitors: customers remain loyal only until someone offers them something better. Hiring involves three questions: Do you admire this person? Will they raise the team’s average level? In what area are they a superstar? Goals for 1999 include expanding distribution and systems capacity, building the brand, broadening product categories, and strengthening the bench and processes. The letter again attaches the 1997 letter to remind shareholders of the company’s original commitments.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-703825900988246/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-703825900988246/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-05. Robin recommends the 2016 shareholder letter as a must-read. Bezos describes Day 2 as stasis, followed by irrelevance, painful decline, and death: a company must remain in Day 1. Four essentials defend it. First, genuine customer obsession: customers are always “beautifully dissatisfied.” Second, resist proxies: processes and market research cannot replace closeness to customers. Third, embrace external trends—then, machine learning and AI. Fourth, make decisions quickly: act with about 70% of the information, disagree and commit, escalate misalignment promptly, and avoid one-size-fits-all processes.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-451110939593078/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-451110939593078/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-30. Cai Yu reviews Yang Haoyong’s battle between Guazi and Renrenche, where capital-driven momentum was a key weapon. A month-long stealth expansion into 40 cities and more thanRMB 100 million in advertising produced a gap of 1,700 versus 700 transactions. A Series A of over$200 million then constrained the rival’s fundraising options. Spending created barriers, and capital momentum drove the market toward a 9:1 split. Do not take comfort in “just do your own job well” or “the market is large enough for everyone.” Cai also cautions that capital is only the foundation; data and algorithmic moats form the deepest layer.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-669548021082701/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-669548021082701/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-10. Amazon’s first shareholder letter after its IPO was appended to subsequent annual letters. Its core is long-termism: put customers first; abandon projects without returns and increase investment in promising ones; choose cash flow over attractive financial statements; and retain talent through equity incentives. The letter reports 1997 revenue of$147 million, growth of 838%, a 58% repeat-purchase rate, and 1.51 million users. Bezos says the figures will be surpassed, but the long-term principles remain.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24588332044085895/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24588332044085895/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-07-07. Professional-camera sales fell from 121 million units in 2010 to 8.3 million in 2024, but Insta360 captured 67.2% of the global panoramic-camera market and ranked first for six consecutive years. Self-taught programmer Liu Jingkang declined invitations from Zhou Hongyi and Li Kaifu, and moved from livestreaming software into hardware. After the VR bubble burst, he shifted panoramic cameras from specialist VR equipment toward action-camera use, admitting he had benefited from the market GoPro created. Two lenses addressed a key extreme-sports problem: capturing the moment matters more than framing it beautifully. Across ten years, Liu often followed Ricoh, DJI, and GoPro, but innovated in functions and use cases to pull ahead. Now DJI is following Insta360. Robin suggests Taiwan may be better suited to hardware or integrated hardware–software ventures than pure software, but their competitors will be Chinese manufacturers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-672651197439050/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-672651197439050/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-15. In 2001, after four years pursuing growth and two reducing costs, Amazon finally balanced resources between the two. July’s major price cut—30% off books priced above$20—made lower prices a third pillar alongside selection and convenience. A better cost structure supports lower prices; those drive growth, which spreads costs further and supports additional reductions. Eliminating errors at their roots improved both experience and cost. Bezos’s investment framework again favors cash flow over financial-statement appearance: a share represents future cash flows, and understanding future cash flows and share count indicates present value. Goals for 2002 include positive operating cash flow, free cash flow, and keeping net employee-equity dilution within 3% over five years.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24430330476552720/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24430330476552720/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-06-19. There was no specialist venture capital industry in the late nineteenth century. Breaking with his usual practice, Morgan backed Edison's electric-light venture in 1878 despite his father's objections. At the end of 1880, he invested another US$1 million in a central power station in Manhattan. He also helped Edison restructure his board and remove dissatisfied investors. Their honeymoon ended in 1892: after discovering that Thomson-Houston's profit margin was more than twice Edison's, Morgan backed a merger. Edison learned that he was losing his company without having been consulted; his name disappeared from General Electric. With his stake down to 10%, he angrily sold out. From the founder's perspective, this was capital's ruthlessness; in hindsight, General Electric became one of the twentieth century's great industrial companies. Edison's stubborn opposition to alternating current also suggested that he was not the person to lead the electrical industry into the new century. Robin's takeaway: founders must recognize the limits of their abilities. Success need not be led by me, but I should have a part in it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6214471881898524/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6214471881898524/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-21. Dedao Headlines recounts LatePost's interview with Li Xiang, introduced by Robin after posts on Gome's decline and Ajinomoto's transformation. Three insights apply beyond the automotive industry. First, endgame thinking starts with an assumption about scale. Wang Xing and Wang Huiwen advised discussing scale before changes in technology, demand, business, and competition. Scale determines platform development—essential for production capacity—and what to develop in-house: standardized batteries and panels are left alone, while differentiators such as head-up displays, air suspension, and core chips require internal development. Second, avoid the “20,000-person trap” through a matrix organization with interlocking objectives: salespeople are also assessed by innovation teams, and selling one new product can count as ten established products. As Wang Huiwen put it, a team cannot reach a World Cup final on one specialty alone. Third, develop three fundamentals: language problems, or communication—Li used a hand-drawn A4 page to persuade Wang Xing to invest; mathematics problems, or measurement—product value equals product appeal times quality divided by price, with over a hundred quantified dimensions of appeal; and philosophy problems, or continually asking why, guided by Russell's truth-seeking and inclusive cooperation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-684250512945785/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-684250512945785/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-03. The 2004 shareholder letter focuses on free cash flow. Robin's introduction reads Bezos as emphasizing Amazon's strong cash-generating ability: fixed-asset capital expenditure was just 4% of revenue; receivables were collected quickly, inventory turned rapidly, and suppliers were paid later. A larger business therefore generated more cash. Bezos explains why the ultimate measure is free cash flow per share rather than earnings: share value reflects discounted future cash flows, which also depend on working capital, capital expenditure, and dilution. His teleportation-machine counterexample produces doubling annual earnings and 150 million in cumulative profit over four years from a US$160 million machine, yet cumulative negative cash flow of 530 million. Earnings can hurt shareholders when growth investment exceeds the present value of the cash flows it produces. Doubling EBITDA is equally misleading: EBITDA is not cash flow. Amazon's cash-generating operating cycle collects from customers before paying suppliers, tying up only 480 million in inventory for nearly US$7 billion in sales. The collected account says 2004 free cash flow rose from 131 million to 477 million, up 38%, with share-based issuance unchanged from 2003.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-507267568173102/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-507267568173102/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-02. Yu Minhong argues that mobile internet and the age of intelligence create more opportunities, keeping entrepreneurship a major topic for another twenty or thirty years. There is no perfect time to start, but it must not be an impulsive decision: it is as consequential as marriage or choosing a city in which to settle. Joining as a supporting partner is easier because you do not provide the main resources. Four considerations follow. First, find a genuinely good project that excites you. Ask whether you can make it succeed, rather than whether someone has done it before. When Yu founded New Oriental, China already had tens of thousands of training providers; he trusted his affection for students, teaching ability, and potential for higher earnings. Second, secure funding. Debating whether to use 500,000 to start a business or buy a home suggests you have not clarified why you want to start. Strong projects can attract angels and seed funds; build a model for tens of thousands first. Third, build a team with a real decision-maker, fair rewards, clear responsibilities, shared expectations, and readiness for sustained hardship. Fourth, founders need leadership, decisiveness, and the ability to mobilize resources. In China, deploying people effectively can matter more than specialist expertise. Yu favors gaining experience first; starting immediately after graduation carries a much higher risk of failure.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7021352554543782/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7021352554543782/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-19. This book excerpt uses Peter Thiel and PayPal to explain escape velocity: start fast enough and you can leave rivals far behind. Either enter an emerging field without competitors or move so decisively that they cannot catch up. The goal is not merely to defeat competitors but to escape competition. Early PayPal paid users directly: refer a friend and both received US$10. That demonstrated easy transfers while acquiring customers more cheaply and directly than advertising. Before it had a complete business model, Thiel chose scale first and monetization later, burning more than US$10 million a month. Starting with 24 users, PayPal grew 7% daily and passed a million within three months through compounding. Reid Hoffman explains why large companies are often less dangerous rivals: an eBay error could anger millions and attract regulators, making it hesitant. Its payment system took over a year to launch. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for US$1.5 billion. Robin's caution: a larger ambition can justify delaying profit, but not evading the question forever. Explain how the company will eventually earn money so investors will accept the risk, wait, and ultimately earn substantial returns.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8092952234050470/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8092952234050470/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-05-14. Dedao Headlines remembers mathematician and investor James Simons, who died on May 10, 2024, aged 86. Robin notes that quantitative investing differs greatly from venture capital, yet its lessons can apply to entrepreneurship. Simons graduated in mathematics from MIT at twenty, earned a Berkeley doctorate at twenty-three, and received the highest honor in mathematical geometry at thirty-seven. He saw himself first as a mathematician: markets were a giant mathematical problem, with money the reward for solving it. According to the account, Renaissance Technologies' Medallion Fund returned an annualized 66% over thirty years after its 1988 launch, or 39% after fees, outperforming Buffett and Soros. Employees signed lifetime confidentiality agreements, and recruits were mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists rather than conventional Wall Street financiers. Its explanation of high-frequency quantitative trading uses soccer: the final result is uncertain, but intermediate winning probabilities are comparatively determinate. It claims shorter forecast horizons improve accuracy and cites one trade per one sixty-four-millionth of a second, possible only through computers and algorithms. The lesson is to upgrade an intuitive system into an algorithmic one, breaking enormous uncertainty into many intermediate certainties. Robin applies this to founders: accumulate small wins by dividing an ambitious goal into milestones and steadily approaching them.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-685464372824399/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-685464372824399/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-05. Amazon's 2006 shareholder letter discusses incubating new businesses: expected returns on capital, potential scale, and differentiation that matters to customers. It uses the Joyo acquisition, FBA, and AWS as examples and explains why large companies need patience to nurture small seeds. The original English letter describes a fulfillment network of 12 million square feet, FBA storage at US$0.45 per cubic foot per month, and a community of more than 240,000 developers. The collected Chinese translation differs in units and headcount; see the source and verification note. The letter says even fast-growing new businesses often need three to seven years to become meaningful to the company as a whole. These are the experiences and strategies of that period, not current pricing or policy.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7662509580428073/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7662509580428073/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-03. Fan Deng responds to a nanomaterials startup team: inventors face considerable entrepreneurial risk because they can love their invention more than the social problem the invention should solve. When difficulties arise, they seek to spread the invention everywhere rather than find the best solution, refusing to give up even after reaching a dead end. His example is an automatic car-cover device developed over ten years, whose creator sought investment at a valuation of 100 million. Fan declined for four reasons: assumed demand was unsupported; covering cars was infrequent; a rooftop device could be stolen; and carrying it in the trunk added weight and fuel consumption, undermining value. Real inventors begin with problems. Edison did not invent the light bulb, but his team found a suitable filament. Jobs did not invent the smartphone, but “redefined” it. Where Nokia insisted that computer functions required a computer keyboard, Jobs reportedly demanded one-button simplicity. The excerpt attributes to Bezos, via Allen Zhang, the question of whether innovation serves people or merely displays cleverness: will you show intelligence at any cost, or choose kindness? Inventions designed to demonstrate a founder's ingenuity rather than address a real problem will, in most cases, fail.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6637813122897729/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6637813122897729/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-02. Robin opens by observing that it is again time for presidential candidates’ advisers to study seriously and develop policy proposals. He believes: “Encourage innovation, increase investment, and save Taiwan.” The following excerpts cover six chapters of 創新經濟學. First, highly skilled immigrants make outstanding contributions to innovation. Nearly a quarter of U.S. patents have at least one inventor with foreign citizenship. H-1B visas respond to market demand but weaken workers’ bargaining power and ability to become entrepreneurs, while Canada and Australia actively recruit through points-based systems. Second, the division of innovative labor is changing: universities conduct a growing share of research, while research within corporate R&D has fallen from over 35% in the late 1950s to below 20%. Commercialization relies on university technology licensing under the Bayh–Dole Act and technology-oriented startups, but the corporate-laboratory era has lost ground. Third, pharmaceutical innovation involves both push policies, such as NIH-funded research, and pull policies, such as patents, with persistent concerns about patent evergreening. Fourth, incumbents innovate most effectively when they combine existing advantages with competitive pressure; an inverted-U relationship does not justify permissive horizontal-merger policy. Fifth, fewer than 5% of local economic-policy programs have credible evaluations, and fewer than 0.5% have demonstrated positive policy effects, highlighting the need for prospective randomized experiments. Sixth, innovation opportunities are highly unequal across regions. Policy might encourage innovations that expand opportunity in disadvantaged places rather than strengthen those places’ own innovative capacity. All chapter figures are drawn from the research cited in the book.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6422304384448605/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6422304384448605/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-24. Robin’s opening question is what kind of education we need in the AI era. Having raised related educational issues over the preceding few days, he turns to Wan Weigang’s perspective. Wan argues that traditional education takes a top-down approach: schools, teachers, and parents hold the initiative. Once likened to a gardener cultivating plants, it now has a more precise analogy—training AI. Defining the learning scope in advance, feeding in materials labeled right or wrong, and assessing the results is supervised learning. Yet students taught this way fall short even of GPT, which uses self-supervised learning, discovers patterns for itself, and is designed to know things its teachers do not. Traditional education and AI share three shortcomings that innovators do not: rewards depend on administrators’ approval, whereas innovators gain recognition from society and consumers, without fixed standards, and may even define what society considers good; mistakes and shoring up weaknesses receive great attention, whereas innovators need exceptional strengths; and new things outside the defined scope attract little interest, whereas innovators pursue novelty because it may confer a competitive advantage. The biggest problem with AI-style education is students’ lack of autonomy. A machine’s great advantage is its inherent passivity; a defining human difference is the desire to take the initiative. The conclusion: in an age with AI, we must think carefully about nurturing a person rather than training one. Creative people can be nurtured but cannot be controlled. To hope for unexpected good, we must tolerate unexpected “bad”—things we did not want them to do. AI can be controlled; with talented people, we must learn to tolerate their independence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6701009036578137/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6701009036578137/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-20. These book excerpts explain the central idea behind a “small and beautiful” business: profitability first. Rather than pursuing expansion single-mindedly, do everything possible to become profitable. The author was Pinterest’s second employee. In 2011, he left before cashing out his equity to launch Gumroad, a platform for creators to sell their work online. It attracted more than 50,000 visitors on its first day, then raised over US$8 million from prominent Silicon Valley investors and recruited dozens of employees from internet giants in pursuit of a unicorn dream. Once the funding ran out, growth stalled. Nine months of fundraising attempts failed, forcing him to lay off most employees. After moving to a quiet small city, friends helped him recognize that Gumroad had actually remained profitable and was appropriately sized for its target market. Thousands of creators used it to sell courses, ebooks, and software to supplement their incomes. It might have been a poor investment for Silicon Valley investors, but it was a valuable platform for its customers. He realized that many businesses raise substantial venture funding early because they have not found a sustainable profit model, falling into a cycle of pursuing size for its own sake. Entrepreneurship is like sailing: relying entirely on fundraising is like jumping into the sea, treading water, and waiting for a lifeboat. The sustainable approach is to build your own boat—profitability. Robin urges Taiwanese startups to establish that their business models can generate profits before expanding. As in the Buffett view he had shared, making money is the only way to develop sustainably.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-592826275421543/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-592826275421543/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-12. Building on the three requirements for a good fundraising story—engaging, credible, and concise—this post explains its structure. The most suitable framework is the familiar confrontation between a hero and a villain, followed by a happy ending. That may sound overly simple, but its simplicity is precisely its fundamental strength. In an entrepreneurial story, the villain is not a particular person but a real problem: hunger, ignorance, disease, waste, inefficiency, or a poor customer experience. A business idea without a clearly defined villain cannot raise funding, because it does not solve a real problem. Google’s villain is the lack of ways to access information, its hero is its search algorithm, and its happy ending is the business empire built through tens of billions of searches. Uber’s villain is being unable to find a ride; its happy ending is a ride for everyone and income from otherwise idle vehicles. Great business stories, however, are never pure fiction. The next step is to substantiate the plot with examples and factual research. First, bring the villain vividly to life: an office worker leaving at 9 p.m., exhausted by clients and a boss, with no dinner arranged. Then introduce the hero—a food-delivery website—and explain just as thoroughly why it can win, whether through breakthrough technology or service innovation. A happy ending requires a reasonable market forecast: the market share to be gained, how long that will take, how much it will cost, how much will be earned, and the basis for every projection.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4130676870278046/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4130676870278046/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-16. Zhang Xiaoyu’s case course tells the story of Orange Hotel. It may not be a success story about working with capital, but it is a very real one. After selling the company, founder Wu Hai wrote that he felt like a “surrogate mother”: he had devoted his life and youth to nurturing a child, only to realize, when the final strategic investor Huazhu took Orange over from its investors, that capital might be the child’s real mother. The account has three stages. First, capital enabled rapid expansion. Orange had only 25 hotels when Carlyle came in during 2012, but more than 200 before Huazhu acquired it. Expansion exposed the disadvantages of unfamiliar local markets, however, and the company moved from insisting on directly operated hotels to franchising and reliance on partners with local resources. Wu’s original commitments gradually changed. Second came the investors’ exit. In late 2016, Carlyle sought to exit, not simply to make a quick profit: its fund had only three years left, while preparing for a domestic listing would take a year and regulatory approval was highly uncertain. Wu knew Carlyle would not force a sale if he firmly opposed it, but said he should respect investors’ wishes and fulfill his role as a surrogate mother. In February 2017, Huazhu acquired Orange Hotel outright for RMB3.65 billion. Third is Wu’s character. When valuation negotiations with Carlyle stalled, he pledged all his options under a performance-based agreement: if the business performed poorly, all the options would go to Carlyle. He wanted to protect the share value held by early investors and his team. Each of his three ventures ended in a sale. He may not have been the greatest entrepreneur, but his loyalty and authenticity offer something to learn from.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7852380084774354/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7852380084774354/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-21. Robin’s commentary begins: when a problem arises, solve it. KKT’s auction was suspended because there were insufficient qualifying lots, and the offering would switch to bookbuilding and allocation. The central issue was how to assign a reasonable value to companies such as KKT. Robin proposed revisiting the introduction of a cornerstone-investor framework: an IPO allocation mechanism for potentially promising startups whose valuation models are unfamiliar to the market. The issue had already been discussed in 2018. Then Financial Supervisory Commission Chair Ku Li-hsiung said the Taiwan Stock Exchange had been asked to collect international examples and study bringing in cornerstone investors before an IPO, within specified ownership proportions and price ranges, to strengthen a company’s investment value and stabilize its share price after listing. Discussions later stopped after GGR listed in the United States; supporting regulations and allocation fairness still needed work. The 2018 report discussed several related issues. Removing the profitability requirement for converting privately placed securities into publicly offered securities after three years could revive problems involving cheap allocations to selected investors and arbitrage opportunities. Unequal voting rights could undermine governance in a market where retail investors accounted for more than 60%. The exchange president had visited Gogoro to understand its needs: its large capital base made an auction unsuitable, and an IPO would require cornerstone investors to subscribe for a large amount. The securities dealers association suggested exempting IPOs of at least NT$2 billion from priority use of auctions, allowing cornerstone investors to subscribe for 40–60%, excluding company insiders and related parties, and imposing a six-month to one-year lock-up.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-634210821283088/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-634210821283088/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-15. Before discussing equity incentives, one distinction must be clear: incentives are primarily about encouraging future value creation, not recognizing past contributions. Recognition of past contributions is a reward; the two must not be confused. Many companies allocate shares by employees’ current tenure and positions, only to achieve the opposite of what they intended. Everyone feels they are the most capable person in the department, have contributed the most, or have served the longest. The allocation leaves everyone dissatisfied and unconvinced of others’ entitlement, intensifying internal conflict instead of motivating people. Worse, recipients may regard the shares as something they were owed all along: withholding them was a debt, so returning them deserves no thanks. For the founder, it becomes a double loss. Authority has been delegated, equity distributed, and benefits shared, yet the internal climate changes. Rules are the surface; human nature is the foundation. Using the logic of equity rewards to design equity incentives often marks the turning point toward a company’s decline. The right approach is a plan suited to the business’s own development, rather than a rigidly copied template. A mechanism focused on the future, shared benefits, and shared risks can unite founders, senior managers, and frontline employees in expanding the value of the business together.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-393903378647168/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-393903378647168/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-17. On October 12, 2020, SoftBank’s Vision Fund disclosed plans to establish a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, within two weeks. Unlike acquiring an existing listed shell, a SPAC raises money from investors to create a new shell company. Its leaders then acquire an unlisted business, effectively bringing that business to the public market. Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra said the SPAC would give portfolio companies a route to listing amid high market uncertainty. It would target growth companies in later funding rounds, with capital coming partly from the Vision Fund and partly from market investors. The backdrop was the popularity of SPACs in 2020. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that SPACs had raised US$41 billion that year, more than in the preceding ten years combined, and accounted for 40% of U.S. IPOs. The Verge suggested that uncertainty in the stock market was a reason: traditional IPOs could be priced too high or too low, with increasingly unpredictable market reactions. SPACs reduced that risk to some extent by providing a predictable valuation range. Companies seeking a listing could avoid an IPO roadshow and dealings with numerous institutional investors, negotiating instead with the SPAC’s controlling party. A listing could be completed in as little as a few weeks. These are reports and claims from October 2020.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24846595651592865/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24846595651592865/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-08-08. Robin reflects on a recent conversation with the head of a listed company. If the tariff gap between China and Southeast Asian countries is 20–30%—with Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia at roughly 19–20%, and China at 40–50%—manufacturing in China can still offer substantial advantages. One key factor is supply-chain completeness. Consider a screw: when equipment breaks in Vietnam, a replacement part might take more than a day to arrive before production can restart. In China, a replacement might arrive in five or ten minutes. That small example extends to equipment maintenance, components, consumables, raw and auxiliary materials, suppliers’ around-the-clock responsiveness, and their eagerness to win an order. Decades of accumulated supply-chain capabilities have continually raised the bar in China. Although Southeast Asia has been rising, its role remains concentrated in labor-intensive production and final assembly. Building a complete chain from materials to equipment could take another decade or more. Instead, manufacturers can import Chinese automation equipment and materials, assemble products locally, and sell them abroad—hence the discussion of disguising products’ country of origin. The post closes with Taiwan: its semiconductor supply chain has gradually developed, helped by the industry’s “sacred mountain” cultivating domestic equipment, consumables, and fab-facility capabilities. The most advanced lithography and etching equipment may still be some way off, but a complete supply-chain system provides a relative competitive advantage that can lessen tariff impacts.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7271914766154225/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7271914766154225/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-23. Fengtouquan draws a lesson from UNIQLO. Founded in 1984, the company grew fastest between 1990 and 2010, precisely Japan’s economically weak “lost two decades.” Overall GDP barely grew and even declined slightly, while the apparel industry shrank by 50%. Yet UNIQLO, relying on Japan’s domestic market, increased revenue from ¥5.2 billion in 1990 to ¥814.8 billion in 2010—more than 150-fold—and profit grew 1,500-fold. Only after 2010 did international expansion become the main growth driver. The lesson is that the macroeconomy certainly has problems of its own, but the development of individual companies is not necessarily so tightly bound to it. That can give investors considerable confidence. Robin’s view: even during a macroeconomic downturn, individual breakout businesses still have opportunities. During twenty years of constrained consumption in Japan, UNIQLO seized the opportunities of its time and emerged as an exceptional performer, making Tadashi Yanai Japan’s richest person.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25237169339202159/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25237169339202159/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-23. Robin argues that income polarization in Taiwan will become increasingly pronounced. In the future, 50–70% of people may pay no income tax, while the top 30%, or even the top 5% or 10%, could support the entire income-tax contribution. Fewer taxpayers would not necessarily mean declining revenue: the top 30% remain on a high-growth trajectory, earning more and therefore paying more. Even as taxpayer numbers shrink, collections can exceed government budget estimates, with most of the contribution coming from a small group at the top. The post gives this distribution: 0.13% of people pay 17.47% of income tax; 0.85% pay 41.19%; 2.79% pay 60.75%; and 7.66% pay 77.21%. A small group, around 10% of Taiwan’s population, benefits from globalization, AI development, and U.S.–China confrontation. They earn “Global Pay” and can expect further income growth. A much larger group earns “Local Pay,” primarily in domestic services or traditional industries competing intensely with China. Their income growth may be limited, stagnant, or even persistently negative. As high earners drive inflation and increases in goods and housing prices, Robin argues that government needs tax and subsidy measures to support disadvantaged groups left behind by globalization and AI. They may feel disconnected from the past decade’s economic growth while experiencing its inflation keenly, creating a sense of relative deprivation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7378847735460927/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7378847735460927/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-20. This book-excerpt-style compilation argues that capitalists’ investment is the primary driver of economic growth and the source of their power. Capitalism does not fear powerful capitalists; it fears capitalists who will not invest. Holding money simply to feel secure lets society down. Government’s most important role is to encourage them to invest. The tension between investing and reluctance to invest recurs throughout history, with confidence as the decisive variable. If capital is prosperity’s economic fuel, confidence is its emotional fuel. Economic growth is always about flesh-and-blood people, rather than an automatic mechanism. Historical experience, the compilation argues, does not support the idea that leaving markets alone will automatically allow entrepreneurs to make the economy thrive. Capitalists often prefer to hold their money, requiring government action—not coercion, but measures such as fiscal or monetary policy. Robin’s view: investment drives national economic growth, and venture capital is at the forefront of investment that advances innovation and change. The state should act more proactively to channel capital into venture investment and make it an important force in the country’s future.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26158331170419300/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26158331170419300/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-03. Robin recalls a story from his underwriting days. After filing an IPO application, he wanted to pray for a smooth review and told his supervisor he would visit Xingtian Temple to pray to Guan Gong, the martial god of wealth. His supervisor warned him against it: Guan Gong embodies righteousness and vanquishes demons, so a company as questionable as this one would surely be struck down. He suggested another temple instead, claiming it was so efficacious that spiritually sensitive visitors could feel a blessing of sacred light and see a deity manifest. Robin joked that this could qualify as a top secret of Taiwan’s capital-markets industry. He offered a clue: a famous temple in southwestern Taipei with nearly 50,000 Google reviews, apparently the highest number among the city’s temples. After moving into venture capital, he discussed investment-related prayers with a senior acquaintance, who recommended a nearby Earth God temple rather than a major temple. Each neighborhood has its own, much like a neighborhood chief with a designated jurisdiction.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25746025268316561/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25746025268316561/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-14. Robin observes that Taiwan’s exports have boomed while domestic demand has remained weak over the past three to five years, rapidly widening the wealth gap. Over the preceding five years, the world experienced a once-in-a-century pandemic, an AI boom, and U.S.–China confrontation. He argues that Taiwan ranks among the top three beneficiaries: the pandemic drove demand for electronics used remotely; AI generated overwhelming orders for semiconductors and servers, outpacing factory expansion; and U.S.–China tensions shifted electronics orders from China to Taiwan. Export-related technology stocks, including semiconductors, servers, and components such as thermal-management products, surged, and people in those industries earned handsomely. Domestic demand faced pressure from weak tourism, labor shortages and rising wages, and inflation including higher utility costs. Traditional manufacturers such as machinery companies also faced intense competition. A minority riding these trends saw incomes soar and pushed up housing and goods prices, while the majority outside them faced greater economic pressure. Robin adds that declining birth rates are, in his personal view, the larger and more irreversible crisis.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25746318144953940/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25746318144953940/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-14. Robin shares statistics identified as being from November 2024. After the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s market capitalization exceeded 90 trillion, its listed companies’ combined value had reached eighth or ninth globally, roughly equal to Germany’s stock market. The comparison gives Germany’s GDP as about US$4.31 trillion, with 85 million people and US$52,000 per person, and Taiwan’s GDP as about US$930 billion, with 23 million people and US$41,000 per person. Germany’s GDP was 4.6 times Taiwan’s, but their stock-market values were already comparable, even excluding Taiwan’s Taipei Exchange. Returning to an Economist article, Robin argues that Taiwan benefited from the preceding five years’ AI boom: outside the United States, its increase in stock-market capitalization was second only to that of Nasdaq, the market at the origin of the AI boom. In that sense, he considers it reasonable to call Taiwan the greatest beneficiary outside the United States, while noting that the gains were concentrated in its core competitive strengths.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24397958356456599/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24397958356456599/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-06-15. Robin traces Taiwan’s electronics-industry family tree. Beyond the companies descended from two networks—one including 三愛電子 (San’ai Electronics), the Kinpo–Compal group, Inventec, and Quanta; the other including Acer, ASUS, Wistron, Pegatron, and BenQ—there are Hon Hai, Lite-On, Delta Electronics, Advantech, and others. Lite-On was the first electronics stock to list. Semiconductors and electronics together once accounted for more than 70% of Taiwan’s stock-market capitalization. As these companies expanded around the world, they brought Taiwan greater global influence. Many of these electronics businesses trace their establishment to the 1970s. Electronics, including semiconductors, once represented only 2% of Taiwan’s market value, when financials, petrochemicals, textiles, and food stocks dominated. Through the continuing efforts of earlier generations of entrepreneurs, Taiwan became a technology island that drew the world’s attention.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25595732576679165/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25595732576679165/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-10-29. The short piece asks: I have 10,000 and my colleague has 1 million. If we both invest in something yielding 10% annually, will we be equally wealthy at year-end? No—the gap will widen from 990,000 to 1,089,000. When growth rates are identical, the absolute gap between us and the leader keeps growing. Those behind, or new entrants, must find a faster growth engine to have a chance of catching up and overtaking. Robin adds that in recent years, he has found larger companies also growing rapidly. With higher gross margins, they earn more and more: revenue growth of 30% can accompany profit growth of 50–80%.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26057041260548292/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26057041260548292/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-21. Robin observes that TNMG, an Asia-focused next-generation digital technology and media group listed on Nasdaq, had reached a market capitalization of US$5.6 million. Its businesses span media, AI, traffic, data analytics, advertising technology, ecommerce, and B2B. It attracts more than 45 million unique users each month, with Japan its largest market and Taiwan second. Yet with 2024 revenue of US$48.5 million, its price-to-sales ratio was only 0.12. Robin poses two questions: might a Taiwan listing offer the chance of a tenfold market valuation? And does the group need such a wide range of businesses, or would it be better to focus on one or two and make them globally competitive?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7295115607167474/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7295115607167474/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-29. Robin points to the chapters on calculating investment-project returns in corporate finance or financial management textbooks. If time permits, he suggests revisiting the later chapters and working through the calculations again. He recalls getting very high grades in financial management in graduate school, with a laugh. His personal impression now, however, is that even elegant financial models and projections often prove less accurate than a boss’s experience-based, off-the-cuff decision. Building a model still requires many conditional assumptions, such as the growth rate.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25588629367389486/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25588629367389486/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-10-28. Robin reviews revenue, gross margin, profit, and market value for two leading Taiwanese third-party payment businesses. 綠界 (ECPay, 6763) had 2024 revenue of 1.6 billion, a 41% gross margin, after-tax net profit of 350 million, and market value of 11.1 billion. LINEPAY (7722) had revenue of 6.3 billion, a 32% gross margin, after-tax net profit of 650 million, and market value of 38.6 billion. His impression is that fintech valuations are high, but there is still a benchmark: payments giant Visa, with full-year revenue potentially reaching US$40 billion, an 80% gross margin, market value of US$660 billion, and a price-to-earnings ratio of about 34. These figures reflect the publication date and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4863260550353004/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4863260550353004/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-15. Robin observes that Taiwanese companies have recently been keen to carve out subsidiaries for IPOs. Acer is a representative example, while Hon Hai previously carved out quite a few as well. Yet he seems to see this less often abroad. He asks whether Tesla would separate power generation, energy storage, systems, software, distribution, maintenance, and finance into numerous subsidiaries, or remain a single Tesla and build a much larger market value. The underlying approaches to management and capital-market operations are very different.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4614858815193180/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4614858815193180/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-28. Robin explains the Pioneer Stock Board. Quotes for ordinary Emerging Stock Board companies are not visible on Yahoo Finance, but Pioneer Stock Board quotes are. Its trade-matching system broadly follows the model for Taipei Exchange-listed companies, allowing buyers and sellers to see individual bid and ask prices and lot quantities. Investor eligibility restrictions still apply.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24503885265863907/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24503885265863907/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-06-28. Robin recalls that Mr. Qiu told everyone the previous day to pay close attention to the Securities and Exchange Act’s insider-trading provisions. Many colleagues serve as directors, especially of exchange-listed and over-the-counter-listed companies; at the time of the post, Robin was a corporate shareholder’s designated director representative at eight companies. Sometimes people do not realize their actions break the law, or how serious the consequences can be.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25746250408294047/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25746250408294047/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-14. Robin cites The Economist’s observation that Taiwan benefited from the preceding five years’ AI boom, with its stock-market capitalization increasing at a rate second only to Nasdaq in the United States, the origin of the boom. He adds that it is reasonable to call Taiwan the largest beneficiary outside the United States, while noting that the benefit is highly concentrated in the foundations of Taiwan’s core competitive strengths. The figures are quotations reflecting their original time, not current facts.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-660485795322257/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-660485795322257/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-25. Robin compiles Liu Songbo’s views from Dedao’s 30 Lectures on Corporate Governance. Startups easily fall into disputes over interests because business models, the importance of resources, and individual contributions continue changing dramatically after the equity structure is set. Haidilao’s Zhang Yong and Shi Yonghong agreeing to transfer shares after initially holding 50% each is a positive example; the dispute between Li Ziqi and Weinian is a cautionary one. The solution is to leave room for adjustment in equity design. First, reserve an equity pool rather than allocating all shares at once. Second, use vesting, granting equity progressively against milestones. Third, prearrange exit mechanisms, including conditions and prices for recovering equity. Ning Xiangdong also proposes a “pivotal minority”: two shareholders with 50% each give up 0.5% apiece, allowing an impartial third party trusted by both to hold 1% and mediate disputes. The post closes with Xu Xiaoping’s observation: do not pursue shared interests through brotherhood; build brotherhood through shared interests.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-613243230046514/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-613243230046514/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-13. Xu Xiaoping proposes three principles for equity design. First, hold a large stake without standing alone. Equal splits such as 50:50 or 3:3:3 suggest the team has no leader, but 98:1:1 does not create genuine partners either. A reasonable structure gives the largest shareholder at least 50% and the second at least 10%, with examples including 6:2:2, 6:3:1, 5:3:2, or 7:2:1. Second, earn equity before receiving it. Shares should not be handed over on day one, but earned through four years of vesting. After one year, a cofounder earns a quarter; someone who leaves or proves unsuitable takes only the earned portion. Third, add rather than take away. For a strong later recruit, issue options from an expanded pool rather than demanding shares back from early shareholders. Most startups reserve a 10–20% option pool on day one, preserving flexibility for future equity allocation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-439557487415090/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-439557487415090/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-13. Wu Bofan analyzes Amazon’s long-term strategy: strategy focuses on new opportunities, while tactics optimize what already exists. Bezos is quoted as saying that a one-year horizon reveals many competitors, but a five- to ten-year horizon makes them hard to name. AWS launched in 2006 and, in the account, faced no real competitor for almost a decade. Amazon escapes imitators by moving forward rather than staying to fight: fear standing still, not moving slowly, and make the road your Great Wall. The lesson also considers the opposing view. Jobs objected to listening to customers, illustrated by Ford’s potential customers asking for better horses; Christensen argued that core customers dragged Kodak down. Robin identifies the key distinction: uncover customers’ real needs by starting with their ultimate purpose. They may want to reach a destination quickly and comfortably, rather than own a car or a better horse; or communicate more effectively, rather than own a phone with better features. Before deciding whether a project is a must-have or nice-to-have, define the customer and genuinely solve that customer’s problem. The lesson adds that customer centricity is a capability, not merely an intention. It requires a prism that reveals the spectrum of needs. Amazon leaves an empty chair for the customer at meetings, and customer obsession lies at its cultural core.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4154588974553502/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4154588974553502/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-25. Robin notes Appier’s planned March 31, 2021 listing on Japan’s Mothers market, under stock code 4180. Its prospectus was in Japanese. He shared several images that he himself guessed were balance sheets and income statements, with units he guessed were thousands of yen, and included the Japanese and English Japan Exchange Group links. His personal view was that one could certainly buy Appier in Japan, but those choosing to keep their capital in Taiwan, especially if they could not read Japanese, could pay closer attention to 91APP. This is a historical observation and personal view, not investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6498069850205391/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6498069850205391/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-18. In a July 2012 open letter to partners, Ma Huateng drew inspiration from Ren Zhengfei’s 管理的灰度 (Gray Areas in Management, descriptive title) and distilled Tencent’s fourteen years of experience into seven principles for creating a living organization. Demand alignment: user needs are the product’s core. Tencent product managers follow a 10/100/1000 rule—ten user surveys, following one hundred user blogs, and collecting one thousand user-experience reports each month. QQ Mail turned around after being rebuilt. Speed: take small, rapid steps and iterate quickly, accepting imperfection while moving rapidly toward perfection; nobody stays five seconds behind someone else in understanding. Flexibility: proactive change matters more than reacting to change. Redundancy: tolerate failure and some waste. WeChat emerged from competition among several internal teams. Openness and collaboration: lessons from the 3Q conflict mean a platform must choose what to do and what not to do. Capacity to evolve: Kodak invented the digital camera but organizational rigidity left it on the shelf; mechanistic organizations can become green deserts. Innovation: innovation is an outcome, not a cause, emerging naturally from the gray areas of a living organization.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7884394068239622/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7884394068239622/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-29. Legendary Lockheed Martin engineer Kelly Johnson established fourteen innovation principles for Skunk Works. Give the program manager nearly complete authority; maintain strong but small project offices on both the military and contractor sides; and restrict staffing to 10–25% of a normal organization, ruthlessly controlling bureaucracy and unnecessary work. Use a simple, flexible drawing-release system and require few reports while thoroughly recording important work. Review costs monthly, avoid books running ninety days late, and do not surprise customers with sudden overruns. Give contractors greater responsibility and authority to conduct flight tests. Push inspection responsibility back to subcontractors: quality comes from design and responsible operations, not inspection. Agree specifications before contracting, explicitly stating important requirements that will not be met and why. Provide timely funding, mutual trust, and close daily cooperation. Strictly control outsiders’ access, and reward performance rather than the number of people supervised. Robin’s view: innovative R&D is difficult, but simpler working methods and streamlined processes can free researchers from organizational constraints and help them concentrate. Make innovation simpler, freer, and bolder. He particularly highlights rule six on accurate cost estimation and control.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-396442938393212/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-396442938393212/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-20. Zhang Yiming wrote this guide to choosing an employer for technical talent when Toutiao was still a small company. He introduces the EC ratio—enterprise value divided by total funding. Google, Facebook, and Tencent had very high ratios. Maintaining a high EC ratio indicates organic growth capacity rather than dependence on outside funding; a low ratio combined with heavy fundraising can suggest a business fattened by capital. He recommends that first-rate technical talent choose leading technology companies, judging technical investment and technology’s contribution to business value rather than money spent on field promotion. Drawing on his rejection of an investment offer from a giant, he argues that bundled traffic and distribution can become stimulants, distort strategy, and force a company to take sides. Do not join a company marrying into a wealthy family; join an outstanding company and become a great one together. He also criticizes obsession with titles and management headcount: titles suffer more inflation than the ruble, while WhatsApp and Instagram had tiny teams. Companies made up of people concerned with how many they manage rather than what they do cannot have high talent density. Finally, early and late are relative; the scale of future potential is the absolute yardstick. Alibaba and Tencent still grew more than a hundredfold after their fifth year. Rather than speculate on a runner-up, choose the leader.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7844633338882362/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7844633338882362/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-19. This post challenges the claim that customer interviews are unnecessary because customers do not know what they want. Ford’s “faster horse” actually contains a real customer problem: people want something faster than their existing solution, and a horse is simply the solution they know. Jobs said knowing what they want is not the customer’s job; Paul Graham regards understanding customers as a founding team’s first task. Robin identifies the key issue: asking questions does matter, but you may not be asking the right ones. Asking what customers want tends to produce improved versions of existing products. Instead, conduct outcome-based interviews: ask what results they want, not what solutions they want. When an answer describes a solution, keep asking why and what it would do for them. Ask the right people too: industry experts’ feedback often differs greatly from that of most users. The post also recounts a conversation between Graham and Airbnb founder Brian Chesky: if your users are in New York, what are you still doing in Mountain View? Early startups should do laborious things that do not scale, visiting users individually. This is also the sixth counterintuitive rule cited from Blitzscaling. Robin concludes: stop imagining and forecasting; get out of the room and have in-depth conversations with users now.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6351322964880081/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6351322964880081/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-03. Robin opens with a view on entrepreneurship: quantify your products and services wherever possible rather than relying on empty narratives. Follow industry standards where they exist; where no quantitative standard exists, an even greater opportunity may emerge. Pantone’s dominance over color definition illustrates this. Shengdong Morning Coffee describes a seven-second rule in color marketing and a survey finding that 85% of consumers base purchase decisions on color. Starbucks green, McDonald’s yellow, and Tiffany Blue are classic brand colors. Pantone began as a printing business. In the 1950s, color mixer Lawrence Herbert noticed the high cost of communicating about color and created numbered swatches as a universal color language. The Pantone Matching System launched in 1963, transforming supposedly unquantifiable color into a standardized product. Its guides reportedly generate more than US$100 million annually. Pantone later established a color institute and announced annual colors, giving color an authoritative voice. Tiffany Blue carries the number 1837 and cannot be used without authorization; brand-color work contributes 15% of Pantone’s profit. More recently, Adobe users’ need for a paid subscription to use Pantone colors has raised concerns over color monopolization.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-502752177762287/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-502752177762287/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-23. Robin begins with a qualification: normally, he still encourages the standard Lean Startup approach—understand needs and do something you care about. But if a one-in-ten-thousand chance puts you in the path of a boom, it may be time to blitzscale. Liang Ning’s reading of Reid Hoffman’s Blitzscaling emphasizes speed over efficiency in a huge, uncertain market. To move fast, accept chaos, tolerate poor management, overlook customer complaints, and raise more capital than needed: the “barbarian rules.” Yidao founder Zhou Hang responded rationally, like a civilized person, and ultimately lost to Didi’s aggressive tactics. The account describes four stages: pirates, marines, army, and police. Pirates use flexibility and risk-taking to establish their initial position. Xiaomi’s early three-layer structure and “demanagement” resemble marines taking a beachhead, when conserving ammunition cannot take priority over firing. During Chinese New Year 2019, Zhang Yiming spent US$500 million promoting Douyin in eight days, separating it from Kuaishou, which emphasized spending nothing on promotion. When market headroom runs out, blitzscaling should stop and management must change, as Xiaomi moved toward an army-like structure. Banks and foreign companies resemble police maintaining order. The book reassures entrepreneurs who survived that their fundamental choice at that stage was right.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6305989349413443/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6305989349413443/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-20. This installment of Daily Lessons for the Elite introduces five tools that strategy scholar Richard Rumelt uses for strategic analysis. First, compare like with like: New York subway construction costs US$3.5 billion per mile—seven times the global average, four times London’s, and more than ten times Paris’s. The comparison reveals a problem; Paris has a design review committee that controls costs. Second, understand human behavior: a department manager’s attractive cash-flow forecast serves a competition for headquarters’ resources, highlighting good news and concealing bad. When knowledge, resources, and decision-making authority sit with different people, misleading claims arise. Most people avoid confronting their company’s real difficulties. Third, analyze data: detailed costing at a Brazilian window-blind company showed that large blinds were the real money-makers. A women’s clothing chain’s profitability depended on location and traffic rather than store size. Robin adds that breaking down startup pricing and subscription revenue often reveals losses. Fourth, use established frameworks: shipping’s overcapacity creates a prisoner’s dilemma; airline code-sharing and point-to-point services offer analogies. Fifth, seek insights from the front line: Kodak was defeated not by digital cameras but by a new ecosystem in which people stopped printing photographs.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6267477763264602/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6267477763264602/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-08. Robin identifies five requirements for developing a sport: active participation across society; joy and pleasure as the starting point; long-term planning; continuous exchange with the world’s best, including help for players going abroad; and integration with local culture. He sees the same principles applying to government efforts to build an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship: encourage attempts that may fail, do not fear failure, welcome challenges, learn from the best, develop culturally distinctive innovation, and plan over a longer horizon. The Look at the World article echoes these ideas. Behind Japan’s victories over Germany and Spain at the Qatar World Cup lies a century of soccer development: the association founded in 1921, league-based selection across 47 prefectures, and a professional league established only in 1993. A Japan Football Association office in Düsseldorf helps players abroad; leading players such as Ritsu Doan and Wataru Endo have European experience. At the community level, Football For All brings soccer into schools and neighborhoods, while club activities form a distinctive sporting culture. The JFA Values, established in 2015, put joy and pleasure at the heart of sport and players first. Coach Hajime Moriyasu asks players not to show excessive deference to world-leading teams, but to compete as equals.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24558494457069654/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24558494457069654/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-07-04. Dedao Headlines offers parents two suggestions for the school break that also apply to personal growth. First, leave some space: give parents and children time apart, and do not make children the center of every shared activity. A University of Southern California professor calls this deliberate low-intensity parenting. Giving children room does not mean abandoning them; they still need full attention when it truly matters. Second, look for strengths rather than fixating on weaknesses. Applying the barrel principle to education can backfire. A psychologist’s modeling-clay exercise found that refining a work’s strengths made those strengths stand out while also reducing flaws. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences offers eight categories for identifying strengths: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. First observe what excites a child, then provide resources for deliberate practice, distinguishing enjoyment of the activity itself from enjoyment of the feelings it brings. Finally, use strengths to address weaknesses, carrying confidence from one area into others. Robin comments that students should maintain a basic standard in every subject. Once people enter working life—including entrepreneurship—his personal advice is to stop focusing on their weaknesses and make the most of their strengths.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6792865784059128/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6792865784059128/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-14. Wu Bofan recounts Swiss watchmaking’s reversal of fortune against Japanese quartz watches. Developed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, quartz watches were more accurate, convenient, and affordable. Their rise in the 1970s pushed Swiss manufacturers back. In a high-welfare country, a price war offered neither a technological nor a cost advantage—a predicament resembling traditional businesses disrupted by the internet. Swatch founder Hayek’s answer was to redefine the watch. Drawing on French fashion, he gave inexpensive Swatch quartz watches a new dimension: fashion. New models followed fashion’s rhythm, turning a durable good into a fashion item and encouraging women who had not worn watches to wear several in a year. Middle Eastern culture suggested another dimension for mechanical watches: men’s jewelry and a knight’s badge. Strict price segmentation built a luxury system. Acquisitions gave Swatch Group a portfolio from Breguet and Blancpain through Longines and Tissot to Swatch, creating a protective barrier for Swiss mechanical watches. In a product category invented by Japan, Switzerland competed on an additional dimension. Robin’s point: do not fight competitors to the bitter end on existing dimensions alone. Inventory your strengths and find a new dimension; a Swiss-style comeback may be possible.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6788806227798417/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6788806227798417/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-13. Ning Xiangdong describes four thresholds in life. One pursuit: accomplish at least two things at university—learn a skill that earns a living and find a lifelong pursuit. Hobbies shift, and interest alone cannot sustain a career. A lasting vocation begins with something you do not tire of doing; curiosity grows until interest, aspiration, and work become integrated. One domain: ages 25 to 35 are for cultivating depth. Judge a 35-year-old not by money or rank, but by whether they have established a solid place in a field. One distinctive skill: around 35, develop a unique competitive advantage, tested by whether anyone else in the organization can do what you do. Strengths and weaknesses often arise from the same characteristics; make full use of strengths and avoid weaknesses rather than trying to compensate for each. One person in charge: after 40, positions are fewer and competitors stronger. Decide whether to lead. Start by leading yourself; self-management is the hardest management, and self-knowledge has blind spots. Achieving a dream also requires leading others, endurance, stability, and toughness at critical moments. Robin asks readers to return regularly to basics: have you found work you love, what will you give for it, what unique expertise do you have, where can you use it, can you manage yourself and an organization, and will you share and grow a team?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-336109097759930/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-336109097759930/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-13. Robin opens with the idea that a founder’s breadth of vision determines a company’s scale. The starting point matters, but the acceleration of learning and growth, and breadth of outlook, matter more: “Our journey reaches toward the stars and oceans.” The quoted article examines managers’ self-motivation. An unmotivated manager is far more dangerous than an unmotivated employee. Employees enjoy relatively immediate rewards with a high return on effort. Promotion brings fewer stimuli and longer reward cycles. Remaining in an employee mindset can make higher positions feel less rewarding and more risky. The central warning: what once motivated you will eventually constrain you. Every manager must endure unfairness and frustration; these experiences broaden their perspective. Often, it is not an inability to grow but a retreat of resolve. Growth also involves continually taking things up and letting them go. Becoming a manager means putting on social personas; becoming a leader means shedding labels. Sales champions must stop dwelling on bonuses, and technical specialists must abandon single-track thinking. Peter Senge says you are not your position but a person in development. Wang Shi’s mountaineering, Ding Lei’s pig farming, and Musk’s ambition to reach Mars are ways of stepping beyond familiar circles and generating intrinsic motivation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6453810667964643/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6453810667964643/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-05. GrowingIO founder Simon Zhang’s translator’s preface to Hacking Growth begins with “If you are not growing, then you are dying”—growth is an enduring business imperative. In 2010, Sean Ellis introduced the growth hacker, whose sole mission is growth. Unicorns such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Airbnb, Dropbox, and Slack used creativity and scientific data analysis to attract millions of users quickly and at very low cost. Traditional marketing addresses only the beginning of the customer lifecycle—branding, positioning, and acquisition—bundling budgets and outsourcing execution in a broad-brush, inefficient approach. Data-driven operations now extend well beyond marketing into product, sales, and service. Retention is especially important: data identifies improvements at every stage, supporting continuous iteration. Since 2017, marketing’s center of gravity has shifted from advertising and traffic toward customer experience managed by product teams. Zhang identifies four gaps between China and the United States: recognizing data’s value, mastering data-driven systems and methods, using data to guide business functions, and using analytics tools in place of manual work. These motivated him to establish GrowingIO. As demographic dividends fade and traffic benefits concentrate among winners, unit operating costs rise linearly or even exponentially. Chinese businesses must replace broad-brush marketing with more scientific, efficient growth methods.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6453767137968996/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6453767137968996/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-05. Xunlei founder and 遠望資本 (Yuanwang Capital, pinyin rendering) founding partner Cheng Hao’s recommendation preface to Hacking Growth describes spending two days reading the book and another drawing a mind map. He calls it a practical guide that every frontline entrepreneur and executive should study twice. He finds startup competition in China harsher than in the United States: where an overseas market has two or three competitors, China may have more than a dozen bike-sharing or power-bank-sharing entrants at once. Clever business models and impressive team credentials are insufficient; founders need a systematic approach to rigorous, detail-oriented operations. He sees Hacking Growth as a companion to The Lean Startup. The latter tests needs and solutions rapidly and cheaply; the former addresses acquisition, activation, retention, and profit after validation. Together they cover most of entrepreneurship. He identifies two weaknesses in project-based work: teams disperse after solving an issue, leaving no continuing owner of growth, and execution depends on individual managers’ experience, making learning hard to accumulate. Dedicated growth teams offer a useful alternative. Viral-marketing examples resonate: Dropbox exchanges storage for referrals, while WeChat red packets made payments—a utility product—spread virally. Nearly 100 million users activated WeChat Wallet over one Chinese New Year, without Tencent spending a penny.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6305104459501932/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6305104459501932/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-20. Robin connects two posts: the previous one described clear American strategy in World War II; this one examines costly stagnation in spaceflight caused by pursuing too many contradictory objectives. Remember: there are not 100 equally important tasks; one matters most. Wan Weigang presents Richard Rumelt’s analysis. NASA intended the shuttle to reduce orbital delivery costs below US$100 per pound, but the actual figure was US$28,000. Two of five shuttles were lost, killing 14 astronauts. Congress wanted supposedly cheap solid-fuel rockets; the public wanted astronauts; the Air Force wanted wings; legislators wanted contracts for their states. Satisfying every wish produced an incoherent hybrid. Rumelt distinguishes interest groups making demands, politicians brokering compromises through pork-barrel deals, and strategists who must withstand pressure and abandon some objectives, as Roosevelt did. Compromise is acceptable, but actions must not directly conflict. A company cannot seek lasting competitive advantage while cutting R&D, or sell reliability through trend-chasing marketing. The account criticizes the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals as contradictory promises. Strategy combines policies and actions to overcome a critical challenge, requiring priorities and real authority. The basic takeaway is to distinguish wishes from strategy.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-464372758266896/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-464372758266896/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-20. Hongyi Zhou has been called the outsider who most influenced Tencent’s outlook: after the 3Q war, Tencent moved from closed imitation toward openness. His first venture, 3721, offered Chinese-language web access. Before Baidu, it was China’s largest search service, with 80 million daily users and more than 600,000 paying corporate clients. Yahoo acquired it for US$120 million in 2004. After several transitions, Zhou joined Qihoo in 2006 to start again. Qihoo emphasized community search and “100 million portals,” giving each user a personalized page—similar to Toutiao today. Robin notes the shift from people finding content to content finding people. Yet in 2006, before the iPhone, the idea was too early. Attempts at text and multimedia messaging, images and ringtones, and podcasts never produced a focused core revenue stream. In his autobiography 顛覆者 (The Disruptor, descriptive title), Zhou identifies two mistakes: a star team with technology and funding became restless and overambitious, forgetting that internet experience can become unreliable and founders must be ready to start from zero; and platform thinking lacked a focused entry point. Platform products must initially address something that resonates with users. His analogy: a second baby still needs ten months of pregnancy. Investor Wang Gongquan’s question—had he built another Sina, Baidu, and Alibaba and planned to compete with everyone?—was a wake-up call. Despite the poor start, Zhou clarified his thinking and retained a strong team, preserving the spark for 360.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3965337533478648/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3965337533478648/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-16. Robin cites the idea that entrepreneurs should think like rocket scientists, emphasizing that the most worthwhile things are those no one else has done and that you can do. He suggests asking yourself late at night: is this venture worth focusing on for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years and pursuing to the highest standard? What change and value will it bring to the world? What would be different if this company did not exist?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4177726915573041/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4177726915573041/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-03-03. Robin offers startup teams three levels to consider: seeing, executing, and doing it well. First, see future developments and have a clear blueprint and plan. But seeing without implementation is useless, and fixation on small immediate gains should not displace long-term positioning. Seeing and executing get you roughly 80% of the way. Whether the last 20% is done well also depends on luck, such as meeting the right people at the right time and place.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4260555940623471/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4260555940623471/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-01. Robin discusses cycles: experience matters. The more you have seen, the calmer you become and the better you can seize opportunities across cycles. Because cycles exist, avoid continually maximizing leverage in good times—an antifragility consideration. In adversity or a prolonged downturn, if you endure it, you may well win.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4389418791070518/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4389418791070518/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-05-13. Robin identifies two causes of corporate giants’ decline: being burdened by existing strengths and arrogance. The post mentions Netflix seeking a sale to Blockbuster and Google seeking a sale to Yahoo, followed by the two giants being overtaken by history; no sources are supplied for these accounts. He quotes Jack Ma’s progression—failing to see, looking down on it, failing to understand, and being too late—to explain how giants pursuing high growth and high margins dismiss fledgling ventures, giving startups room to rise.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4606557482689980/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4606557482689980/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-26. Robin revisits earlier fundraising advice: an introduction from a respected industry leader improves your chances of attracting investors’ attention. Also work to secure a face-to-face discussion, ideally a pitch to someone who can actually decide. He notes that pandemic conditions at the time—July 2021—made meetings difficult and suggests waiting until the situation eases.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4616957278316667/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4616957278316667/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-29. Robin believes simplicity creates power by keeping you and your users focused on what matters most. Simplicity is harder: apparently simple messages emerge from repeated organization, refinement, and careful design, and require resolve to maintain. He offers two rules of thumb: if your venture cannot be explained on one A4 page, it is probably too complicated; if the woman selling vegetables next door still cannot understand it after thirty minutes, it is also too complicated.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-592662432104594/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-592662432104594/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-12. Robin believes a venture should ideally move people, create impact, and bring change. He gives Japanese manga as examples: Slam Dunk inspired Japanese teenagers to love basketball, while Captain Tsubasa sparked many Japanese children’s interest in soccer. These are popular illustrations, not empirically established findings.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4795717907107269/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4795717907107269/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-24. Echoing the previous fundraising post, Robin urges founders not to begin with a mindset of dependence. Confront real-world problems from the outset and create a sustainable business. Fundraising and spending other people’s money may temporarily conceal problems, but if the rocket has not reached orbit before its thrust ends, it cannot ignore gravity and will ultimately crash.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4828546370491089/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4828546370491089/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-04. Robin advises taking great care with every hire. Before a small startup hires someone, ideally you or a team member should have done that job personally for a while. Do not hire unless you really need to: having done the work yourself, you will understand its requirements and the objectives the person must achieve.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4843715868974139/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4843715868974139/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-09. Robin compares Louisa and Starbucks. Louisa expanded quickly through franchising, with roughly three franchised stores for every company-operated store. Revenue from franchised stores includes only coffee beans and partially prepared food, so comparing revenue alone may not be fair. He notes that takeout accounts for about 40% of Louisa’s revenue. With takeout as a foundation, Louisa expands its seating areas as much as possible to encourage longer visits and higher spending per customer, rather than pursuing table turnover. This resembles Starbucks’ “third place” philosophy and 7-Eleven’s earlier expansion of in-store seating. (Ratios are relayed figures from October 2021 and have not been independently verified.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-635988627771974/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-635988627771974/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-17. Before starting a business, clarify your original motivation: what kind of company do you want to build, and what kind of life do you want to lead? Someone else’s template will not be yours. Entrepreneurship offers countless possibilities. Do you want to keep running a small company, have the opportunity to run a large one, or look for a chance to exit along the way and hand it over to someone else?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-637224437648393/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-637224437648393/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-19. Robin reminds readers that starting a business takes courage, and that they should think it through before setting out. You will need the courage to leave your job and invest your life savings; you may even fall into debt or face family discord. Would you have the courage to ask your parents to contribute their retirement savings? Could you persuade former classmates and friends to give up a steady salary and join you for just 20% to 30% of their current pay? (The 20% to 30% range is Robin’s illustration.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4888373217841737/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4888373217841737/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-23. After expressing agreement, Robin adds a qualification: in entrepreneurship, taking too lofty a perspective too quickly can make you miss the details—and the devil is in the details. Even when they can see the distant scenery, many founders describe a future vision up in the clouds, without being able to put it into practice or knowing how to get there.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-646076646763172/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-646076646763172/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-02. Robin argues that setting ambitious goals does not mean daydreaming. Aim for Mars, and you still have a chance of reaching the moon; aim only for the rooftop, and you may well remain where you started. Break a major goal into measurable key metrics for each year, half-year, and quarter. A startup should go further, breaking them down by month and week and demanding extraordinary growth. He adds that finding the right entry point into a large industry is also important.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-655536592483844/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-655536592483844/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-17. The post proposes that major opportunities in the future business world arise at the intersection of three things: first, something will become highly valuable; second, most people do not think it will become valuable; and third, it is your core or comparative advantage.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5206670422678680/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5206670422678680/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-21. Using changes to Google Photos as an example, Robin says the “attract, lock in, then cash in” approach has already been demonstrated once. (The post does not specify the timing or details; this has not been independently verified.) He describes it as one typical SaaS playbook: let customers use the service for free on a large scale, acquire as many customers as quickly as possible, and build scale and an ecosystem. Once customers have stored all their data with you, loyalty has taken hold, and moving elsewhere is difficult, bring out the big blade and cut hard.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-709457027091800/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-709457027091800/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-14. Robin shares comments, originally in English, from a senior VC who passed on a deal nine years earlier. The project was too large, and implementing the solution would require more work than a startup could afford. Even after completion, marketing would be another barrier. The comments end by noting that this is a personal view offered for reference. The post does not identify the deal or the senior VC.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5325072630838458/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5325072630838458/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-23. Robin believes product managers and developers of small games can learn from the thinking behind Wordle. A simple little game can have a big impact and spread widely, leading to an attractive exit opportunity. As he gets older, he increasingly feels that simpler is better: the simpler a product’s design, the clearer its value proposition, the easier it is to learn and share, the greater its impact, and the faster it can create value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-721364529234383/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-721364529234383/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-05. Robin sees entrepreneurship as discovering opportunities, but that does not always mean creating a major industry shift yourself. You can also look for opportunities that emerge as industry giants expand rapidly in their early stages. Some industry shifts create opportunities so vast that the secondary opportunities are full of potential too. His example: Facebook’s rapid growth gave social game developer Zynga an opening to build its own platform.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-726403172063852/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-726403172063852/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-13. Robin begins with a joke: if every car on the road seems to be going the wrong way, you are probably the one driving in the wrong direction. He says great entrepreneurial ventures often charge ahead fearlessly against the flow, making every other driver wonder whether they are the ones going the wrong way. In his generation, he sees Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX as examples of defying others’ opinions and creating a legend—one person ushering in, at a minimum, the eras of electric vehicles and the commercial aerospace market. (This is Robin’s personal assessment.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5385193528159701/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5385193528159701/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-16. Robin offers practical fundraising advice: cold-emailing business plans is the least efficient approach. Sending them out indiscriminately may be no help at all and can even backfire. Go to events where you can meet investors and briefly introduce yourself and your venture face to face. Explain it clearly and spark interest within three minutes. Opportunities to meet investors can be created, so always have a three- to five-minute introduction ready. A recommendation from someone you know is another plus.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5413948555284198/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5413948555284198/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-27. Robin begins a series on Lei Jun’s approach to entrepreneurship, saying the next 18 days will cover the subject. This post argues that entrepreneurship requires belief: you must first believe something can happen to have the confidence to persuade people to work alongside you. Because you believe, you can see it. (The post does not specify whether this sentence is a direct quotation from Lei Jun.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5449848801694173/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5449848801694173/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-09. Robin offers four suggestions for working with investors: communicate proactively and regularly rather than avoiding them; build trust for a long-term partnership; if you can make investors 100 times their money, you can make yourself 1,000 times yours (a rhetorical statement); and when fundraising is going poorly, first ask where you are not yet prepared instead of blaming everything on investors’ lack of vision.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5466321360046917/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5466321360046917/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-15. Robin suggests reading this alongside the fifteenth post in the series on Lei Jun’s approach to entrepreneurship, “Go Big Market.” He quotes two remarks: Haier’s Zhang Ruimin says, “There are no successful companies, only companies of their time”; RT-Mart’s Huang Ming-Tuan says, “We defeated every competitor, but lost to the times.” The post contains only these two quotations, without further explanation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5485354758143577/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5485354758143577/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-22. Robin takes the same view of entrepreneurship: what important problem have you solved, and for whom? What value have you created, and what contribution have you made? Would the world be any different with or without you? He closes by asking: does the world need you?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5672142529464798/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5672142529464798/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-06-25. Robin outlines three stages of industry development: beginning with exports and foreign trade; then seeking to replicate products and services overseas; and now entering a third stage, in which a company is global from the moment it is founded.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5742623449083372/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5742623449083372/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-19. Robin argues that most people face too many choices and too much information rather than too little. Excess scatters attention; choices and decisions also have a cost, and frequent decision-making lowers decision quality. (This is Robin’s argument; no research is cited.) He therefore repeatedly emphasizes focus, trade-offs, and doing what matters most—even reducing how often decisions are made. Delegate authority as far down the organization as possible, manage through organizational layers, or give employees greater autonomy to solve most problems on the front line.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5745487005463683/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5745487005463683/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-20. Following news of Uni-President’s acquisition of full ownership of Carrefour, as described in the July 2022 post, Robin says that if he had to identify one decisive factor in retail, he would still choose scale. The competition ahead would also revolve around scale. At the same time, he stresses that a small startup taking on giants must be able to exercise discernment, make trade-offs, focus, respond quickly, and stay flexible. Speed might make up for its lack of scale.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5821772691168447/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5821772691168447/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-16. Robin argues that this era has no shortage of predictions about major trends. What is missing is the patience to settle down and observe smaller trends closely. Entrepreneurial opportunities often lie in the subtle changes constantly unfolding around us.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5856219704390412/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5856219704390412/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-28. Robin offers a recent example: TapPay, which PChome had just acquired, according to the post; acquisition details are not given. TapPay began with work that large companies considered low-margin and labor-intensive. Over time, it became a gateway to online checkout, transforming its value. The accompanying text argues that many activities do not suit large companies because they are unprofitable and thankless. But declining to do them creates opportunities for smaller companies, which can displace the incumbents once they grow.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-850349859669182/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-850349859669182/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-19. The post quotes WeChat creator Allen Zhang: “The best service is the kind users do not notice.” Take paying with WeChat: you pull out your phone, scan a QR code, and you are done. That quietly seamless feeling is the best product experience. Robin concludes that the best products should not feel forced; they should truly become part of users’ lives.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5951324681546580/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5951324681546580/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-30. Robin says there is no single route to startup success. The lean startup approach recommends moving quickly in small steps. Some people instead spend three or four years building a major product that takes the market by storm, and that can work too. But in his personal view, the lean startup approach is better suited to ordinary founders.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5985489684796746/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5985489684796746/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-11. Robin observes that many teams disappear after receiving investment and stop interacting altogether, which only makes it harder for them to move forward. His personal recommendation is to report progress at least once a quarter, good or bad: what is going well, where the bottlenecks are, what is going badly, and what to examine next. Facing investors’ questions is also a valuable opportunity to assess yourself from someone else’s perspective.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5988345537844494/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5988345537844494/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-12. On October 12, 2022, Robin observed that technology giants from Meta, Google, and Amazon to Microsoft and Apple were freezing hiring and recruiting less, while tech startups continued tightening their belts. Silicon Valley’s hiring freezes and layoffs appeared likely to continue for a while. His personal guess was at least another 12 to 24 months. (This was a forecast at the time; subsequent developments need to be compared separately.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5998173016861746/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5998173016861746/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-15. Robin says entrepreneurship calls for disregarding existing rules, trying to break them, and setting new rules of the game. But avoid going too far into gray areas, lest you invite too much controversy, as with Uber.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6004217429590638/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6004217429590638/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-17. Robin argues that entrepreneurial success does not come from being exceptionally capable yourself. It comes from finding people more capable than you and attracting them to join. “Willingness to share shows generosity; knowing how to share shows wisdom.” He retells a story mentioned by Mr. Qiu: Momotaro kept sharing his rice balls along the way, recruiting a monkey, a dog, and a chicken to work toward and ultimately achieve the same goal. His conclusion is that entrepreneurs must be willing to share and know how to share to attract people more capable than themselves.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6066899016655812/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6066899016655812/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-05. Robin believes Taiwan has plenty of smart people, but the world has even more. Founders cannot win over the long run on clever little tricks and small openings alone. They should think more deeply and see more clearly before others have grasped what is happening.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6081544025191311/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6081544025191311/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-10. Many founders understand entrepreneurship as spotting an obvious opportunity and quickly copying it—and end up failing. This suggests that obvious opportunities and paths that are easy to enter may be traps. The question is how to escape the pull of conventional thinking and fantasy and discover real opportunities that others dismiss, fail to see, or do not understand.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6096370067042040/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6096370067042040/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-15. Robin suggests that startup founders listen to Chairperson He speak several times to learn how to explain an industry and its development trends. Although e-commerce has developed for more than 20 years and many regard it as mature or largely settled, He can still make it sound full of potential, with substantial room for further development.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6123378337674546/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6123378337674546/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-24. The post says that before this year, tech giants and startups favored an all-out sprint to capture the largest share as quickly as possible. This year—2022—the emphasis is on steady progress for the long run. To go farther, first move steadily, prepare well, and stay alert to changes in the external environment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6212437242101988/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6212437242101988/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-20. Robin believes entrepreneurs should make as much use of government resources as possible. He points to an important ability of Elon Musk: working effectively with governments in different countries and leveraging national resources, including through SolarCity, Tesla, and SpaceX.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6305063626172682/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6305063626172682/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-01-20. Following the previous post on the clarity of US strategy in World War II, this post turns to the space shuttle. It argues that US space missions spent heavily but stalled because they tried to meet too many conflicting goals at once. According to the text, NASA originally wanted the cost of placing a pound of payload in orbit below $100. Five shuttles were ultimately built; two were lost, killing 14 astronauts, and the average cost was $28,000 per pound. Everyone made demands: Congress wanted low-cost solid-fuel rockets, the Air Force wanted wings, and legislators wanted contractors in their own states to get a share. The result was an incoherent hybrid. The conclusion: there are not 100 things to do; only one matters most.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6462421710436872/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6462421710436872/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-08. The CEO recounts reading many biographies of successful people at 21 and finding two common techniques: set a goal, then write it down and say it aloud. He put his dreams into words and carried them in a notebook, turning them into a powerful source of support. He says that over the following 15 years he founded GMO Internet and achieved his goal of taking the company public at 35 years and one month. Although one month later than planned, he realized a dream everyone thought impossible. (The timing is approximate as stated in the original and has not been independently verified.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6479662812046095/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6479662812046095/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-12. Reprinted from Wan Weigang’s Elite Daily Lessons 2: entrepreneurs do not need an accurate assessment of their prospects, because someone who accurately understood the chances of startup success might never start a business. Entrepreneurs are often fearless through ignorance, overconfident, and ready to pick a direction and act first. Explorers like these are needed to find the right direction. The text says the opposite of success is mediocrity, not failure, and that those who fail deserve as much honor as those who succeed. It compares many of Musk’s ventures to gambling: without betting, you never lose, but you never win either. What entrepreneurs need, however, is a way of seeing things that mobilizes different forces.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6535325843146458/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6535325843146458/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-30. The world is complicated, but we can choose simplicity. Entrepreneurs can think about problems simply. Simplification contains many insights: it helps you grasp a problem’s essence, gives you the courage to face it, and offers the wisdom to solve it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6536996016312774/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6536996016312774/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-31. Founders need to broaden their perspective and think at a higher level. Rather than always asking what their company could become, they can start from the industry: what should the company do, and in what direction could it help move the industry?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6600838273261881/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6600838273261881/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-04-20. The post quotes Wang Xing: major waves create many opportunities, each with enough room for a company to grow. At this stage, there is no need to combine everything at once. Choose one thing, specialize in it, do it exceptionally well, and satisfy all the parties served in that industry; the prospects will be very good. The conclusion is that early-stage founders must learn to make trade-offs among many opportunities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6911566465522392/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6911566465522392/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-18. The post quotes Mao Daqing: “Entrepreneurship is an endless journey.” Like travel, it has no end. For someone who loves travel, curiosity never runs out. Setting out is the beginning; returning does not mean the end, only a rest before the next departure. The first step on the entrepreneurial journey is to treat every rejection as an opportunity. Robin adds that when facing setbacks, it is better to spend time doing something more valuable than complaining or blaming the external environment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6966933299985708/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6966933299985708/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-03. Robin opens by suggesting another approach to competition: rather than always trying to eliminate rivals, find ways to tame them or align their interests with yours. A fable reprinted from Luo Pang’s 60 Seconds describes God facing two demons with only two arrows. One demon can be killed with one arrow, the other with two. God shoots the latter once, then tells both that whoever disobeys will receive the remaining arrow—and gains two slaves. The text says that when facing something hostile, we tend to want to eliminate it with every tool available and always feel underpowered. Another approach is to tame it, rise above it, and make it part of ourselves.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7136672429678460/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7136672429678460/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-20. Robin notes that Taiwan now has a dedicated agency for startups: the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration has been reorganized as the Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration, and a chapter dedicated to startups is to be added to the Act for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises. The post sees this as a shift from policy packages such as “Asia Silicon Valley” to an ongoing, routine statutory responsibility. It expects a crucial impact on Taiwan’s startup development, particularly new growth momentum and jobs. (This is policy news from September 2023; the current situation has not been verified.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7253794767966225/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7253794767966225/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-19. Robin lists the time from founding to reaching the Global 500 as stated in the post: 18 years for JD.com, 18 for Alibaba, 14 for Tencent, and 23 for Huawei. Xiaomi took only nine years. He says Lei Jun deserves credit for that, and that Xiaomi’s recent move into cars is worth watching. He adds a reminder: if you have spent ten years or more building a business without clear progress, examine where something has gone wrong.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7275309535814748/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7275309535814748/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-24. Robin offers a personal impression: US$1 million is the starting point for a SaaS company, and tripling to US$3 million seems broadly achievable within a few years. Taiwanese SaaS startups stall at the next tripling, to US$9 million; exceeding NT$300 million in revenue is quite difficult. Non-SaaS businesses may reach more than NT$1 billion in revenue, but growing another two- or threefold also faces a hurdle. Do not stay confined to local or regional markets: software and the internet have no borders. (The reference chart mentioned in the post is not available.)https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7282794861732882/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7282794861732882/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-26. Robin identifies a blind spot common among technical founders: carrying a hammer and looking everywhere for nails. Blockchain startups a few years ago, and AI startups in more recent years, are the clearest examples. Both can be seen as taking a technology and looking everywhere for possible use cases.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7438453066167060/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7438453066167060/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-12-06. The post lists four signs of inner strength among successful people: knowing clearly what they want; knowing how to get it; having the execution skills to achieve it; and being good at adjusting their mindset to handle the bumps along the way. It is tagged “創業36條軍規” (36 Rules of Entrepreneurship).https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7464720533540313/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7464720533540313/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-12-13. Robin argues that founders should quantify their products and services as much as possible, rather than offering only empty narratives. Follow industry measurement standards where they exist. Where the industry has no such standards, there is a tremendous opportunity.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7548215305190835/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7548215305190835/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-04. The post quotes He Fan: once the economy grows, many problems resolve; without growth, even things that were not problems become thorny challenges. Robin adds that you can replace “economy” with “company.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7550515681627464/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7550515681627464/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-05. The excerpt says that less brings gains, while more brings confusion. Good strategy means subtraction: doing fewer, but right, things. A company that spreads its efforts across many goals has few resources left for what truly matters. Resources are limited; trying to do too much means doing nothing well. Simplifying and concentrating resources makes success more likely.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7554320164580349/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7554320164580349/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-06. The excerpt says strategy means choosing what to do and what not to do. Do not consume company resources on nonstrategic opportunities. Only by continually focusing on the core business can a company strengthen its core competitiveness. What is that core business? Something others find hard to replace and you can replicate quickly. Strategy requires knowing what to leave out to achieve focus and competitiveness.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7575783215767377/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7575783215767377/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-12. Robin asks whose fault it is when a company has not taken off. You can, of course, blame the environment, shareholders, and other outside factors; external attribution is easy. But rather than shifting responsibility for failure outward, he personally believes you should examine yourself first. The biggest problem is probably not an external factor.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6513109952034714/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6513109952034714/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-23. In this sixth segment of Allen Zhang’s early-2016 speech, he discusses payments, Enterprise WeChat, and the future of WeChat. A service works best when users barely notice it: they simply open WeChat and scan a QR code when paying. Enterprise WeChat would have far greater value if it extended beyond internal company communications and made every employee an authenticated service contact. A 4S dealership employee, for example, could function like a customer’s mini program, combining a service menu with real-time conversation and helping build customer loyalty. Zhang argues that population is finite while new services are not; in the internet era, three to five years can mark a new generation of needs. Innovation is the only way to meet the future, and the real challenge comes from changing users rather than competitors. The WeChat team does not set out to hit KPIs; it asks what each feature means to users, and questions features built only to drive traffic. WeChat’s aspiration is to be each person’s best tool and friend, and to create a marketplace where creators can realize value. In the image of the wall and the egg, it sides with the egg. Its only real competitor, Zhang says, is whether its organizational capabilities can keep pace with the times. The excerpt closes with the line, “Among all things, hope is the most beautiful.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-539928241573701/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-539928241573701/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-20. A Roadmap for SaaS Startups identifies three headwinds for China’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry. First, demand for IT products that improve efficiency has not yet taken off at scale: many small and midsize businesses are managed informally and focus on winning orders, without recognizing how IT systems can reduce costs and improve productivity. Because efficiency is the core value of general-purpose SaaS tools, companies without a clear pain point are difficult to sell to. Second, many SaaS products are not good enough. Early innovations are quickly copied, leaving software companies to compete on marketing and price-performance or turn to custom development. Yet customers’ needs change frequently, and vendors may not even recover the cost of the staff assigned to a project. Global software giants such as Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft dominate the most profitable market segments, leaving only a few niches. Weak software-industry capabilities carry over into SaaS: products lack useful features and clear value, architectures are repeatedly rebuilt, and organizations lack management systems. This creates a vicious cycle of weak product value, poor customer word of mouth, and slow demand growth. Third, complex corporate IT procurement drives up marketing costs, slows customer access, and makes renewals require fresh negotiations. The author sees procurement as a symptom; the deeper issues are demand and product value. The book expects industry-specific and scenario-specific SaaS to grow faster than general-purpose tools because the problems are more concrete, the founders often understand the industry firsthand, and the products take fewer detours.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7902707649741597/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7902707649741597/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-04-02. Fusion physicist Annie Kritcher, named one of Nature’s ten people who mattered in 2022, offers three ways of thinking worth learning from. First, build complementary strengths: reaching the top 20% in two fields can put you in the top 5% of the population. Alongside scientific excellence, Kritcher sought opportunities to lead projects and teams and deliberately honed her communication skills. Second, keep looking for hope amid pessimism. The U.S. inertial-confinement fusion program began in 1997, its facility was completed in 2009, and ignition was first achieved in 2022. Before success, you may not know exactly what you are pursuing; solve the problems in front of you and seek small gains in each successive experiment. Third, communicate in a way that quickly establishes common ground: explain ignition to the public as bringing to Earth the process that powers the Sun, then switch to technical language when speaking with peers. Robin’s commentary applies this to entrepreneurship: an MVP should be low-cost, fast, and designed for learning through trial and error; stay constructive, complain less, and do what you can.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7797654040246959/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7797654040246959/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-07. Repeated decision-making can wear down willpower, discipline, and self-control. A Forbes article argued that consumer decision fatigue would be a key problem for businesses: comparing brands and reviews or trying to qualify for discounts can leave shoppers too exhausted to buy. One study estimated that people make 35,000 decisions a day, creating the familiar pattern of being meticulous about small things but careless about big ones. The common solution is to simplify: create default rules for recurring decisions and set limits for shopping. The aim is not to perfect trivial matters, but to save energy for consequential decisions. Drawing on Wan Weigang’s Elite Daily course, the article adds that setbacks themselves do not determine our well-being as much as our response to them. A maxim offers three approaches: the weak retaliate, the strong forgive, and the wise ignore. “Ignore” means setting aside the emotional reaction, not neglecting the event. Notice your emotions, offset small annoyances with small pleasures, and separate your own responsibilities from what you cannot control. We need not wait for one grand opportunity to shape ourselves; we can do so by handling the small things in daily life well.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-338250147545825/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-338250147545825/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-15. The most important part of self-management is devoting enough time to what matters most. Lei Jun’s first rule of time management is the 80/20 principle: set aside 80% of things and focus on doing the other 20% well—either do not do something, or aim to be the best. The article warns against using tactical diligence to cover up strategic laziness: working hard without spending enough time thinking about your goals may get you nowhere. After reading Fire in the Valley at Wuhan University, Lei set detailed goals for six months, one year, and three years, and completed his undergraduate coursework in two years. Procrastination describes planning as a connection to the future rather than a trap. Sheng Fu’s approach is to clarify the goal first, then peel back the path to it layer by layer. A clear goal and a sufficiently broken-down path allow you to mobilize your resources. The article also retells the professor’s jar experiment: golf balls, pebbles, sand, and beer fit only in the right order. Fill your time with trivia first, and the important people and things will not fit. Lei’s three suggestions are to set aside a few hours each week for reflection, rank each day’s tasks and do only the important few, and deal with simple things immediately.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4549346251744437/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4549346251744437/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-06. Robin reviews the principles of STEAM education and criticizes problems in the market. STEAM grew out of a U.S. K–12 education initiative, adding arts to STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is hands-on, interdisciplinary learning: children complete projects that interest them and relate to their lives, learn through the process, make mistakes, and try different ideas. Yet Robin argues that many STEAM providers lack structure and depth, merely cobbling together experiments or lesson content. Maker activities are mistaken for technological innovation, while robotics programs treat imported hardware and courses as sophisticated toys, sometimes without updating them for years. Asked how they actually build capabilities, many providers cannot give a clear answer. A complete STEAM education, he argues, should start with real-life problems and follow scientific inquiry or engineering practice: children describe a problem, identify constraints, research previous approaches, propose solutions, select one and build a model, make a physical object, test it, evaluate it, and improve the design. Learning objectives also need a clear assessment framework: one-third knowledge, one-third technical skills, and one-third integrated capabilities, with explicit instructional activities supporting the latter two.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6819112591434447/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6819112591434447/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-21. Zhang Xiaoyu summarizes three hiring criteria associated with YC. First is drive: at an early-stage startup, attitude matters far more than ability. Drive means facing difficulties and achieving goals under your own steam, without being pushed. Apple, Nike, Starbucks, and Airbnb did not arise from astonishing technology, but from professionals overcoming obstacles to make good products. People with impressive credentials may have more fallback options and retreat first when difficulties arise. Marc Andreessen compares drive to height in basketball: it cannot be taught, so find people who have it and persuade them to join. Second is curiosity: a desire to keep improving one’s craft and stay at the forefront of a field because it is enjoyable, not compulsory. Startups do not have time to cultivate this quality. One interview technique is to ask which websites inaccessible in China the candidate regularly visits. Robin suggests asking what skill or technology they learned most recently, why they chose it, and how much effort they invested. Third is integrity. Paul Graham’s method is to keep probing a familiar subject until the candidate reaches something they do not know, then observe whether they admit it or bluff. A good leader’s progress should also improve the lives of subordinates, rather than come at their expense. The article ends with a metaphor from Xu Haofeng, screenwriter of The Grandmaster: one kind of person is like a wildfire that leaves nothing growing, while another is like an auspicious creature whose passage brings nourishing water, fertile soil, birdsong, and flowers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-817075182996650/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-817075182996650/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-31. The post quotes an unidentified author: if your business cannot operate without you, you do not really own it—you merely work for it. Such a business is chaotic, making it the worst job in the world. Robin adds that at a certain stage, founders must choose to let go of and hand over their current tasks, then move up a level so the company can keep advancing rather than stagnate.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5933290893349959/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5933290893349959/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-24. Robin recommends Paul Graham’s Hackers & Painters and describes a Silicon Valley entrepreneurial spirit that disregards rules and wants to break them quickly. Entrepreneurs look for gaps between the ideal and the actual system, then use those gaps to build new businesses. The accompanying excerpt—by another author whose source is not identified—describes Buchheit’s hacker mindset: challenge the received idea that success has no shortcuts and believe that shortcuts and loopholes exist. Starting a business is itself an act of hacking. The greatest hacking discovers the nature of the world through persistent exploration. The excerpt ends by suggesting that readers identify inconvenient parts of the industries and daily routines around them and create shortcuts.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6833820013297038/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6833820013297038/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-25. The article argues that entrepreneurship needs passion, but enthusiasm inevitably cools. To get things done, learn to become deliberately cool-headed, beginning with a calm assessment of genuine opportunities. It quotes Kevin Kelly through Chinese renderings whose exact wording has not been verified: real opportunities do not announce themselves with a “great opportunity” headline; do not waste a crisis; every breakthrough initially looks laughable and absurd; and success can trap us, so say no to tasks you are unlikely to fail at and yes to those you might fail at.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6899924083353297/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6899924083353297/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-14. The post recounts four basic suggestions from Chris Anderson, whom it describes as TED’s founder: focus on one idea; give listeners a reason to care; explain your idea through concepts familiar to them; and make the idea worth sharing. Robin’s advice is to draft an outline, decisively cut half of it, and then cut half again. A good talk develops one central theme rather than branching out excessively.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7405489372796763/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7405489372796763/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-27. The post quotes advice from a book it calls Yongbao Ni de Kehu (擁抱你的客戶, meaning “Embrace Your Customers”): remember all the information about your first 100 or 1,000 customers and study it as thoroughly as possible. It says the secret to success is captured in four Chinese characters: know your customers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7476612242351142/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7476612242351142/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-12-16. The book excerpt says to focus first on users’ problems and then on solutions. Today’s challenge is not developing more features, but discovering which features need to be developed. Starting with a solution is like making a key before there is a door: even a beautiful key may leave you searching for a suitable door for a long time. Starting instead with the door—a problem worth solving—makes the key much easier to create. Robin asks whether your startup is making an exquisite key before there is a door and then searching for one. Usually, he says, you will not find it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7557353237610375/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7557353237610375/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-07. The book excerpt says that tactics address the present and focus on what already exists, while strategy creates the future and focuses on new growth. It quotes Bezos: when you think about what to do within a year, many competitors immediately come to mind; when you think three years ahead, there are far fewer; and when you think about what to do five, seven, or ten years ahead, you can no longer think of who your competitors are. An obsession with tactical effort traps you in a vicious cycle. Do not use tactical diligence to conceal strategic laziness.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7722901834388847/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7722901834388847/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-18. The reposted material says that real progress in science and mathematics often occurs in the gray area between black and white. Major discoveries begin when someone senses that something is not quite right, keeps probing a small gap, and eventually opens up a whole new world—as with relativity and quantum mechanics. Robin compares entrepreneurship to scientific exploration: in a gray area where demand seems to exist but is uncertain, you keep exploring and experimenting with passion. Along the way, you may unexpectedly disrupt established giants and ways of living, bringing new possibilities to the world.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7730442746968089/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7730442746968089/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-20. Speaking with Yicai, He Fan says that this generation of young people is highly educated, broad-minded, and creative. What he struggles to understand is that they often speak of self-realization without putting much effort into knowing themselves. He advises being honest with yourself and listening more closely to your inner voice, invoking Thoreau’s drumbeat metaphor: find your own beat and follow that path. Robin adds that this applies not only to young people but to every founder: take time to know yourself, be honest with yourself, and find your own rhythm rather than following someone else’s footsteps.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8334632619882429/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8334632619882429/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-07-02. The post retells the stonecutter metaphor displayed in the Spurs’ locker room: after a hundred blows, the rock has no crack, but the hundred-and-first splits it in two—not because of that final blow alone, but because of the consistent effort. The text says that only founders who have endured countless setbacks and life-or-death trials, then finally seen a glimmer of success, truly understand perseverance. Robin adds that the great differences between people ultimately lie in persevering when perseverance is needed, but also decisively choosing to quit or change course at the right moment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8457782140900809/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8457782140900809/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-07-24. Entrepreneurship requires experience, but experience must also be acquired through entrepreneurship. Starting a business can be seen as venturing out into the wider world: leaving the ivory tower and your comfort zone, then stepping into society to experience conditions firsthand. That is the first step. Avoid putting early-stage entrepreneurship on too high a pedestal. In the beginning, it is about getting your hands dirty in the real world, learning more, and pushing yourself to grow faster.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8499599346719088/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8499599346719088/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-07-30. How do you win in an increasingly competitive industry? The article uses a line from The Godfather: the old Godfather says he will give the other person a reason they cannot refuse. Its argument is that with a strong enough reason, you can always find a way to secure cooperation. In retail, that ultimate reason is a low price. The same applies in other industries: victory depends not on piecemeal packaging but on finding the reason people cannot refuse to work with you. Robin concludes that finding this ultimate, irresistible reason is the key to winning.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8599593840052971/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8599593840052971/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-08-16. After listening to an episode, Robin feels that DJI is a highly competitive Chinese company and that its global success is no accident. He recommends it to product managers as well. The key is to position the product clearly and understand consumer needs precisely. He adds that listening made him want to buy a POCKET 3.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8886336538045365/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8886336538045365/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-25. Robin says that a startup’s revenue naturally needs to keep growing, and its headcount will inevitably increase too. But revenue growth should, as far as possible, avoid a linear relationship with headcount growth. If more revenue simply comes from adding more people, the startup becomes labor-intensive. Allowing the two to become somewhat decoupled should show up in operating results as a continuing increase in contribution per employee.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8890315170980835/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8890315170980835/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-26. The reposted text recommends that founders develop a habit of writing a journal every day as a way to keep talking with themselves. Your greatest enemy is yourself, so keep examining and working through your inner life, remain mindful and respectful, and treat yourself and others sincerely. Journaling is an outward action that deepens self-reflection. Most reflection, the text argues, is merely an illusion with which we deceive ourselves; genuine, deep reflection requires wholehearted engagement. Robin adds that journaling is a conversation with yourself that enables deeper reflection and the pursuit of continual improvement.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9072642739414743/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9072642739414743/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-17. The post observes that in entrepreneurship, we often attribute success to internal factors such as talent, ability, and effort, but failure to external factors such as luck—a sudden pandemic—or timing—changes in the economic climate. It recommends a more rigorous review, preferably with help from an objective, experienced person rather than doing it alone, so that you can move beyond your blind spots and limitations. Even mistakes may reveal new opportunities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9100719903273693/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9100719903273693/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-22. Wu Jun’s article argues that focusing on picking up sesame seeds means forever losing the chance to pick watermelons. It uses Yahoo as an example: the article says it took only ten years to go from the world’s leading internet company to being sold. Besides encountering Google and Facebook, Yahoo hurt itself by collecting countless small product lines without a world-leading one. By contrast, Apple’s product lines could be counted on one hand, yet it was the world’s most profitable company. After returning to Apple, Jobs crossed out many small projects, kept only a single-digit number of products, and made each a watermelon. The article concludes that those pursuing watermelons must be able to tolerate solitude.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9373267496018931/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9373267496018931/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-02. Robin argues that at critical moments, you must recognize the situation and resources available, avoid clinging to past glory, and have the courage to make the right choice. He cites the post’s account of Intel’s history: in 1985, during the Moore and Grove era, Japan’s memory business overtook Intel. Despite a financial crisis, Intel decisively abandoned memory, closed factories, laid off one-third of its workforce, and moved into CPUs, paving the way for its semiconductor dominance. The event referred to as “this outcome” at the start of the post is not specified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9538832709462408/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9538832709462408/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-01. The article compares entrepreneurship to mountain climbing: after reaching a summit, you discover that it is only a small hill on the way to a higher peak. You must refocus and keep climbing ever steeper mountains. Robin adds that you can slow down and rest, but should not stop completely. The climb has highs and lows; find ways to keep moving, and do not go alone. Finding companions for the journey allows you to keep going longer.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9578715132140832/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9578715132140832/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-08. The post says that for a company, losing money is not the greatest concern; having no cash flow is. Companies do not die from losses, but from a breakdown in cash flow. Its tag says to keep a constant eye on cash.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9629613183717693/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9629613183717693/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-18. The post observes that Taiwan has roughly 23 million people—less than 0.3% of the world’s population—yet has a profound impact in the AI era. As a small country with limited resources, especially human resources, Taiwan should focus on fields where it can compete and win. Facing the challenges of a new era, it needs strategy, focus, and trade-offs so it can become one of the crucial few. It need not expect to win an Olympic gold medal in every event. Even South Korea and China focus on events where they can win medals, while firmly defending the disciplines in which they excel.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-10028704167141924/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-10028704167141924/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-03-25. Wu Jun’s article offers two explanations for Japan’s many Nobel laureates: a craftsperson’s dedication and a stronger pursuit of academic reputation than wealth. It cites Yoshinori Ohsumi’s more than forty years devoted to yeast and Koichi Tanaka’s decision to pass up promotions and work quietly in hands-on research for twenty years. The point is that they wanted to do things better rather than chase fame or money. Robin draws a lesson for entrepreneurship: the devil is in the details, and details reveal both problems and answers. Love a project and devote yourself to it, rather than pursuing only financial returns. Genuine fulfillment goes beyond money.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25118825117703249/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25118825117703249/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-09. Alongside Know Why, Know How, Know What, Know When, and Know Where, Robin proposes another entrepreneurial capability: Know Who. Knowing the right people to do the work and the right people to consult—recognizing talent and placing people in suitable roles—is also a key to success. The prerequisite is being able to persuade those people to join you. Robin uses Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty, as an example: his ability to recognize and deploy talent was a major reason he rose from a local ruffian to defeat Xiang Yu. You do not need to be good at everything. If you can find the right people, trust them, and give them room to do the work, you can still solve problems effectively.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25126444746941286/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25126444746941286/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-10. After listening to a program about Chinese companies expanding overseas—mainly into Nigeria’s used-car market in West Africa, with references to Central Asian markets such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—Robin observes that Chinese entrepreneurs often choose difficult challenges. Taiwanese founders cannot simply seek easy markets either: the easier something looks, the harder it is to make it work. Entrepreneurship means doing what is difficult and right. The greater the difficulty and cultural shock, the greater the sense of achievement if you succeed.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25162160416703052/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25162160416703052/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-14. The article says that successful people differ greatly from others. If you think and act like mediocre people, your results will be mediocre too. Greater success requires thinking and acting differently, with the courage to swim against the current and question deeply entrenched popular views. All new ideas and innovations, it says, pass through four stages: being ignored, ridiculed, opposed, and accepted.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25728679103384511/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25728679103384511/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-12. The article says that answers are often embedded within questions. It uses the example of a children’s hospital in Pittsburgh, as recounted in the text: children moved during computed tomography (CT) scans and had to be scanned repeatedly. Instead of designing a special scanner, the hospital asked how to reduce their fear. It turned the imaging room into an immersive adventure in which children had to stay still to complete the challenge. Image quality improved markedly, and some children wanted another turn. The article quotes Wan Weigang: a question begins with discovering a conflict between something in the world and your mental model. Robin concludes that entrepreneurship means asking a good question and developing a solution that effectively changes the status quo.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25745052661747155/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25745052661747155/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-14. Reflecting on focus, Robin asks why a growth bottleneck makes it so hard to resist doing more things. Jobs’s remarks about saying no to hundreds of other good ideas can be compared with Fortune’s 2008 interview. For the Top 100 meeting story about reducing ten priorities to three, the documented review found a secondary summary of Isaacson’s 2012 HBR article, but did not obtain the full passage from the original publication. Although the idea of selecting five of twenty-five goals and avoiding the other twenty is often attributed to Buffett, CNBC’s video page from the 2013 shareholders meeting explicitly states that he denied originating it. It cannot be presented as confirmed Buffett advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25873478768904543/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25873478768904543/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-29. The excerpt says that defining a problem is easy: when you describe it to someone, they should say, “Yes, I have that problem too.” The more people describe the problem, the more certain you can be that it is real. Before rushing to devise a solution, repeatedly ask people with the same difficulty how painful it is, how valuable solving it would be, and how often it occurs. The text says that when Google considered acquiring Waze in 2013, Larry Page expressed interest in the “toothbrush model”—something used twice a day. It places problems in a matrix whose axes are total addressable market and degree of pain; the figure is not available.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25911338095118610/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25911338095118610/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-04. The opening text argues that founders today often set excessively grand goals, with everyone talking about changing the world. The intention is good, but a slogan that does not match your abilities, environment, and resources cannot connect with who you are now. The person you can change most is yourself. Robin adds that ambitious goals and ideals must connect with your own situation. Instead of changing the world or other people, start by changing yourself. Break a distant goal into small goals at each stage that can be acted on, tested, and achieved.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25957374890514930/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25957374890514930/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-09. Many founders are drawn to the hardest, coolest, most disruptive challenges, such as carrying people through the air. But frequent, low-risk use cases addressing essential needs may offer a more practical starting point for deploying technology. Mature the technology first in settings with greater tolerance for error. Find a way to survive before trying to change the world.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26024107807174971/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26024107807174971/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-17. Robin says many companies pursue growth by doing a bit of everything. Borrowing a remark attributed to Ma Huateng, the additions are all fat: can a sluggish, bloated heavyweight fight effectively in the ring? Robin recommends focusing on the core business and building lean, strong muscle rather than accumulating fat.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26101431986109219/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26101431986109219/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-26. The post lists eight short statements: the present is the future; survival is development; innovation is advantage; capability is opportunity; the global is the local; evolution is growth; understanding is value; and conviction is the future. It offers no further explanation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26134432679475816/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26134432679475816/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-31. The excerpt defines disruption as a change in the balance of market supply and demand. It argues that disruption creates a much larger market, with opportunities outweighing threats. The book says that after Uber disrupted ride-hailing, the market grew tenfold and the number of people using licensed taxis became three times what it was before Uber. Online travel booking similarly disrupted travel agencies. Transparency, it argues, creates disruption more than anything else. Markets ripe for disruption often lack information, have information asymmetries, and are full of useless regulations. It gives the example of U.S. healthcare costing approximately fifty times as much as Taiwan’s. TomTom’s CEO says that if a market can be disrupted, it will be. Robin adds that Uber and Airbnb repackage the narratives of traditional industries, creating larger markets and more value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26166010886317995/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26166010886317995/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-04. The post says that the core of business-model validation is finding genuine needs and ensuring that you can meet them sustainably while earning a reasonable profit. Successful business models often do not create new needs; they meet existing needs in a new way.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26738965779022500/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26738965779022500/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-07. The excerpt explains the screenwriter’s “one-sentence rule.” Hollywood producers hear hundreds of script pitches every day, and a writer may have only a few dozen seconds in an elevator to explain who the protagonist is and what happens. If you cannot state the core of the story in one sentence, you have not truly thought it through. A one-sentence premise is like a book cover: it should make people want to open the book immediately. Robin underlines the lesson: explain exactly what you do in one sentence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27061074960144912/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27061074960144912/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-04-07. Feng Lun’s article argues that genuine achievement requires giving up some options, and genuine freedom requires self-restraint. Time is limited. Rather than doing ten things for less than ten years each, keep deepening your work in one area. Time is both an investment good and a consumption good. Sustained effort in one direction produces increasing marginal returns, freeing time to enjoy life. But choose carefully what you persist with: if you choose wrongly, more time can mean a greater disaster. Revisit your values from time to time as well. The closing line is that doing one thing well in a lifetime is fulfillment enough.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27145571291695278/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27145571291695278/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-04-15. The post quotes an English line: humanity built most nobly when limitations were greatest. The source of the quotation is not identified. Robin’s point is that having too many resources—money—is not necessarily a good thing. Limited resources often bring out founders’ greatest potential and creativity, helping them find ways to make things happen and break through constraints.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27722294777356257/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27722294777356257/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-01. Success stories are often distilled into three to five principles, or seven to eight steps, making them sound clear and simple. But what really keeps a company alive is the thousands of invisible details behind it. The continuous, mundane work that words cannot fully capture is the truth behind a company’s success.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4840173309328395/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4840173309328395/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-08. Robin proposes the direction “AI + Edge Computing + Smart XX,” where XX could be manufacturing, healthcare, factories, retail, cities, homes, agriculture, transportation, and more. He wants to organize an investment framework around cloud, connectivity, edge devices, and applications: cloud includes cloud services, streaming, and AI; connectivity includes 5G/6G and low-Earth-orbit satellites, which he marks with a question; the edge means edge computing. His rationale is that an autonomous vehicle cannot wait to upload images to the cloud and receive a response. Hospitals, factories, and households may also not want to upload every piece of data. He hopes investors can capture the opportunities presented by vast numbers of endpoints in the AIoT era.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4908185782527147/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4908185782527147/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-29. Robin suggests that the internet advances by a generation roughly every ten to fifteen years. The first, based on PCs, took shape between 1990 and 1995. The second moved from PCs to mobile after the iPhone’s launch in 2007. He asks whether the third will be the metaverse, describing Facebook’s renaming as Meta as its opening act. Taiwan, he observes, seems to have fallen behind in the mobile-internet era. China’s tighter policy restrictions that year—2021—have instead created an opportunity for Taiwan. He hopes innovation and increased investment can restore Taiwan’s leadership in the next internet generation. These are his views and aspirations from October 2021.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4908719845807074/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4908719845807074/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-29. Robin recalls that in his years in the industry, the vocabulary has moved from IoT, big data, blockchain, and VR/AR/MR/XR to AI in more recent years, and now—2021—the metaverse. He cautions against dressing things up with too much jargon. Explain clearly and simply what you actually want to do and which problem you want to solve; glittering terminology can conceal empty substance. He also observes that the blockchain community has cycled through ICOs, STOs, IEOs, DeFi, and NFTs. It often feels like one term replacing another, and he is unsure whether much has changed at the fundamental level. These are his personal observations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5012777168734674/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5012777168734674/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-30. After seeing crispy fried-chicken NFTs on Facebook, Robin reflects that new technologies inevitably attract an early bubble of enthusiasm. Founders cannot wait until the technology and market are mature before entering, because by then there will essentially be no place left for them. Investors, however, should approach trends and booms cautiously; waiting a little longer may be the better choice. Technologies such as radio and the internet have profoundly changed modern life and created enormous business opportunities, but many technology crazes simply fade away. This is a personal view from late 2021, not investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5476398629039190/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5476398629039190/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-19. Robin recalls Steve Jobs announcing three new products in January 2007, before the audience realized they were one product: the iPhone. It launched a fifteen-year mobile-internet wave, taking the global online population from hundreds of millions to billions. Innovations in business models rested on one revolutionary product. Robin says that venture capital spent the previous fifteen years pursuing rapid business-model innovation, with every software company’s market capitalization far exceeding that of hardware companies. Looking ahead another fifteen years, he argues that the windfall from massive growth in internet traffic is gone. New change and energy are needed, so VCs at the frontier must refocus on the opportunities and transformations that technological innovation can bring. These are his views from April 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5867828506562865/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5867828506562865/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-01. Beginning with “Today, five years later,” Robin notes the rapid rise of Web3 and the metaverse, then lists earlier investment keywords: ESG in 2021, and electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, vaccines, and biotechnology before 2020–2021. Innovation and investing, he says, ensure that he always has something new to learn. This is a brief personal record looking back at trend keywords from 2020 to 2022, not a prediction or investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5899669610045421/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5899669610045421/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-12. Robin sees a hidden risk in a company’s promise to improve efficiency by 20%: placing greater emphasis on operational efficiency may displace its capacity to innovate. He cites Google’s former innovation mechanism, which allowed employees to spend 20% of their working week on projects that interested them and helped generate creative products capable of changing the world. A Google that loses its capacity to innovate, he argues, may remain an excellent company but may no longer be a great one. This is his personal, speculative commentary from September 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5910162768996105/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5910162768996105/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-16. Robin observes that advertising remains the most obvious way to monetize an internet business, including for Google and Facebook. Amazon’s advertising revenue, he says, was already measured in tens of billions of U.S. dollars. He describes Apple as eager to enter the advertising market aggressively, while Spotify was repositioning itself away from an emphasis on music streaming and toward building the largest audio-advertising platform. These are his observations from September 2022. The figures are as stated in the post and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5988370594508655/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5988370594508655/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-12. With Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, and other tech giants freezing headcount and reducing recruitment, Robin expects startups to tighten their belts too and Silicon Valley’s freezes and layoffs to continue. His personal guess is at least twelve to twenty-four months, with layoffs possibly exceeding 20%; these are guesses, not statistics. He speculates that three to five years of product-led growth have left marketing and sales leaner than at traditional sales-led software companies. SaaS tools also help keep HR lean, leaving more bloated engineering and product departments to be cut. He warns Taiwanese startups to be alert to the coming “ice storm.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6144750922203954/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6144750922203954/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-01. The post explains that AIGC stands for AI-generated content: artificial intelligence can automatically generate news articles, interactive conversations, images, speech, music, code, legal documents, financial statements, and more. It ends by suggesting that when AI becomes proficient in playing instruments, board games, calligraphy, painting, poetry, prose, music, and office work—and can also drive itself—humanity must consider its own value at a more philosophical level. The source and originality remain unconfirmed. This is a conceptual explanation from December 2022.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6188820737796972/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6188820737796972/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-13. The post draws on Harari’s argument in Sapiens: humans can build large-scale social organizations because they have the extraordinary ability to imagine things that do not exist. Shared imagination makes cooperation at scale possible. Robin’s personal view is that AI still lacks imagination, including the ability to derive new knowledge and generate new insights. It functions more like a system that assembles and presents large amounts of existing information, and it may even lack the ability to make value judgments. For example, when asked whether vaccines are beneficial or harmful, AI can gather much of the information online and draw a conclusion, but that conclusion still rests on existing scientific data available online. This is a personal assessment from December 2022; AI’s capabilities have changed since then.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6418626488149728/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6418626488149728/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-23. The post retells an analogy: when an apple hits Newton, he abstracts a theory of universal gravitation; when it hits ChatGPT, it merely explains what happens when an apple hits you, how to avoid it, and the benefits of eating apples. The ability to connect seemingly unrelated things and develop a systematic theory remains, at that time, ChatGPT’s ceiling. Robin adds that a Newton-level genius may appear only once among millions of people. Most people’s routine work still faces considerable risk in the foreseeable future. If someone else can do your job just as well, the risk is high. In his example, A actively embraces ChatGPT and may become so much more productive that A replaces B, who passively waits.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6426055434073500/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6426055434073500/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-25. Robin notes that Taiwanese companies that reach a substantial scale generally do business worldwide. In electronics, apparel, footwear, bicycles, and similar industries, a company can secure a place in a long supply chain and reach the world through downstream global brands. Early Taiwanese software could also ride the wave of an industry in which Taiwanese manufacturers made nine out of every ten computers: shipping with those computers provided a degree of global reach. But once phones replaced computers and software began reaching users through the cloud and app stores, Taiwanese startups had to find their own internationalization strategies. The Taiwanese market alone presents too low a ceiling. Robin hopes several Taiwanese software companies can play a role like Acer, Asus, Giant, or Merida, taking smaller startups into international markets alongside them.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6504166522929057/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6504166522929057/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-20. The post argues for starting with a change in how we teach. Traditional large classes can become one-on-one, tutor-style question-and-answer exchanges in the AI era. Taiwanese students, who have not been accustomed to asking questions, must now actively develop and organize their own questions. In the past, the worry was that a teacher could not answer. Now the worry is that we cannot formulate questions well: asking the right question matters more than being given an answer directly. If an explanation is unclear, students can keep asking, request a different explanation, ask for language an elementary school student can understand, or seek more depth and examples. The author argues that education in this new era needs to be redesigned.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6543013119044397/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6543013119044397/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-04-02. Robin sees a critical moment for transforming education: Taiwanese children spend their days on workbooks and complete more than ten thousand test papers, while American children work on hundreds of projects from an early age, developing teamwork and problem-solving skills. The excerpt that follows comes from Wan Weigang’s column. It argues that education needs to change even without the AI wave; AI simply makes the problems more visible. In programming, for example, the question should not be which language you studied or how many facts you mastered, but which projects you have completed. We need to move from a “course mindset” to a “project mindset.” The excerpt also argues that GPT helps people learn faster rather than giving them a reason not to learn.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6667623079916733/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6667623079916733/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-10. The post first quotes Wang Xing: a company’s starting point is not watching competitors but focusing on customers and creating value for them. A company can exist only if customers are willing to pay. Robin then adds that the internet has produced many new services, and now the AI moment has arrived. He expects many existing workflows to be disrupted or reinvented. Services that once required hundreds or thousands of people may become possible with a few dozen or ten-plus people. They are worth reimagining and doing over again. This is Robin’s expectation as of May 2023.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6697450186934022/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6697450186934022/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-19. Robin notes that NVIDIA’s Taiwanese partners include both major hardware companies and nascent software startups. Amid the AI wave, the transition from old to new, and hardware–software integration, he believes Taiwan can play more critical roles. He cites NVIDIA’s market capitalization that day as approximately US$783.4 billion, the fifth largest in the U.S. market; these figures are as of May 19, 2023, and have not been independently verified. He hopes this will help Taiwan keep upgrading and transforming in AI. He ends with a retrospective quip: investing several years earlier, when the market capitalization was around US$20 billion, would have produced roughly a fortyfold return over seven years. This is not investment advice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6802518519760521/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6802518519760521/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-16. The post reprints a Dedao Headlines piece explaining why some powerful technology companies have so few people. It uses Midjourney, with approximately eleven employees, as an example; the figures are those stated in the reprint as of June 2023 and have not been independently verified. The analysis offers three reasons: low marginal costs in technology product development, mature infrastructure that removes the need to reinvent the wheel, and the 10x engineer effect. An additional section discusses team management at the “critical point of a phase transition.” Robin’s closing comment is that if revenue growth is highly correlated with headcount growth, the business is fundamentally a traditional, labor-driven enterprise rather than a technology company.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7011079308904440/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7011079308904440/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-16. The post reprints a Wan Weigang article, tagged #WanWeigangEliteDailyLessons5, arguing that entrepreneurs’ most important decisions rest on intuition and imagination rather than scientific rationality—for example, building rockets or betting on large language models. It cites Zhang Weiying’s Chongxin Lijie Qiyejia Jingshen (“Rethinking Entrepreneurship”): someone else saying you cannot succeed does not mean you actually cannot. The author says execution requires science and reason, but an entrepreneur’s role is to initiate a vision beyond normal operations and discover new possibilities. The world contains not only quantifiable risk but also unquantifiable uncertainty—Knightian uncertainty. The entrepreneur’s task is to create uncertainty rather than adapt to risk.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7390818824263818/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7390818824263818/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-23. The excerpt describes the cycle of enthusiasm for new technology: it is initially hyped, expectations then fall to a trough, but technology that genuinely advances digitalization and intelligence can eventually surpass those original expectations. It describes AI as overheated at the time and argues that extraordinary entrepreneurial revolutions often arise outside the consensus as markets cycle between excessive enthusiasm and excessive pessimism. Robin adds that investors can wait and see, but founders cannot remain on the sidelines. They must keep moving and adjust flexibly along the way. He also urges caution about market consensus: good investors and entrepreneurs need independent views.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7655502291128802/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7655502291128802/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-02. The post presents three excerpts, each followed by a brief comment from Robin. First: a business should advance trends rather than fight them, understand how its category is developing, and position itself in line with long-term market trends. Robin says no one can fight a trend, not even Steve Jobs. Second: sustained investment and resource accumulation in a clear direction create strategic compounding; do not scatter resources lightly. Robin says to keep focusing on what matters most. Third: entrepreneurs should spend their time on work that compounds. Robin says entrepreneurship means doing things whose value can accumulate. The excerpted views are not Robin’s original writing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7851103344902028/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7851103344902028/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-21. Robin asks whether the AI wave calls for more engineers versed in mathematics and physics, such as Elon Musk, or more people who bridge technology and the humanities, such as Steve Jobs. The following excerpt says Jobs more than once closed a product presentation with a slide showing the intersection of technology and the humanities. He said Apple could create products such as the iPad because it had always tried to stand at that intersection. The excerpt attributes the idea originally to Polaroid founder Edwin Land; this retelling has not been independently verified. Robin poses the question without reaching a conclusion.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7852578424754520/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7852578424754520/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-21. Robin’s personal impression is that Taiwan has unexpectedly become the biggest beneficiary of spillovers from the U.S.-led AI boom. Semiconductors, passive components, thermal management, servers, PCs, and even power infrastructure have all been revitalized by AI. He believes Taiwan remains exceptionally strong in hardware and holds a distinctive industrial and supply-chain position as the United States seeks to contain China. It would be extremely difficult for other countries to replicate companies such as Hon Hai, Quanta, Wistron, and Inventec. Taiwanese AI software startups, however, still have work to do.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7880483228630706/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7880483228630706/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-28. Returning to his post a few days earlier, Robin’s personal impression is that Taiwan receives the most pronounced AI spillover benefits, measured as additional output attributable to AI divided by population. Yet those benefits remain concentrated in hardware, including semiconductors, servers, thermal-management components, and power infrastructure. AI software and applications have not taken off. Outside the United States, however, they generally have not made an obvious revenue contribution in other countries either. Robin emphasizes that AI software startups need to focus on revenue, its growth trend, and output per employee to attract extremely expensive AI software engineers and scientists.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8096430073702686/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8096430073702686/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-05-15. Robin asks whether another group of AI startups may soon have to “change direction.” Some, for example, are building AI customer-service tools, but major companies may directly absorb most of those functions. More human customer-service staff may also need to change careers over the next year or two. This is a personal observation and conjecture from May 2024, intended to remind AI startups to think carefully about their position and sustainable differentiation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8198040170208342/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8198040170208342/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-04. The post lists observations from June 3, 2024: the market capitalizations of the three largest U.S.-listed companies were within an 8.6% range and their ranking could change at any moment; four companies had surpassed US$2 trillion; and three of the ten largest were semiconductor-related. Robin concludes that Taiwan, a small country with a small population, cannot pursue everything. Focusing resources on semiconductors and related areas can still have a profound global impact. The only foreign company among the top ten came from Taiwan in Asia. The figures refer to the date stated in the post; their source remains unconfirmed.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8271133039565721/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8271133039565721/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-19. The post argues that the future is about computers understanding your intentions rather than your spending considerable effort learning how to use them. Human–computer interaction needs to be reinvented to become more natural, simple, and intuitive. When the barriers to AI use fall sharply, people need not memorize a collection of prompts: they can converse naturally with AI. This can give rise to more innovation, use cases, and commercial value. The post points to shifts from mainframes to personal computers, graphical interfaces, touch and voice input, widespread internet access, and smart handheld devices. Each transformation carries enormous business opportunities that we must perceive, experience, and imagine.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8299000030112355/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8299000030112355/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-25. Looking at the Gartner Hype Cycle, Robin believes generative AI is already at a peak. The post quotes Bill Gates as saying that we always overestimate the changes that may occur in the next two years and underestimate those that may occur in the next ten; the quotation’s source remains unconfirmed. Robin’s point is that the real challenge is moving from technology enthusiasts and early adopters to widespread use among the early majority. If everyone around you is using AI and cannot do without it, that indicates a successful transition toward the early majority. This is his personal assessment from June 2024.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8346526655359692/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8346526655359692/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-07-04. The post begins with a quotation: a genuinely powerful advantage requires talent and years of sustained deliberate practice. Once established, it creates a vast gap between a person and ordinary performers. Robin then says Taiwan already has a substantial systemic advantage in semiconductor wafers. The question is whether to keep investing resources to strengthen it or diversify because the concentration is too high. In his personal view, Taiwan’s most important resource remains high-quality talent. Yet with approximately 130,000 births a year, as stated in the post, even assigning all of those children to semiconductors and electronics in twenty years might not be enough. Excessive concentration is also risky, so Taiwan must identify its true core strengths rather than try to do everything.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8351366791542345/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8351366791542345/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-07-05. Robin mentions the launch of Tesla’s Optimus Gen 2. Just as AI application startups worry about OpenAI announcing another breakthrough application, robotics companies must keep close watch on Tesla’s progress. He asks whether, in ten years, declining birth rates will seem less important if AI takes on a large amount of work and robots also enter labor and service roles at scale. He believes the real issue returns to philosophy: the meaning of being human and the value of our existence. These are speculative questions about the future, not a forecast.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8645235248822163/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8645235248822163/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-08-24. Robin notes that podcasts have been popular in Taiwan for several years. His personal impression is that, just as Netflix’s rise pushed traditional cable television companies around the world into retreat, on-demand podcasts could shake up traditional radio. They could also create a larger, entirely new business model for audio creators, including audiobook content. The future still offers much to imagine. This is a personal impression and analogy, not a market statistic.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8766727086672978/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8766727086672978/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-12. Robin summarizes four points from his talk the previous day. First, focus the business model: you are unlikely to make money from everything. Second, users may not feel much difference between AI recognition rates of 93%, 94%, and 95%, and each company excels in different situations. Rather than pursuing another 1–2% improvement, address the most pressing points in users’ workflows. Third, technology quality is one thing; sales channels and partners are another. Sometimes the problem is that a finished product does not sell. Fourth, consider major companies’ technology roadmaps. Using Apple’s addition of medical-device functions to wearables as an example—as of September 2024—he urges startups to identify the space left for them when major players target the mass market.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8774016949277325/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8774016949277325/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-13. Robin notes that AI technology is advancing rapidly. Major companies keep releasing new large models, and benchmark systems are used to assess their accuracy. His personal view is that scores of 93, 95, or 96 may make little difference to end users’ experience. Rather than spending time and resources gaining another benchmark point, companies should deploy the technology in real use cases and make the entire user experience smoother. This is his personal opinion, not a benchmark research finding.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8885746578104361/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8885746578104361/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-25. In September 2024, Robin suggested looking at industry and gross margin when discussing startup output per employee, and using annual gross profit divided by total employees to assess individual contribution. He mentioned approximately 15 million in gross profit per employee at TSMC and an intuitive startup threshold of approximately 1–1.5 million, but the original post did not specify currency, calculation year, or the headcount basis. TSMC’s consolidated gross profit and global workforce in its 2023 annual report produce a similar order of magnitude. That does not establish Robin’s original calculation, nor is it an officially reported gross-profit-per-employee metric. His suggestions on automation, AI, and outsourcing are personal views, not universal industry standards.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9380933738585640/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9380933738585640/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-04. Revisiting the ten largest U.S.-listed companies by market capitalization in December 2024, Robin takes a different perspective and counts Apple as a hardware business. Five companies sell or manufacture hardware products: Apple, NVIDIA, Tesla, TSMC, and Broadcom. Four are software or internet businesses: Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta. One is a financial investment company. “Software is eating the world” may be true, he says, but hardware’s importance seems to have risen rapidly over the previous year or two, and Taiwan’s global hardware competitiveness appears much stronger than its software competitiveness. He also notes a biotechnology company in eleventh place and describes this as the period with the most U.S.-listed companies ever valued above US$1 trillion—nine in total. Rankings and counts refer to the date of the post and have not been independently verified.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24393006166951818/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24393006166951818/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-06-14. As A Chip Odyssey attracts attention, Robin notes that it primarily depicts the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Taiwan has another major industry: electronics and information and communications technology (ICT). He recalls San Ai Electronics, founded in 1972 to make audio equipment, followed by electronic calculators and the emergence of major groups. Stan Shih’s founding of Acer in 1976 also led to multiple corporate groups. ICT made Taiwan a major producer of PCs, notebooks, and servers, with revenue and output that stand alongside semiconductors. He urges his generation to carry the legacy forward rather than continue living off achievements from forty or fifty years ago, and to create a new era for the next generation. These company histories are recollections and have not been checked individually.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26199318266320590/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26199318266320590/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-08. The post reprints three ideas from Liu Run. First, AI replaces tasks rather than occupations: identify what AI can do and what only you can do. Second, the gray-collar era has arrived, favoring people who understand technology and can do hands-on work. Third, hard skills become outdated, while soft skills such as communication, judgment, and problem-solving form a moat. The piece concludes that we should not compete with AI at what it does best. When getting things right is no longer difficult, setting direction and taking responsibility become the scarcest resources. Robin adds the ability to ask good questions, organize and clearly express ideas, simplify complexity, think abstractly, use imagination, set an organization’s direction and boundaries, collaborate, and take ultimate responsibility.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26718938627691882/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26718938627691882/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-05. After listening to a technology program, Robin reflects that China’s AI models still trail those in the United States and are trying various ways to break through restrictions. He mentions the program’s discussion of distillation attacks and related claims, which have not been independently verified. He observes that Chinese model developers are concentrating on open source. Even in the U.S., many developers use these models in open-source communities to build products, having been warned not to base a business model on a major provider’s models with only a thin wrapper that can easily be replaced. At the time, U.S. model providers mostly favored closed approaches, while Chinese providers were building visibility through openness. Whether the latter would later turn toward closed models remained unknown.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26832108456374898/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26832108456374898/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-17. Setting aside Taiwan’s AI competitiveness ranking, Robin points to trillion-scale AI infrastructure and space-based computing-center plans that have left Taiwanese suppliers extremely busy, while Taiwan’s stock market keeps reaching new highs. In his view, the United States leads the AI wave, but Taiwanese companies selling the equivalent of shovels, carts, funnels, and jeans on the sidelines are prospering too. The post includes a news link to the full text of Jensen Huang’s GTC speech. Robin’s comment is a personal observation, not a statistical finding.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27197602416492165/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27197602416492165/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-04-20. Robin recalls that the internet and mobile-internet eras produced many SaaS and sharing-economy applications on infrastructure such as AWS, Azure, and GCP. People expected the AI era to produce a similar abundance of applications on top of large models. His intuition, however, is that model providers are expanding their layer and continually launching applications of their own, seeking almost every application with meaningful scale. The value layer left for small software developers is thin, undifferentiated, and easily replaced. He explicitly says this is a personal impression that may be wrong. If it proves right, software in the AI era may look completely different from the SaaS era, with large players becoming even larger.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27375139378738467/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27375139378738467/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-05-05. Robin recounts a conversation with a startup CEO. AI may provide a certain level of translation and communication in the future, but people still need very strong command of at least one language to think deeply, analyze, organize, ask AI questions, and express themselves clearly. The CEO believes that after thirty years of science and engineering overshadowing the humanities, AI’s ability to perform basic logical operations will shift human value back toward feeling, understanding, imagination, and empathy. He sees a future for humanities graduates. The Industrial Revolution freed human physical labor; AI will free mental labor, requiring society’s underlying operating logic to be rebuilt. This is a retelling of a conversation, not a statistical or research finding.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27400368366215568/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27400368366215568/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-05-07. The post reprints a Liu Run article. Chinese companies traditionally refined value for money and supply-chain capabilities at home before taking those advantages abroad. AI is showing a different pattern. Shenzhen-based Plaud AI, for example, entered Europe and the United States first and sold more than one million devices within two years, according to the article; this figure has not been independently verified. AI agents have high computing costs, while Europe and the United States have a mature SaaS subscription culture and customer spending sufficient to cover those costs. Domestic payment habits are less developed. Robin adds that choosing between succeeding locally first and starting in the most promising market tests a founder’s thinking. Either way, build a secure base before expanding rather than spread yourself too thin.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28115439534708444/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28115439534708444/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-07-03. The excerpt discusses “slow entrepreneurship” in deep tech. Compared with the lightning expansion sought by internet and platform businesses, deep tech emphasizes taking time to build technology and using substantive innovation to empower industry. Real breakthroughs require the patience to endure long, lonely work. It sets out three points: long-term investment needs full-cycle support from incubation through acceleration to commercialization, with room for failure; supply-chain collaboration should connect large enterprises, small and midsize companies, and research institutions; and capital should be patient, with venture funds providing long-term support. Robin closes with one line: the faster the world moves, the calmer the mind. The excerpt’s source remains unconfirmed; it is not Robin’s original writing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28189643987287998/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28189643987287998/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-07-10. The post reprints an interview with a venture investor. Judging trends is the most important investment skill. A genuine trend must meet at least three conditions: last more than ten years, change industry structure, and change user behavior. The biggest trap in venture capital is not competition but demand that does not exist, so ask whether a need is real, how long it will last, and how large the market can become. The piece also discusses the explosion of AI-generated content and data. Robin adds that pigs can fly in a strong wind, but when the wind stops, the ground is littered with their bodies. Better to understand how the world is changing and prepare for the future, so that you are in position when the wind rises and the wave arrives. The reprinted material is not Robin’s original writing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28202370342682029/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28202370342682029/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-07-11. The post reprints a Dedao Headlines discussion of K-shaped divergence: one line rises and the other falls, moving increasingly far apart. This is not a recurring cycle but a fork in the road, so the instinct to “wait until things improve” can become costly. It offers three reminders: identify which line you are on; do not try to offset a wrong direction with effort—first see where opportunities have moved; and do not hide your situation behind averages. The trends driving divergence include reduced reliance on human labor and the rise of AI and semiconductors. Figures are as stated in the article, as of 2026, and have not been independently verified. Robin adds that each shift—from agriculture to industry, then the knowledge economy, and now AI—has created divergence. Besides working hard, we need to see which line we are on.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28602044292714630/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28602044292714630/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-08-14. Robin argues that Taiwan does not lack money; it lacks increasingly scarce human resources. A small country cannot pursue everything and must focus, make trade-offs, and define its position clearly. He estimates approximately 90,000 births in Taiwan in 2026; this is his estimate and has not been independently verified. Looking twenty-four years ahead to 2050, if semiconductors and electronics are to keep growing, even the entire 2026 birth cohort might not meet their workforce needs. Taiwan still needs domestic supporting industries, including food service, finance, entertainment, retail, healthcare, education, defense, public administration, police, and fire services.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-324064362297737/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-324064362297737/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-28. The post presents several short arguments about strategy. Strategy means being explicit about what to do and what not to do; focus requires both choice and sacrifice. If you cannot reach the top three in a niche, do not rush into a second business. First take the original business to its fullest potential, then turn methods for analyzing customers, building teams, and establishing rules into organizational capabilities that can be applied to new businesses. Even a market worth hundreds of billions is irrelevant to you if your organizational capabilities cannot support it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-384269616277211/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-384269616277211/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-05. After listening to Keji Daodu, Robin argues that a startup should focus on the problem it seeks to solve and the customer’s fundamental needs, rather than watch existing competitors. Tesla did not focus on Toyota and Volkswagen, and SpaceX redesigned rockets. These examples illustrate his view that concentrating on competitors would merely produce a faster version of a traditional product. After the divider, an external strategy passage discusses dozens of agile small challengers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3814930658519337/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3814930658519337/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-23. Robin observes that highly resourced, privileged teams and grassroots teams have roughly equal chances of success, with strengths and weaknesses offsetting one another. The former have more opportunities but higher costs and more escape routes, and may retreat more readily or raise and spend too much. The latter use resources carefully and persist through problems. He urges founders to clarify what problem they solve and what value they create for whom. Vague positioning can leave a team confused about its own direction. The closing Quibi excerpt warns against becoming dependent on the path of past success.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-404460404258132/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-404460404258132/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-29. Robin uses the analogy of going blank halfway through speaking: without establishing a starting point and an endpoint for your thinking, you can lose the thread. Entrepreneurship works the same way. Like Bezos, work backward from the end state to plan each step. Keep checking your key waypoints to avoid being diverted by small short-term gains. Minimize improvisation rather than simply solving whatever problem appears. The greatest value of identifying the end state is training the awareness needed to stay on topic.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3865121323500270/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3865121323500270/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-10. Robin highlights two points. First, in the internet era, those with the most connections win. He cites Tencent’s shift after the 3Q conflict toward investing in JD.com, Pinduoduo, and others to build an ecosystem. Second is the power of capital and the connections it creates. The interview excerpt describes each fundraising round as a chance to explain the company’s plans to the market. It also reflects on subsidy battles and wars of attrition: the market will not give you money when you truly need it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3928788230466912/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3928788230466912/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-02. Robin warns that products and business models can become increasingly complex. He recalls reading that most Evernote users use only approximately 5% of its features—an impression, not a statistical finding—and guesses Word and Excel are similar. He argues for simplicity and solving important problems, leaving many additional functions to compatible third-party software. He also makes two observations: Estonia produced Skype and Pipedrive, and Taiwanese startups should likewise face the world boldly; as giants become general-purpose platforms, startups should concentrate like a nail to achieve a breakthrough.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3976648752347526/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3976648752347526/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-20. Robin identifies two prerequisites for building a large platform: the core function must be exceptional and globally unmatched; and the platform must be sufficiently neutral, avoiding competition with customers and earning the trust of customers and competitors alike. He contrasts TSMC, which does not design ICs and puts customers at ease, with Samsung, whose design business leaves customers with doubts. He also warns that Amazon’s pursuit of continued growth may bring it into competition with customers. Once it loses neutrality and trust, customers will begin leaving.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4030423300303404/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4030423300303404/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-10. When discussing acquisitions and mergers, we usually consider synergies, but price is another critical factor. Robin argues that strategically minded entrepreneurs can look beyond the immediate price. Investors often deliberate over one or two units, or even half a unit, in the entry share price, but for a genuinely attractive investment this is insignificant beside the prospect of returns exceeding tenfold. Buying is an art; holding and exiting are harder. He says the holding period is what truly determines returns, and exiting too early or too late has the greatest impact.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4082837111728689/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4082837111728689/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-29. Using news of Intel’s foundry outsourcing plans, Robin observes that advanced manufacturing processes and packaging are capital-intensive markets in which catching up becomes extremely difficult once a company falls behind. Intel faces a choice between continuing to invest in manufacturing and focusing on chip design. He excerpts three considerations behind Intel’s historical exit from DRAM—its technological core, its full-product-line credo, and management’s pride—and the cost of laying off 7,200 employees. He then brings the question back to Intel’s new CEO in 2021, traditional travel agencies, and struggling founders: what would they decide?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4089756217703445/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4089756217703445/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-31. Robin contrasts Ballmer’s repeated emphasis on “we” with Nadella’s language of empathy and listening to customers. He argues that Microsoft’s old monopoly rested on Windows, while engineering pride made it difficult for the giant to change direction. The challenge involved products, management, and culture. Startups therefore have opportunities to challenge giants, whose baggage is even heavier. But startups must be more focused, faster, and more adaptable, targeting subtle shifts that the giants have not noticed.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4096458673699866/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4096458673699866/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-03. Robin introduces Thomas Friedman’s Golden Arches theory: two countries with McDonald’s restaurants will not go to war with each other, because societies with McDonald’s have stable economies and strong middle classes, and their interest in development and consumption outweighs ideology. At its core, this is an expectation of rational human behavior. Extended further, countries in the same global supply chain will not fight each other. Robin hopes economic development and democratization will advance peace, but ends with a qualification: human nature and the desire for power are harder to predict.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-483875372983301/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-483875372983301/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-21. Robin’s main point is that startups lack the resources to build broad platforms for everyone. They must pay close attention to their earliest users, just as MUJI focuses on customers who share its values. The post also quotes Paul Graham’s idea that one hundred passionate fans are better than ten thousand people who merely think a product is acceptable. It recounts Nike’s beginnings among track-and-field enthusiasts, and Frank Rudy’s pitch for air-cushioning technology, which Phil Knight agreed to test and license through per-pair royalties.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-486327919404713/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-486327919404713/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-25. The post recounts how Sears founder Richard Sears rose through successive opportunities: nationwide rail connections, standardized time zones, postal access and mail order, and urbanization. It then describes Sears’s failure to seize the next opportunities represented by Walmart and Amazon, leading to bankruptcy in 2018. Robin closes by arguing that retail has moved from consumers actively searching to merchants proactively recommending products. Increasing segmentation, differentiated audiences, and customization create new business opportunities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-514916313212540/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-514916313212540/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-11. Robin explains why he encourages teams to spend more time abroad. Taiwan’s market is limited, and a team that feels impressive only at home can resemble the River God or the summer insect in Zhuangzi. The best way to broaden perspective is to enter a larger market and experience its impact firsthand. Drawing on the River God’s encounter with the North Sea in “Autumn Floods,” he argues that success often depends on breadth of understanding rather than effort alone. Perspective depends on one’s environment, so spend time with people who are better than you.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-527255448645293/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-527255448645293/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-05-01. Robin identifies three questions founders need to clarify: how strongly target users need the product; whether users could easily switch away without noticing its absence; and whether losing it would cause major inconvenience. The less replaceable a company is, the more valuable it becomes. He includes Wu Jun’s response to a reader asking why Evernote struggled. Wu argues that the product was not essential enough and its timing was squeezed by Google Docs and Office. Robin says their views are similar.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-570731714297666/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-570731714297666/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-10. The post first excerpts Lei Jun’s views: fundraising is a confidence game, easiest when you do not need money. Start raising when half the cash is spent; with no cash left, bargaining power is nearly gone. Robin then offers eight suggestions: the fundraising paradox is that money attracts money; begin the next round before half is spent; match burn rate to fundraising pace; investors who fear a difficult next round or a down round may discount or decline this one; cash gives negotiating confidence; win existing investors’ support, ideally with stable backers holding at least 30%; produce clear results that bring investors to you; and tailor the pitch to each investor.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4579305855415143/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4579305855415143/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-17. Robin begins with the idea that people remember only number one. In the internet era, being first means monopoly, with neither oligopoly nor perfect competition. If a giant already occupies a position, create a new market through a better category: Facebook dominates social networking, while Twitter and Instagram carved out text- and image-based markets. PayPal, Square, and Stripe provide similar examples. He adds that a niche monopoly is sensible, but becoming number one on a particular road or in a particular building is meaningless if the market is too small. VCs still assess market size and growth potential.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4586336781378717/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4586336781378717/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-19. Robin argues that addition is easy. Taiwanese consumers value getting more for the same price, so founders and product builders often keep adding features—a tendency he personally considers dangerous. He cites TA-Q-BIN, Tamagoya, and Yoshinoya as examples of doing one thing exceptionally well. Entrepreneurship requires subtraction: remove the unnecessary and focus attention on the most important problem. Startups’ advantages are flexibility, focus, and speed; giant platforms can be left to giant companies. Many startups stack AI, IoT, blockchain, cloud, big data, 5G, and NFTs until they can no longer explain their business in one sentence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4598549673490761/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4598549673490761/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-23. Discussing the indicator of students studying abroad immediately after high school, Robin offers a different perspective. Earlier generations of talented Taiwanese graduates went abroad, saw the world, and brought back technology and new perspectives. Today, many remain at leading Taiwanese universities for master’s degrees and are recruited early by major companies. He worries about a gap in Taiwan’s ability to connect with the world, while Taiwanese students in the United States are increasingly outnumbered by Chinese and Indian students. He welcomes talented high school graduates attending leading foreign universities. The real question is whether Taiwan offers enough incentive for them to return.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-585679196136251/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-585679196136251/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-01. Robin ranks three resources in entrepreneurship: attention above time, and time above money. Buying other people’s time and services is usually worthwhile; use the time saved for more valuable work. He also repeats a point he often makes: a startup’s window of opportunity opens briefly and narrowly, and may close when giants and capital enter, so establish your position early. Finally, he reminds readers that they may have only three to five hours of genuinely focused, productive time each day; do not scatter that attention.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-601833037854200/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-601833037854200/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-08-26. The main text describes how Google challenges rigid thinking by asking people to make an idea ten times bigger. It tests an idea’s maturity through three questions: could it affect hundreds of millions or billions of people; does it contain a distinctive technical insight; and could it become feasible soon? Robin comments that employees should pursue tenfold breakthroughs rather than 10% or 20% improvements. But the approach does not fit every situation: a small startup may struggle to find a narrow entry point if its scope is too broad. Fundraising in Taiwan tends to require concrete results, whereas this approach can help when raising internationally.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4871622016183524/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4871622016183524/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-18. After completing his FITI reviews, Robin shares seven points: similar teams can join forces to compete internationally; use national resources such as Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Economic Affairs programs and the National Development Fund’s angel investment program; decide whether the endgame is acquisition or an IPO; making a product or obtaining certification is not the ultimate test—selling it worldwide is. A customer saying “sounds good; we’ll evaluate it once it’s built” is usually negative; someone with real demand wants to pay before completion. Professor-led student startups should include someone who has run a business, and R&D startups should stay asset-light and outsource where possible.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4902018043143921/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4902018043143921/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-27. The opening account says TSMC’s business model is determined by who its customers are: other semiconductor companies. It emphasizes technical support rather than personal connections. Robin then asks: who is your real customer? An early-stage startup must focus and make trade-offs; it cannot build a platform for everyone. Before rushing to build, understand target customers through in-depth interviews, confirm demand, then create an MVP, validate it, and iterate quickly. There is little need to rush to investors beforehand: they will ask about interviews and data, and do not want a CEO operating on instinct alone.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4952999931379065/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4952999931379065/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-12. Watching Netflix and Disney compete in Taiwan, Robin argues that foreign giants already dominate its OTT market, much as Google and Facebook dominate online advertising. At that time, platforms with the largest user bases are difficult to dislodge; Taiwan is an incremental market for them. Using domestic cars as an example, he argues that once tariff protection is removed, tooling amortization and sales scale make it hard for local manufacturers to compete—the figures are hypothetical examples. His conclusion: Taiwan is small, so identify core and comparative advantages and concentrate scarce resources on strengths other countries cannot easily replicate.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-677757770261726/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-677757770261726/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-24. Robin finds an interesting definition: a startup is a temporary organization aiming for rapid growth in a short time. Even a newly established company is an ordinary new business if rapid near-term growth is not its objective. A restaurant or hair salon’s ceiling depends on its premises and spending per customer; a custom software outsourcer’s ceiling depends on customer spending. Neither type is better: they simply pursue different goals.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5206469732698749/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5206469732698749/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-21. Robin believes the most important discipline in a SaaS startup is making trade-offs. After wrestling with the decision, firmly walk away from large customers demanding customization; otherwise, they can drain your capacity to innovate and turn you into a labor-intensive software contractor. He points to Basecamp and Taiwan’s iCHEF CEO as examples of knowing what the company needs at its current stage and who its customers are. If a VC asks why you do not serve certain customers or build certain features, his preferred answer is: we make clear trade-offs; those are not right for this stage, and we have clear target customers and a product-development sequence.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5299278053417916/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5299278053417916/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-15. Robin looks back at Jobs recruiting Sculley, being forced out, and returning to Apple after the 1996 NeXT acquisition. He notes that in 2011 Jobs chose Tim Cook, whose personality was the opposite of his and whose operational abilities were exceptional, rather than widely favored design leader Jony Ive. Robin personally admires Jobs’s late-life judgment of people and ability to put them in the right roles: seeing future trends and finding the most suitable successor.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5335273789818342/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5335273789818342/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-26. Robin draws five lessons from the story of conquering the South Pole: a major opportunity is rarely visible to you alone—many people race to be first; history remembers first place; thorough preparation, spare capacity, and flexibility help you stay calm when making critical decisions; cohesion matters more than team size; and disciplined daily progress, in good conditions or bad, determines the outcome. In extreme environments, doing your best is not enough: do your sustainable best. Small daily steps become a large advance when you look back.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-733018294735673/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-733018294735673/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-24. Robin writes to young venture capital professionals: VCs often tell founders to focus, cut back on nonessential activities, and stop chasing trends, yet frequently chase trends themselves. In his ten years in the industry, the hot sector has changed almost every one or two years—from games, software, the internet, and the sharing economy to AI, blockchain, electric vehicles, and the metaverse. He argues that VCs should calmly identify their core strengths and what makes them irreplaceable, then build those strengths deliberately. With enough accumulated resources, they may even create a trend themselves. The advice VCs give founders applies equally to their own careers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5442993025713084/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5442993025713084/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-06. Someone asks how angel investing differs from an angel fund. In Robin’s basic understanding, angel groups—of which Taiwan has several—discuss incoming opportunities, then each angel decides individually whether to invest, using their own money and taking responsibility for their own decisions. An angel fund pools money under unified management and makes a collective invest-or-pass decision; in that sense, it can be viewed as institutional investing. Angel groups charge membership fees, whereas funds charge management fees, such as 2%, and share investment profits, such as 20%; these are examples. He welcomes corrections and additions from practitioners.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5447000571978996/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5447000571978996/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-08. Robin offers five points on fundraising prices: research the market first, with an asking price supported by evidence, comparisons, and calculations. Seeking investors means seeking partners—not demanding they pay your price because you think the company is wonderful. Investing is a confidence game; starting high and cutting repeatedly, for example from 150 million to 50 million, erodes confidence. Competitive investor demand may allow a modest increase, but otherwise investors tend to wait. Do not negotiate an investment when you have no bargaining chips left.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5460435643968822/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5460435643968822/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-04-13. Robin compares US March CPI inflation of 8.5% year on year with Taiwan’s 2.47%. He argues that Taiwan’s low inflation reflects deliberate government price controls, with the Fair Trade Commission and Ministry of Economic Affairs intervening when companies announce increases. He cites CPC: frozen natural gas prices meant it absorbed 104.8 billion in costs in 2021 and another 51.7 billion in the first quarter of 2022, losing roughly half its capital. He speculates that with free-market pricing, imported energy and food, and wage increases amid labor shortages, Taiwan’s year-on-year CPI inflation might exceed 10%—Robin’s hypothetical scenario.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5641821979163520/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5641821979163520/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-06-15. Robin argues that industries and economies cycle through bubbles, slumps, and recovery. Uncompetitive companies are eliminated, while survivors reach new highs; he cites Google and Amazon after the 2000 dot-com bubble. Crises also incubate larger opportunities: Bitcoin and blockchain, the sharing economy, cloud services, and SaaS emerged after 2008. As another storm gathers in 2022, he argues that early-stage investors should think harder about the next big thing and position themselves a year or two ahead—waiting where the wind will blow rather than chasing it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5681134041898980/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5681134041898980/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-06-28. Robin looks back at years of abundant global capital, when FOMO and the belief that another buyer would always come along encouraged fast decisions even on marginal deals. Since the second half of the previous year, tighter capital has made investors more rational and slowed peers’ decisions: deals they might once have taken or passed on are now declined. Startups must reconsider their venture and explain why it is necessary; simplification becomes the central concern. Investors should return to fundamentals, verify more, and judge independently. Do not convince yourself too easily: the person most likely to deceive you may be yourself.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-798544948183007/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-798544948183007/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-03. Following the previous point about talking less and listening more, this post warns against hypotheticals: asking “If we built this feature, would you use it or pay for it?” is the wrong approach. Ask about specific events that have already happened in users’ lives instead. Robin gives an example: asking whether someone would be interested in cutting costs by 20% and improving efficiency by 15% is hypothetical and leads them toward the answer you want. Such interviews are meaningless. Understand the path and motivations that brought users to the problem.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-816448919725943/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-816448919725943/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-30. Robin argues that world-changing inventions are often extremely simple: easy to understand and explain, flexible, and open to layers of applications. Business models should likewise be simple and focused, doing one thing well at a time. If you cannot explain your product, service, and model quickly, they are too complicated; start over if necessary and narrow the battlefield rather than launching on four fronts with eight products. His three tests: can you explain it on one A4 page, in six minutes, and to the grandmother selling vegetables on the corner?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5806434766035573/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5806434766035573/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-11. Robin argues that startups can attract excellent engineers away from big companies by presenting their ideas, dreams, and goals. They need employees willing and able to take risks; those seeking comfort choose major technology companies. Explain that the journey and growth can matter more than the outcome. A new hire at a startup can receive major responsibilities and challenges sooner, quickly becoming a key person for a product or market. Even if the company fails, they gain experience unavailable to junior employees at large firms, where reaching a key product role may take more than ten years.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5913277438684638/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5913277438684638/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-17. Robin notes that after a full day of pitches, investors may not remember every company’s details, but parts of a story can leave a strong impression. Learning to tell a memorable short story within limited time is a trainable skill. He cautions against overused stories even when true: like an entrance-exam essay grader reading one grandmother story after another, investors can become weary. Many PhD founders of biotech drug companies begin with a family member’s cancer inspiring them to develop treatments; repeated often enough, the story loses some emotional impact.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6033347433344304/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6033347433344304/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-26. Robin cites reported figures: Taiwan would have just over 130,000 births in 2022, compared with nearly 270,000 university entrants in 2015 and roughly 240,000 in 2017. By 2040, the incoming cohort would fall to about 130,000; he argues that university numbers would have to fall by at least half relative to 2015. Universities should move beyond enrollment numbers toward developing each student’s global competitiveness and mobility. Just as investment should be assessed not only for profitability but for impact, greater impact can create greater future value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-656839589020211/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-656839589020211/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-19. Robin argues that success in the future depends on a grounding in the humanities: understanding human nature, exploring motivations, and prompting behavioral change, alongside art and design that enrich the world beyond efficiency and functionality. He then shares a book introduction about STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics—explaining how adding the arts emphasizes humanity, innovative thinking, and work across disciplines.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-727473508623485/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-727473508623485/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-15. The post first summarizes Bao Fan’s three priorities: understand your target customers and market; recognize that the hardest part of entrepreneurship is doing less; and keep gathering resources—money carries resources behind it, which founders must actively uncover. Robin then adds seven points: know what you want and will sacrifice, understand customers, develop a feel for the market, simplify and focus, identify the core rather than aim for everything, invest time in depth, and gather resources including talent. His “guns in hand, follow me” metaphor describes a leader who can rally followers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-729571461747023/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-729571461747023/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-18. Robin opens by saying founding teams can take many forms, but mutual respect is essential. Partners must agree on the rules beforehand and follow them. Bao Fan’s talk then explains that spouses, classmates, and equal partners can all succeed, provided responsibilities and decision-making are agreed in advance. The greatest risk is partners rejecting the original rules later. Core arrangements for sharing rewards and making decisions should not change lightly; procedures and regulations can evolve with company scale.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-731831204854382/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-731831204854382/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-22. Bao Fan first describes Series A, B, and C: A validates technology or a product people use and explores the business model; B funds replication at scale; C approaches an IPO and supports formal systems or industry consolidation. Robin then outlines the stages: seed and angel rounds build the product and explore demand; pre-A and A find product–market fit and a profitable model; B rapidly replicates it, with exponential revenue growth but not necessarily profits; C and later deepen the moat, expand broadly, and prepare for an IPO. Lean startup means rapid, low-cost trial and error, then scaling once PMF is found.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-735546541149515/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-735546541149515/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-28. Lei Jun’s principles emphasize cash on hand for early startups: how long could you survive without revenue? At scale, focus on cash actually received, not receivables. Find the best people and prioritize getting them on board. Robin adds that broken financing is among the commonest causes of failure; do not prepare only for smooth fundraising. Business setbacks, difficult fundraising, departures of key team members, and giants entering are more common. Prepare multiple scenarios. Stable cash flow only keeps you from losing; winning requires talent. Netflix’s approach and a family-like culture each have advantages and disadvantages.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6202850806393965/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6202850806393965/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-12-17. Discussing Wa Cheng’s move into brunch, Robin says the outcome needs watching. Building a company means building a brand with a clear identity; expanding into more fields can blur it. He cites Bafang Yunji’s operation of Dante Coffee after the acquisition. Of a seemingly attractive hundred ideas, many are traps or temptations: reject ninety-nine and focus on the one core idea. Choosing what not to do can matter more than choosing what to do. Wu Bofan’s quoted remarks then describe brands as instant associations: keep them simple and pure, as Volvo does with safety.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6351450501533994/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6351450501533994/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-03. The post recounts WeMo Scooter’s 2020 Series A led by AppWorks and a further investment of several million US dollars in February 2023 to support Southeast Asian expansion. Robin is a WeMo user and likes the founder’s ideas, but asks how it will compete or cooperate with local giants such as Grab and GoTo. Capital needs, customers, pricing, and the business model all matter. More fundamentally, has WeMo, founded seven years earlier, found a profitable model in Taiwan that it can export? Otherwise, burning cash on two fronts could exhaust the new money quickly.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6402406429771734/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6402406429771734/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-18. As ChatGPT spreads, Robin argues that even the foundations of education must change. If basic education in Taiwan still force-feeds knowledge through large volumes of text, it cannot outperform ChatGPT. AI education and understanding must begin before university. Government investment in higher education and industry matters, but primary schools need to move beyond one-dimensional text-based rote learning and help children understand the world more fully. He urges the Ministry of Education to consider how children can enjoy learning, learn in diverse ways, explore independently, and build coherent systems of thought and values.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6425764757435901/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6425764757435901/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-25. In February 2013, Robin left underwriting—the financial sector broadly speaking—and joined TTVC with a mission to help small and medium-sized businesses transform and grow. Ten years passed. Initially, he approached investing with an underwriting mindset, seeking mature companies near IPO scale. Some portfolio companies multiplied their market capitalization, including thirtyfold growth to unicorn scale. Yet investing in these mature businesses often amounted to adding to existing success. More recently, he has spent more time finding early-stage opportunities, believing that innovation and investment can move Taiwan forward while he continues to play a small part.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6451012438244466/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6451012438244466/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-04. Wang Zhiqian’s MOT course says a key way to lower conversion barriers is to invite customers to try the product. A trial turns an explorer into a user and changes their mindset. Poor conversion often reflects a trial that leaves no peak experience or lasting memory. Robin adds that trials should create a vivid memory and a “wow” feeling. If customers generally respond “it’s okay,” “nothing special,” or “let’s see,” the likelihood of closing a sale is usually low.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6567207979958244/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6567207979958244/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-04-10. Robin sees the exhaustion of Taiwan’s demographic dividend as its greatest economic challenge, expressed in super-aging, fewer births, and crises facing labor and health insurance funds. His solutions are greater investment and bold innovation. He recalls two dividends: annual births above 400,000 in the 1960s, together with military personnel and civilians arriving from China; then Taiwanese businesses using China’s rural labor supply. With fewer than 140,000 births in 2022, he argues that Taiwan cannot sustain future growth on births alone. Put the wealth accumulated during those two dividends into new-era ventures and use people, resources, and markets worldwide.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6625421454136896/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6625421454136896/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-04-28. Robin agrees with most of Hong Dashen’s views: startups must know their business, their customers, and how they make money. Early on, pass on people seeking freebies, merely comparing prices or asking questions, or lacking commitment. A loss-making sale can still make sense: printers, coffee machines, water filters, and game consoles sell the main product cheaply and earn money from consumables or services. Show your core differentiation, or become one vendor among many lined up for the buyer to choose the cheapest. His four points: clarify the model, define customers, make trade-offs, and avoid highly replaceable businesses.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6656527787692929/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6656527787692929/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-07. After the FITI 2023 practice camp, Robin quotes Wang Xing: most teams present will probably fail in this venture—not a curse, but a lesson from experience. Prepare for failure. Being willing to work hard despite a high chance of failure is real passion, and failure still offers opportunities to learn. Robin adds that entrepreneurship is a process of self-refinement, learning, and growth. Experience accumulated through failure can become the foundation for the next venture.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6679768778702163/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6679768778702163/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-14. Robin recommends a reissued entrepreneurship book by Zhou Hongyi, previously titled Dianfuzhe (“Disruptor”). His own point: choose, focus after choosing, and differentiate. Even a platform needs a memorable starting point—LINE messaging, Google search, Meta social networking, or momo e-commerce. The right investor matters too. The book’s case describes Qihoo trying everything until an investor asked, “Are you planning to compete with everyone?” Zhou then cut the business back to security alone.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6683338858345155/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6683338858345155/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-15. The post quotes Zhang Yiming’s four reasons for rejecting a major company’s investment offer within his company’s first year: resources can act like stimulants and suppress internal capabilities, distort strategy, draw a startup into battles between giants, and make it harder to attract top talent than remaining independent. Robin comments that nothing is wholly good: gaining something means giving something in exchange. CVC may be praised, but it has two sides. Before major decisions, return to the original vision: what company do you want to build, and do you want acquisition or an independent IPO? Every choice brings gains and losses.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6697439980268376/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6697439980268376/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-19. An excerpt from Qiu Yue distinguishes two approaches to products: treating them as commodities or as creative works. The former is closer to running a business, pursuing mass markets and monetizing traffic; the latter is closer to creative work, expressing personal preferences and attracting a more selective audience. Robin comments that entrepreneurship is less about right and wrong than about making clear choices: choosing one thing means giving up another. You can differentiate a product by working on something you genuinely love, or turn out large numbers of ordinary products and hope for a lucky hit. His personal recommendation is to choose something you love and believe in, so you can persevere when difficulties arise.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6912867038725668/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6912867038725668/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-18. An excerpt from Dedao Headlines describes two approaches to entrepreneurship. One starts by putting yourself in users’ shoes, identifying a need you do not personally have. The other starts with a need you experience yourself and asks whether others share it. The latter has become more common in recent years, the excerpt argues, because consumers now want brands not merely to understand them but to empathize with them. Robin comments that starting from your own needs is ideal. However, if that need is unclear or is an illusory need confined to a tiny niche, the business may struggle to grow. When your own need is not clear, you must at least develop deep insight into your target users and learn to see things from their perspective.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6995201793825525/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6995201793825525/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-11. Robin discusses two challenges for Taiwan’s software industry. The first is technical barriers: in 2001, Openfind believed Chinese-language search offered a substantial barrier to competition, yet Google ultimately swept the global market. With zero marginal cost, software readily favors the biggest players. The second is complete solutions: large companies use acquisitions to assemble comprehensive offerings, making it hard for a small company’s superior standalone product to compete with an integrated suite. Robin argues that market scale matters most. Taiwan’s software industry once benefited from its position as a computer manufacturing powerhouse, with PC-cillin and CyberLink as examples. Its future requires reaching beyond Taiwan into large international markets.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7017146834964354/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7017146834964354/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-18. Robin recalls the Apple founding story in which Steve Jobs asked John Sculley whether he wanted to spend his life selling sugar water or join him in changing the world. Ever since, every entrepreneur has wanted to change the world. Robin’s personal suggestion is to start with something less grand: caring about yourself and the life around you. The following excerpt introduces anthropologist Biao Xiang’s ‘first 500 meters’: paying attention to nearby people and events, strengthening your most basic connection to the world, and developing your sensitivity to social life.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7578536792158686/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7578536792158686/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-13. An earlier Facebook post about Instagram’s founders felt familiar to Robin. Looking back at his previous posts, he found the same story in Reid Hoffman’s Masters of Scale, published in Chinese as 高成長思維, and recommends the book as a resource for entrepreneurs. He adds a point worth repeating: constraints are often the source of creativity and breakthroughs. When the resources available to a venture seem wholly inadequate, that may conceal another opportunity. He quotes architect Frank Lloyd Wright on humanity’s noblest building achievements emerging when limitations were greatest.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7606079126071119/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7606079126071119/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-20. At the time of the post, Japan had become the fifth country to land on the Moon. Robin recounts a conversation the previous day with two aerospace experts, using Taiwan’s automotive industry as an example. Its domestic market was too small to support a vehicle manufacturer at scale, but the process helped develop many globally competitive component suppliers. He sees a possible parallel in aerospace and satellites. Launching a Taiwan-made rocket into space might not prove cost-effective, yet developing several influential suppliers of critical components along the way would still be a benefit. The difficulty of the task is precisely why it is worth attempting: confronting difficult challenges can help us become better versions of ourselves.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8208438045835221/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8208438045835221/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-07. Watching Starship’s fourth flight, Robin finds the efficiency of Elon Musk and SpaceX astonishing. He writes that operating efficiency and cost problems at Boeing and Lockheed Martin allowed SpaceX to catch up and win NASA contracts, and that the two companies formed ULA in 2006 to pursue SpaceX. He asks whether humanity might return to the Moon in 2025. He also reflects on our good fortune in witnessing an era of remarkable entrepreneurs—Jobs, Gates, Bezos, Musk, Jensen Huang, Zuckerberg, and Page—with the torch of innovation and entrepreneurship continuing to pass from one to the next.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8244221815590177/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8244221815590177/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-06-14. Robin argues that investment failures are part of everyday life in venture capital. People often ask why prominent VCs invested in FTX. His personal experience is that missing a good investment can have a much greater impact than making a bad one. In a portfolio of ten equally weighted investments, one failed deal costs 10%; missing a winner could mean forgoing a 10–30x return, or potentially 100–1,000x in the United States. VC is not about maximizing the success rate. That creates intense fear of missing out and a willingness to pay relatively high prices. VCs trust that time favors good companies: Facebook’s shares halved shortly after its IPO, yet it ultimately reached a market capitalization of 1.3 trillion, as the post approximately describes it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8662833373729017/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8662833373729017/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-08-27. Robin believes that, beyond talent, capital, technology, management, and entrepreneurial spirit, Taiwan needs large alumni networks whose members branch out and support one another. He points to Silicon Valley’s PayPal Mafia and to Stan Shih’s founding of Acer in 1976, followed by the emergence of groups including Acer, ASUS, Wistron, Pegatron, Qisda, and AUO. He has yet to see a similar process in Taiwan’s software industry and hopes someone can turn a single tree into an entire forest. He also discusses the roles of Taipei Institute of Technology, ITRI, and universities such as Tsing Hua and Chiao Tung in industrial development, particularly semiconductors.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8712420108770343/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8712420108770343/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-04. Robin discusses the considerations in choosing a listing venue. Taiwan offers a low listing threshold—roughly NT$30–50 million in after-tax profit—low costs, reasonable liquidity, and convenient access to capital. He uses GGR as an example: reports put its pre-listing fundraising at US$334 million before its US listing in April 2022, followed more recently by a US$75 million private placement. That provided over US$400 million in two years for a cash-intensive business model. Robin is cautious about whether it could have raised over NT$10 billion by staying in Taiwan. At this stage, he sees Taiwan as suitable for pre-listing raises of NT$100 million–1 billion. For entrepreneurs, listing should support the next phase of growth rather than a rush to cash out.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8802867863058900/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8802867863058900/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-16. Robin argues that approving CTBC Financial’s tender offer for Shin Kong Financial could set off a wave of takeover battles in Taiwan’s financial industry. Larger groups Fubon and Cathay have deeper capital resources and tighter family ownership. If they followed the same approach, privately owned financial holding companies could face annual battles over management control and share ownership, with implications for financial stability. His other suggestion is that major shareholders of financial holding companies should keep increasing their ownership stakes. With excessively dispersed ownership, a company could become the next target in a wave of consolidation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8862791893733163/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8862791893733163/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-23. Quoting school principal Li Xigui’s observation that ‘specifics bring depth,’ Robin argues that how concretely founders describe problems and details affects investors’ interest. His supervisor often remarks that startup presentations explain the industry and overall direction fluently but become vague about operational details, leaving him uneasy about investing. The best VC investment has everything in place except the final catalyst: the team has worked through the pitfalls from MVP to product-market fit and needs capital to scale rather than continue finding its way. Robin emphasizes two capabilities for entrepreneurial success: acting quickly and observing problems concretely.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8872011639477855/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8872011639477855/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-24. Robin argues that you do not need to serve everyone. A solution clearly aimed at a particular audience, use case, and need can still become a large business. GoPro initially addressed surfers’ photography needs; DJI opened a huge market by shifting its focus from professional applications to photography enthusiasts. Customer positioning is one task; making a good product is another. Listening to a Chinese podcast about DJI’s Pocket series, Robin highlights the need for clear product positioning, market segmentation, and continual feature pruning and refinement.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8881630191849333/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8881630191849333/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-25. Robin revisits the branching process behind Taiwan’s electronics industry. San Ai Electronics led to groups such as Kinpo, Compal, Inventec, and Quanta; Acer led to Wistron, ASUS, Pegatron, Qisda, and AUO. Another process involves large companies helping smaller ones grow: TSMC has elevated equipment, materials, and other semiconductor suppliers, with doing business with TSMC demanding world-leading capabilities. Robin argues that Taiwan’s software industry lacks both processes. Institutions such as ITRI and Taipei Tech have also been important forces behind industrial development.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8918558251489860/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8918558251489860/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-29. Responding to an earlier report that only 18 of 120 National Taiwan University accounting graduates joined the Big Four, Robin encourages graduates of leading accounting programs to spend two to three years there. A career may last 45 years or longer. The first few years at a Big Four firm offer structured training, exposure to different audit accounts and financial statements each year, and responsibility for planning an audit team’s work by the third year. He sees this as a setting for rapid professional growth. He also emphasizes that skills in accounting, auditing, and analysis depend on individual effort, citing two corporate-group chairmen with accounting backgrounds.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9282480598430955/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9282480598430955/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-11-18. The post relays reported figures for Transsion Holdings: first-half 2024 revenue of RMB34.558 billion and net profit attributable to the parent of RMB2.852 billion, up 38.07% and 35.70% year over year, respectively. Lei Jun also said Xiaomi would increase its investment in Africa, where its second-quarter smartphone shipments grew 45% year over year and market share reached about 12%. Robin comments that Chinese manufacturers have long been expanding beyond developed markets into Africa and Latin America, where competition is also intensifying. He finds Transsion’s decision to take a different route into Africa while others fought over familiar markets both remarkable and inspiring.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9408786192467061/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9408786192467061/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-09. Responding to an investor’s discussion of MVPs, Robin recalls that the concept came from, or was popularized by, The Lean Startup. It emphasizes low costs, rapid trial and error, feedback, and iteration, and may suit software-related industries better than fields such as biotechnology. He also recalls Peter Thiel’s skepticism toward lean startup thinking. Robin personally sees it as an intuitive, accessible entrepreneurial method. Yet he notes a paradox: the easier a method is for everyone to apply, the less likely it may be to produce outliers—and great ventures are usually outliers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9651700818175596/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9651700818175596/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-22. The post opens with Luo Zhenyu’s observation that every era unfolds its own story while laying the groundwork for the next. Robin writes that capital in each era should do more than attend to the work immediately at hand: it should carry a larger mission and vision for opening a new era. VC practitioners can take on that sense of responsibility. Their work can serve the present and benefit generations to come. They should try to bring meaningful change to their time and the world, so that people looking back can see how pivotal choices and commitments helped create a better present.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24035117346074037/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24035117346074037/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-04-30. Robin believes Gogoro’s decision to list on Nasdaq through a SPAC was reasonable in the context of 2021–2022 and should not be judged by its subsequent share-price performance. Reports put the capital raised at US$344 million, roughly NT$11–11.5 billion. Gogoro is fundamentally a capital-intensive undertaking; in Taiwan, raising NT$1 billion in a single IPO already counts as a large deal. Robin relays a securities executive’s remarks at a seminar: Taiwan’s IPOs may be relatively small, but follow-on offerings are easy to carry out and liquidity is reasonable. SMEs can raise additional capital every two to three years, advancing through small, rapid steps. A good company may have the opportunity to grow more than twentyfold over twenty years.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24134696232782814/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24134696232782814/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-05-12. A conversation with a corporate VC professional in electronics leads Robin to reflect on the small scale of Taiwan’s software startups. He sees three challenges: appearing tiny alongside electronics companies with revenues in the tens or hundreds of billions, or even trillions; expanding effectively beyond Taiwan; and, crucially, increasing output per employee. He uses eLAND’s approximately 110 employees and roughly NT$1.66 million in revenue per employee as an illustrative comparison with the NT$4.63 million average employee salary announced by MediaTek in 2024. To attract excellent software engineers, AI companies need higher output per employee. He also includes the top ten average salaries for full-time non-management employees at listed companies in 2023, published by TWSE, with different years and measurement bases kept distinct.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24323580613894374/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24323580613894374/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-06-05. The post relays news that ChatGPT for Mac, for Team, Enterprise, and Edu users, added recording and cloud-drive integration. Starting a recording produces a live transcript that ChatGPT turns into summaries, key points, action items, and open questions. Unlike a recording bot that joins a meeting in tools such as Zoom or Notion, it listens through the device. Robin comments that application-layer AI startups must examine whether they are sufficiently differentiated. If the product is only a thin layer of added features, a technology giant could deliver the entire functionality in one update, perhaps better or more cheaply. Differentiation must be assessed from customers’ perspective: do they genuinely see a difference?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24812257795026651/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24812257795026651/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-08-04. Robin shares a lesson from interviewing startup teams. When he asks why something happened, answer A often describes an outcome rather than a cause. Do not settle for a surface-level answer. Ask why five times to uncover deeper causes, forcing yourself to think more deeply as well. Questioning can upgrade your thinking, moving you from not knowing what you do not know to recognizing those gaps. Many founders discover, through an investor’s follow-up questions, that they have never really considered a particular issue.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25412338535018571/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25412338535018571/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-10-11. Robin offers three considerations. First, are you creating something irreplaceable? If customers and the world are largely indifferent to whether you or your company exists, creating value is difficult. Second, can enough people, or even people around the world, use your products and services? Serving only a few hundred or thousand people nearby makes it hard to scale your impact. Third, the most direct measure is each employee’s contribution to output and profit. As an approximate illustration, he cites TSMC’s revenue contribution per employee of over 30 million and after-tax contribution of 12 million.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26040228458896239/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26040228458896239/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-19. Robin argues that Taiwan’s public budgets operate under comprehensive, complicated procedures. Civil servants prioritize protecting themselves from procedural flaws and may be constrained by the system even when they want to help startups. He believes great startups do not emerge simply by following every rule and process; rigorous, fair reviews tend to produce ordinary companies. Government can build an encouraging environment without intervening excessively. A subsidized unicorn is not necessarily globally competitive. In his view, at least half the people who encounter an exceptional company early on will wonder what it is doing. He illustrates this with a retelling of Paul Graham’s initial reaction to Airbnb.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26082046921381059/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26082046921381059/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-24. An excerpt relays Liu Run’s observation that ‘profit is compensation for prejudice.’ Latin America’s perceived disorder, distance, and poverty can instead be understood as high compliance costs, an uncontested market not yet caught in cutthroat competition, and a large gap between supply and demand. Tariffs should be considered within total costs rather than in isolation. Robin comments that entrepreneurs should choose troublesome problems. If a business or market looks easy, it probably offers little opening for you. More than a decade ago everyone wanted to go to China; seven or eight years ago it was Southeast Asia; today it is Japan. But Japan is not as far behind as people imagine: others are already doing what you have thought of, and even what you have not.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26182637327988684/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26182637327988684/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-06. Robin admires TSMC but sees its enormous market capitalization as a giant black hole drawing in Taiwan’s resources, especially increasingly scarce talent. The underlying question is how much value a company creates: can customers do without it, what would change if it disappeared, and is it irreplaceable? For a company to succeed, attracting talent is crucial. If TSMC offers pay above 3 million while a software startup’s output per employee is below that level, how can the startup compete for talent? Without the ability to attract first-rate people, how can it compete internationally?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26248571398061943/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26248571398061943/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-14. Robin describes a16z as the venture capital firm most adept at media promotion and grand narratives today. Earlier firms such as Sequoia and KPCB let entrepreneurs take the applause while remaining in the audience. With a16z, VCs also moved into the spotlight, publishing extensively to explain their view of opportunities and communicate the future to founders and the public. Its ‘software is eating the world’ narrative helped define that era. Robin mentions narrative economics in relation to Bitcoin and considers how grand narratives might connect more effectively with venture capital work in Taiwan.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26324966037089145/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26324966037089145/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-22. Robin lists applications for registration on the Emerging Stock Board: 83 in 2024, 81 in 2025, and 18 by January 22, 2026. He believes the 2026 total could exceed 100 and reach a record. In 2025, there were also 45 applications for exchange listing, including the Taiwan Innovation Board, and 44 for OTC listing. Securities firms have many deals but a severe shortage of advisory staff, making it harder for small companies to find a sponsor. The number of listed and emerging-stock companies has grown tenfold, yet capital increasingly concentrates in large technology stocks. Robin offers two suggestions: connect with the main market trends—find a way to make TSMC a customer—and keep increasing your scale.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26393160970269651/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26393160970269651/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-29. Robin uses ASPEED as an example. Its IPO offer price was NT$110, raising about NT$224 million at a listing market capitalization below NT$2.5 billion. Thirteen years later, its market value had reached NT$352 billion, meaning roughly 99% of its value was created after listing. He sees an IPO as a new starting point. Startups should not become trapped by valuation; choosing good partners and raising growth capital quickly can matter more. He recalls a statistic suggesting that US-listed companies’ pre-IPO valuations averaged less than 4% of their current value. His two lessons are to advance IPO planning promptly and avoid obsessing over every pre-IPO fundraising valuation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26732516263000785/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26732516263000785/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-06. Robin relays a sports analogy. Taiwan’s national-team players are excellent and hardworking, but results in international competition depend on their capabilities, not spectators’ enthusiasm. Applied to startups, he identifies three questions. Is the field one of Taiwan’s core strengths, given its population of only 23 million? Can a startup assemble a first-team lineup when large companies offer pay of 3–5 million and its own budget is only 1–2 million? And is the best Taiwanese team still among the best when compared internationally? Startup markets can be winner-take-all. Investors resemble spectators: their enthusiasm cannot determine the result.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26908653628720380/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26908653628720380/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-24. Robin believes a combined SpaceX–xAI listing is approaching, with ambitions for a trillion-dollar valuation. SpaceX reportedly has EBITDA of about US$8 billion. He subjectively assumes that depreciation, interest, taxes, and related items account for 60–80%, putting net income at about US$3 billion. With xAI still losing money, he expects the combination to be slightly profitable or slightly loss-making. To support a trillion-dollar market capitalization, he argues, Musk needs an even bigger narrative, including space-based computing centers and an enormous wafer-fab project. He also connects this with Tesla’s trillion-dollar compensation plan. Even assuming US$1 billion in earnings, the implied price-to-earnings ratio would exceed 1,000.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28078781108374287/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-28078781108374287/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-30. Listening to VK Technology Reading Time discuss Musk’s Idiot Index—the finished-product price divided by raw-material cost, with a higher ratio supposedly meaning greater stupidity—Robin gets the impression that Musk may not place much value on other people’s expertise. He compares this with Taiwanese business owners who complain that lawyers and accountants charge too much. He juxtaposes another story: an engineer charges 10,000 to fix a machine by drawing a chalk circle, itemizing the bill as 1 for drawing the circle and 9,999 for knowing where to draw it. Professional value comes from years of training, troubleshooting experience, and precise judgment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3965164633495938/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3965164633495938/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-16. Robin extends the discussion of the relationship between platforms and creators or influencers. A platform is more valuable if it can generate traffic of its own and direct it to creators. If creators bring all the traffic themselves, the platform’s value is mainly functional; it also has a weaker bargaining position, since creators can switch platforms at any time. He cites Facebook, Instagram, PTT, Dcard, MOMO, PChome, and Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump as platforms with their own traffic. Jump’s loyal readers attract submissions from emerging manga artists, setting a virtuous cycle in motion.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4894746337204425/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4894746337204425/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-25. Robin asks founders to explain their secret advantage and winning strategy, then answer a more concrete question: how much will they personally commit? Will they leave their job or put in their savings? Others are more likely to follow once the founder takes the plunge. The article refers to two approaches: a product far beyond every competitor’s, or a completely different form of innovative value that disrupts a market. Robin says he finds both claims hard to verify. One thing is easier to verify: whether the founder has gone all in first.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4934386099907115/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4934386099907115/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-06. Robin notes that traditional business education emphasizes focus, concentrated resources, simplicity, and doing one thing well. Yet extraordinary mavericks such as Musk and Branson have succeeded across very different industries. Such successes are exceedingly rare. For most founders, he still recommends returning to the textbook: keep things simple, concentrate resources, find a market gap, make a focused breakthrough, and do one thing well at a time. He also previews a discussion of how Branson identifies gaps, competes directly with giants, and manages Virgin Group across roughly 400 businesses.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-814575489913286/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-814575489913286/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-27. The excerpts trace private equity’s ‘vulture’ reputation to deals such as KKR’s acquisition of RJR Nabisco, then present counterarguments: acquisitions by competitors often cause more job losses; private-equity-backed companies perform better after returning to public markets than other newly listed firms; and their bankruptcy rates are comparable with those of other companies. Robin adds Taiwanese examples—Fusheng, Nien Made, and Primax—and recalls participating in Fusheng’s return to the public market. He closes by hoping for more responsible capital markets that pay greater attention to labor, the environment, social issues, and diverse values, and contribute to sustainability.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-822180249152810/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-822180249152810/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-08. Robin looks back to 2004–2005: offered a choice between Dangdang and JD.com, most investors would have chosen Dangdang. It was founded earlier, received US$11 million from Tiger, and became profitable early, but then slowed new investment. JD.com started later and expanded aggressively under Richard Liu, repeatedly encountering working-capital problems. By the time Dangdang went private in 2016, its market capitalization was only US$530 million; the gap with JD.com later exceeded a hundredfold. Robin’s conclusion is that a company’s greatest risk is refusing to take any risk, and its scale depends on its CEO’s vision and courage.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5803440769668306/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5803440769668306/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-10. Robin identifies five reasons large technology companies struggle to enter completely unfamiliar fields: they fail to see an opportunity, dismiss it, fail to understand it, and then run out of time; they cannot afford to lose, since public companies cannot tolerate falling revenue; new projects struggle to obtain internal resources; talented employees can move internally and rarely choose marginal projects; and the CEO’s attention is scarce. He uses Skype as an example: it challenged telecom giants with voice over Internet Protocol and a new business model, before Microsoft acquired it for US$8.5 billion.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-829971031707065/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-829971031707065/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-20. Robin reads Wang Zhiren (王志仁)’s article about how he would rescue PChome if he were Hung-Tze Jan, then quotes the closing passages of American venture capitalist Fred Wilson’s ‘Staying Positive’: leaders must bring optimism and positive energy, and focus on building and shipping. He notes that MOMO, backed by Fubon Financial and Taiwan Mobile, had roughly fifteen times PChome’s market capitalization and 2.5 times its revenue. Against a competitor on a different scale, strategy, tactics, and execution all need reexamination. Entrepreneurs must remain optimistic and keep exploring new problems and markets.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-438540971712429/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-438540971712429/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-10-03. Robin argues that if a product has been on the market for six months or a year without a positive response, it may solve a nice-to-have problem rather than a must-have one. A technical breakthrough that improves performance or reduces cost by only 10–20% can also meet a weak need: customers may prefer established partners with stronger relationships, distribution, and commercial terms. He argues that a benefit exceeding tenfold, demonstrable with real commercial data, can turn it into a must-have. He also cautions founders against prioritizing social contributions before understanding their business model. First establish the customer’s decision-making priorities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-465855428980983/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-465855428980983/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-07. Robin discusses Silicon Valley 101, S3E89, which looks at falling technology stocks from Wall Street investors’ perspective. At the time covered by the episode, Meta’s shares fell about 20% as it insisted on investing in the metaverse, while Intel’s rose about 10% after it announced capital-spending cuts. Robin makes two observations. Wall Street investors often look less than a year ahead, whereas venture capitalists look three to five years ahead. In a strong economy, Wall Street can think long term like VC; when conditions reverse, VC can become more like Wall Street, emphasizing profitability, free cash flow, and survival.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6427825383896505/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6427825383896505/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-25. The opening passage relays Naval’s view that direction matters more than speed: choosing the right direction at each fork matters far more than the effort spent moving forward. Robin adds that good choices test both long-term judgment and the ability to take risks. Would a Google employee have left for Facebook when it had fewer than 100 employees? Would a Facebook employee have joined Stripe when it had only a few dozen? Would you leave school to start a company? He uses these forks in the road to invite readers to examine their own choices.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6628357493843292/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6628357493843292/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-04-29. The opening excerpts discuss Paul Graham and the YC model: make something people want, an internal benchmark of 10% weekly growth, an emphasis on frugality, and the scale advantages of an alumni network. Robin adds that many Taiwanese startups feel they cannot expand without more funding. Founders should nevertheless calculate each stage’s capital needs carefully. Money arriving too easily can be the beginning of disaster; concentrating on using every dollar well is a key to success. He also cites Frank Lloyd Wright’s observation that humanity’s finest building achievements came when constraints were greatest.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6665478756797832/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6665478756797832/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-10. The opening excerpts relay Buffett’s and Munger’s advice to ordinary people: keep cash available, earn more than you spend, and invest in your earning power. Robin adds three reminders for founders. First, maintain cash reserves, which can help you outlast competitors in difficult periods. Second, earn more than you spend; seeking more investors otherwise brings mounting pressure. Third, invest in your own and your team’s ability to learn, grow, and earn, building a moat around the business. He also emphasizes that health matters most.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6691753357503705/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6691753357503705/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-05-17. The opening section presents nine suggestions from Master60’s summary of Burn the Boats, including trusting your intuition, turning anxiety into fuel, and embracing crises. Robin adds that the biggest challenges for university professors starting businesses are commitment and the option of retreating. Many want to stay at the university to retain resources and the value of their title. Yet entrepreneurship brings distractions and hesitation; cutting off retreat and committing fully may improve the chance of success. He illustrates this with Xiang Yu’s destruction of cooking pots and boats at the Battle of Julu.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6346256518720059/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6346256518720059/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-01. The opening section reprints a Liepin WeChat article about bosses making grand promises to employees and how employees can recognize and respond to them. Robin adds that early-stage investors also hear founders describe grand visions, missions, and ambitions every day. Investors need to do their own homework and test whether those dreams are feasible, rather than accepting only the founder’s account or rushing into a decision out of FOMO. Nor should they become so conservative that they miss opportunities: sometimes belief must come before seeing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6835774759768230/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6835774759768230/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-25. Robin observes that May and June are shareholder-meeting season, yet Taiwanese companies generally do not take the preparation of their operating reports—the counterpart to overseas shareholder letters—seriously enough. Leaders of great companies abroad value this annual opportunity to report directly to shareholders in writing. He argues that Taiwan still has a long way to go in corporate governance and can start by taking shareholder reporting more seriously. The closing excerpts describe good shareholder letters: treating readers as business partners, speaking candidly, and emphasizing long-term thinking.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6847635451915494/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6847635451915494/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-06-29. The opening excerpts from Touzi Yilei discuss working with larger trends, drawing on remarks attributed to Lei Jun, Zhang Ruimin, and Huang Mingduan (黃明端), and caution against glorifying a CEO’s individual capabilities. Robin adds a founder’s perspective. Investors assess industry size, but founders can begin with a small niche, concentrate resources, and aim to dominate a specific segment. They should choose something they love enough to spend ten or twenty years building. There can be tension between that passion and choosing a large market. His advice: be yourself, build for your ideals and dreams, and do not start a company merely to raise money or please investors.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6909621209050251/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6909621209050251/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-17. The opening excerpts describe Wang Xing setting benchmark targets for Meituan by looking to Taobao’s growth trajectory. They also relay a saying within Meituan: greater confidence in the future brings greater patience with the present. Robin adds that finding a benchmark company helps a startup position itself, much as sailors first locate the North Star when navigating at night. A benchmark makes it easier for investors and employees to imagine what the future could look like. Then comes the work of pursuing the dream practically, taking each step firmly and moving forward with conviction.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7014963155182722/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7014963155182722/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-17. Robin notes that family businesses add an emotional dimension to conventional management theory. Emotion can strengthen unity, as illustrated by the story of Japanese warlord Mori Motonari and his three arrows, yet it can also be central to a family business’s breakup. Citing the then-current Taishan family dispute, he calls emotion the hardest issue to resolve. The closing excerpts organize family conflict into four quadrants—emotional, material, structural, and external relationships—and define a family business as one in which the family is the largest single owner and usually holds more than 20% of the equity.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7011164592229245/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7011164592229245/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-16. The opening reprint from Wan Weigang describes entrepreneurs as people who create surprises. Robin contrasts two investment approaches. Some Silicon Valley investors deliberately seek ideas that sound outrageous and astonishing, pursuing power-law outcomes: one investment out of a hundred succeeds, the other ninety-nine fail, but the winner returns 10,000 times the investment. He adds that there may not be many such investors. Most Taiwanese investors, by contrast, examine feasibility and prospects carefully, point by point. Yet when everything can be calculated clearly and no fog remains, the truly extraordinary, enduring investments often stay out of reach.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7107006255978411/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7107006255978411/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-12. The opening excerpts describe entrepreneurship as a combination of passion and ability. Founders who began at the same starting line and spent fifteen to twenty years doing one thing well may already have taken their companies public; those who chase a new trend every few years may never build anything substantial. Over the long term, founder and business are closely connected. Robin compares building a company with growing a tree: a seedling does not become a towering tree in three or five years. It takes time, patience, and staying rooted. To persist for twenty years, you must love the work—and only you truly know whether you are the right person for it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7179701575375545/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7179701575375545/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-01. As the fourth quarter of 2023 begins, Robin suggests reviewing the decisions and actions of the first three quarters. Were they coherent, consistent, and directed toward an established destination, or was each day a series of improvised responses? If events, problems, and new customers arrive entirely at random, he argues, strategy and goal-setting are probably at fault. The closing excerpts from Ning Xiangdong explain that strategy must express a goal and a direction, so that actions remain coherent and team members work in coordination.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7279562335389468/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7279562335389468/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-10-25. Robin recounts turning points in Morris Chang’s life: not being admitted to MIT’s doctoral program, moving to Stanford for a doctorate in electrical engineering, becoming a senior executive at Texas Instruments, then leaving after a missed promotion and disagreement over the foundry idea. Later, Sun Yun-suan invited him to lead Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, and he founded TSMC at 56. Robin’s point is that if any link in that chain had been different, today’s TSMC might not exist. A succession of apparent setbacks helped create the figure known as the godfather of semiconductors.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7357686817577019/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7357686817577019/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-14. The opening excerpts from 36 Rules for Entrepreneurs (a descriptive translation of 創業36條軍規) discuss developing managers: founders should personally set hiring standards and oversee selection, promote from the front line, avoid blind faith in outside experts, and maintain clear rewards and consequences. Robin adds that founders should invest time in selecting people because they best understand the team’s needs at its current stage. Managers who have worked their way up from the front line tend to have stronger bonds and commitment. Do not assume outsiders are always better: the most suitable people may already be nearby. Beyond the founder, VCs look for a solid team with strong execution capabilities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7386138918065142/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7386138918065142/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-22. The opening excerpts describe foresight as the habit of looking ahead and preparing a Plan B for everything. Robin adds that Plan B is neither retreat nor surrender, but the operational flexibility needed to respond to change. Many founders have only one solution and rely on fundraising whenever problems arise. Yet fundraising itself is often the biggest problem. He has seen a company rely entirely on raising money, fail to do so, and enter dissolution and liquidation. In his view, preparing alternatives is also a measure of management capability.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7397269186952115/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7397269186952115/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-25. The opening transcription from 科技早知道 discusses OpenAI’s GPT Store and related initiatives. If OpenAI builds every platform layer itself, it may reduce the space available to startups built on its technology. Robin’s personal impression is that the pursuit of technical breakthroughs and commercialization has taken OpenAI further from its founding intentions. Beyond the CEO’s direction, a company needs counterbalancing forces, especially when AI may materially affect society and human safety. A closed ecosystem that tries to do everything leaves less room for entrepreneurs within it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7449999315012435/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7449999315012435/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-12-09. The opening excerpts urge startups to be extremely cautious about bringing in strategic investors, especially when their related businesses overlap with the startup’s core business. Robin adds that a large corporate investor offers reputation, money, and apparent resources, but those resources may not actually be available. Each business unit has its own profit targets. A startup may also be labeled as having chosen sides, end up serving the group’s strategy, or face intervention in its management. He recommends a mix of strategic and financial investors to create balance and preserve room for the startup.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7543961422282890/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7543961422282890/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-03. Robin imagines opening a restaurant to outdo the one next door by offering an enormous menu. More than 90% of the dishes go unordered, while even the few specialties may not be done well. Startup teams can fall into the same trap, trying to make an all-encompassing product that becomes a jumble with no competitive strength in any one area. Slow performance and a poor user experience then drive users away. He argues that good product development depends much more on subtraction: clearly identifying and retaining the functions users need most urgently.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7793493367329693/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7793493367329693/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-06. Robin notes that TSMC’s market capitalization was about 18.93 trillion, versus 6.18 trillion for 815 Taipei Exchange-listed companies combined—roughly three times as much. One company represented about 30% of exchange market value. He sees a power-law pattern, citing an early YC observation that its top investment returned more than investments two through two hundred combined. He outlines two views: diversify to reduce overconcentration and ‘Dutch disease,’ or focus scarce talent and resources on one globally competitive strength. He favors focus but worries about a generational technological shift making semiconductors suddenly less important, drawing an analogy with artificially produced spice in Dune.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7860936167252079/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7860936167252079/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-23. Robin argues that Taiwan’s digital and software startups lack a process of branching out. PayPal has generated a large network of startups and investments, potentially spanning thousands of companies and dozens or hundreds of unicorns. Taiwan’s hardware sector has similar networks: Acer gave rise to BenQ, Wistron, ASUS, and others, while ITRI generated many listed companies. Yet Trend Micro, founded in 1988, remains Taiwan’s most influential software company without producing a comparable cluster. 91APP and Appier, described here as having listed only four or five years earlier, have not yet generated enough surrounding startups. Taiwan needs companies or accelerators such as PayPal, Palantir, or YC that continually give rise to new ventures.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8818647571480929/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8818647571480929/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-18. Robin argues that output per employee is central to pay differences: Taiwan’s technology sector generates much more per person than its service industries. Recalling his first job at an accounting firm, he notes that Taiwanese auditors faced additional regulatory work and documentation. An audit requiring three people abroad might take five or six in Taiwan, while clients resisted higher fees. He cites output per employee of roughly 10–20 million in export manufacturing, over 30 million at TSMC, and around 1 million in domestic services. Comparing starting compensation for TSMC engineers with a senior executive’s pay at a state-owned bank, he emphasizes the difference between serving global markets and serving only Taiwan.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8826342117378141/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8826342117378141/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-19. Robin responds to the debate over ‘founder mode.’ A founder’s management capacity is finite. As an organization grows to hundreds or thousands, layers of managers each communicating only with the few dozen people below them can soon disconnect the founder from markets, customers, and the organization itself. He cites Steve Jobs’s annual skip-level meetings with one hundred key people from across the company—not the one hundred most senior. Direct contact across levels helps founders understand frontline conditions, communicate their thinking, and selectively engage in detailed management.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8835343606477992/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8835343606477992/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-20. Robin argues that strong vertical integration can create major competitive advantages but also tightly links every stage: one lagging element can affect the entire company. He uses Intel’s then-current restructuring debate as an example. Intel’s semiconductor dominance came from both IC design and wafer manufacturing; its decline reflects those capabilities no longer working together well enough. Managers may assume that a longer operating chain offers more profit opportunities. Yet one troubled link can stall the chain, hurting competitiveness, profits, and cash flow.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8844237532255266/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8844237532255266/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-21. Robin recalls Intel’s US$300 billion market capitalization in 2000—six times TSMC’s and sixty times NVIDIA’s—versus roughly one-eighth of TSMC’s and less than one-thirtieth of NVIDIA’s at the time of writing. Seeking cash, Intel was considering selling Altera, acquired for US$16.7 billion in 2015. He reviews three CEOs: Krzanich’s rejection of first-generation ASML EUV and repeated 10-nanometer delays; Swan’s missed OpenAI investment and attempt to work with TSMC despite internal opposition; and Gelsinger’s IDM 2.0 and major factory expansion. He highlights vertical-integration risks while noting Intel’s design strength and US government support.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8949249771754041/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8949249771754041/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-02. The opening excerpts from Wu Jun warn against abandoning your strengths to chase trends. They cite Buffett on keeping well-performing holdings and Eric Schmidt on reinvesting in a rapidly growing core business. Robin adds that Taiwanese startups often rush to open second and third fronts before securing the first. They may still be overtaken or replaced. If the first market offers substantial room and the startup’s share remains low, establish a firm footing before taking another step.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9076681145677569/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9076681145677569/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-18. Robin argues that cash-flow management matters to every company. Large businesses cutting staff after overhiring before the pandemic are considering cash flow as well as focus and efficiency. For startups, running out of cash often means the end. But managing cash does not mean refusing to spend. Sometimes frugality is essential; sometimes a rare market opening requires expansion or even a calculated gamble. A startup that plays only safe cards is unlikely to overtake incumbents. Founders need exceptional insight and judgment about timing—to create miracles rather than wait for them.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9322208237791524/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9322208237791524/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-11-23. After seeing a Taiwanese startup group discuss the value of exhibiting at Meet Taipei, Robin describes it as a startup carnival that offers visibility in the Asia-Pacific region and a stage for new companies. It can also encourage public and government support for entrepreneurship. He suggests established, larger startups can leave places for ventures only one or two years old. Exhibitors should talk with investors, report progress, seek integration opportunities, and visit overseas startups’ booths. After eleven editions, the event itself should also seek new directions and continue influencing policy and resource allocation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9338476762831338/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9338476762831338/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-11-26. Robin sees different investment expectations as a matter of stage. A team still building an MVP and seeking product-market fit will naturally be losing money and needs investors willing to take early-stage risks. After PMF, investors want more numbers and evidence. The critical question is whether the team has found a business model capable of profitability. Expanding staff and replicating at scale before doing so often hastens failure. A Taiwanese team pushed overseas by fundraising narratives or investors before validating its model at home may burn money in both markets without clear results.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9902373599774982/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9902373599774982/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-03-05. Robin offers eleven startup-mentoring observations. A need ranked thirteenth by customers is a nice-to-have, even if they acknowledge it exists; investors prefer must-haves. Before committing resources, conduct open-ended interviews with thirty target users, one-on-one for two hours each. Test willingness to pay: actual customer payments are the strongest signal. Treat free pilots cautiously, since passing a trial does not guarantee payment. Recycling ventures need full cost-benefit analysis because customers may not pay higher costs. Avoid projects requiring expensive market education where possible. Interview before building even an MVP, and heavily discount stated willingness to pay.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-10091732290839111/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-10091732290839111/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-04-04. Robin attributes Taiwan’s strong recent economic performance largely to US–China rivalry and US efforts to move away from Chinese supply chains. Taiwan filled the gap in semiconductors, ICT products, and servers, increasing exports to the United States and its trade surplus. But a US tariff calculation based on the trade-deficit ratio turned that advantage into a disadvantage, producing a higher rate than Japan’s or South Korea’s under the same formula. He sees even greater pressure on traditional industries that already lacked strong global competitiveness and now faced the additional tariff blow.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-23868028382782935/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-23868028382782935/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-04-06. Robin and his supervisor asked several startups about preparing for the Taiwan Innovation Board and received cautious responses, largely reflecting doubts about their appeal after listing. He argues that this is precisely the critical moment to plan how to survive a funding winter. Rising global uncertainty will make fundraising harder. He offers four suggestions: customer revenue is preferable to shareholder funding; prepare rather than expecting fundraising to solve everything; create a fresh financing plan investors can believe in; and develop a capital-market plan to improve the ability to endure.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-23881105221475251/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-23881105221475251/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-04-08. Robin briefly reviews the dot-com crash: NASDAQ peaked at 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000, and fell to 1,114.11 on October 9, 2002, a decline of roughly 78% over two and a half years. He says 95% of internet companies failed to survive that cycle, while survivors such as Amazon and Google had opportunities to become giants. He asks readers to assess their own resilience: could they last two years, tolerate a 70% unrealized investment loss, and cope with layoffs or mortgage pressures?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24025174840401621/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24025174840401621/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-04-29. On the day of a Taiwan Innovation Board forum, Robin considers the share-price performance and listing choices of Taiwanese NASDAQ-listed startups GGR and TNMG. A US listing brings challenges in attracting investors, higher listing and ongoing costs, and regulation. He personally suggests that only a sufficiently large venture addressing a substantial regional market, with a top-three position and strong growth, should challenge the US market. Others can use Taiwan’s capital markets. He contrasts the smallest Taipei Exchange-listed companies and relays a senior colleague’s estimate that maintaining a US listing costs at least an additional US$2–4 million annually.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24203277922591311/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24203277922591311/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-05-20. The opening audio-book summary describes TSMC targeting European and US markets from its first day and growing with customers such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, NVIDIA, Apple, and AMD. Robin adds that earning customers’ trust requires doing certain things better than they can themselves. Only then will they share key technologies and develop the next generation together. TSMC’s achievement, he argues, comes from moving alongside a group of world-leading companies, rather than developing in isolation and assuming it can beat everyone upon emerging.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24367875552798213/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24367875552798213/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-06-11. The opening news account describes TWSE and the venture capital association encouraging venture firms and their portfolio companies to enter capital markets, including the Taiwan Innovation Board. Robin relays the association chairman’s hope that ten listed venture firms of 3–5 billion each could provide 30–50 billion for sustained early- and mid-stage investment in Taiwan. The latter amount would be less than roughly 0.02% of national wealth, yet could support transformation and upgrading. Although VC is a small alternative-investment category, he notes its backing behind many of the largest US companies.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24745935954992169/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24745935954992169/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-07-27. The opening passage relays Rework’s view that a single employee mistake should not trigger an elaborate new policy: tell the employee it was wrong and move on. Drawing on underwriting experience, Robin notes how incidents generate rules and supplementary guidance that accumulate over time. Systems are rarely reviewed or reduced. Measures that appear to prevent misconduct can instead create bureaucracy, lost flexibility, and slow action. He cites public-sector processes designed to spread responsibility, producing paperwork and overtime but relatively little value.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25218758361043257/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25218758361043257/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-21. The opening reprint asks founders to consider three questions before approaching investors: why did this happen, what solutions are available, and which is best and why? Robin adds that investors do not want to hear only when a crisis is already urgent. Thinking through the problem and options first makes a better impression. Raising more money should not be the sole answer, nor does relying on investors’ money help founders develop. Ideally, portfolio-company discussions concern the pleasant challenges of growing too fast, receiving acquisition offers, or choosing among listing invitations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25903840189201734/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25903840189201734/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-03. The opening audio summary of 馬斯克邏輯 contrasts Errol Musk with his son: similar personalities did not produce similar achievements, reflecting differences in timing and environment. Robin adds that Taiwan has its own entrepreneurial setting, positioned between the United States and China, near Japan and rapidly growing Southeast Asia. People who grew up in Taiwan and choose to start companies there should consider how to use its geographical advantages and resources.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25912334041685682/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25912334041685682/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-04. While researching the IP industry, Robin notes Pop Mart’s market capitalization of around HK$285.5 billion, approximately NT$1.15 trillion—comparable to Quanta and above ASE, Chunghwa Telecom, and Cathay Financial. Its P/E is about 38, falling to an estimated 26–32 if growth is factored in. He leaves readers to judge the valuation but stresses that it makes real profits. He contrasts prestigious academic credentials with the achievements of Hon Hai’s Terry Gou and Pop Mart’s Wang Ning. Not yet forty, Wang was reportedly worth roughly US$20 billion and described as Henan’s richest person.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26097267566525661/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26097267566525661/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-12-26. Robin reviews Taiwan’s projected 2025 GDP growth of 7.41% and export growth around 32%, while traditional manufacturing, machining, and machine tools remain under tariff pressure. Since 2017, US–China rivalry, the pandemic, and AI have successively benefited Taiwan’s supply chain. Electronics, AI, and semiconductors gain directly; finance gains indirectly; many other people feel little benefit while prices and housing rise. He offers a personal view that rising housing costs keep well-paid technology workers striving, using ASPEED employees as an example. Academia Sinica’s 2026 growth forecast is lower at 3.7%, with much depending on continued AI demand.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26160472653538485/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26160472653538485/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-03. Robin refers to past fundraising scandals such as Hongyuan and explains his view that only designated institutions under specified legal frameworks may raise funds from the general public. He believes most countries have comparable rules. Banks, insurers, and public companies have laws and supervisors intended to protect depositors, policyholders, and retail investors. Not everyone may simply collect public funds; small fraudulent or pyramid schemes should face stricter oversight. Taiwan’s startups have many other financing channels, including angels, VC, CVC, incubators, and accelerators that can refine business models and connect founders with appropriate investors.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26331954193056996/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26331954193056996/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-23. Robin’s supervisor asks how many companies with successful recent listings previously pitched at startup matchmaking events. Robin observes that earlier Taiwanese entrepreneurs often grew by solving customers’ practical problems: air-conditioning graduates moved into cleanrooms and semiconductor facilities, while engineers from major electronics firms and ITRI founded businesses after learning market needs. He calls for closer links between entrepreneurship, Taiwan’s core strengths, and its capital markets. A resource-limited island should focus on advantages rather than seek gold medals in every event. Ventures beginning overseas are different. For Taiwanese founders raising abroad, semiconductor work with TSMC may attract more interest than software platforms serving only Taiwanese customers.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26379670398285375/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26379670398285375/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-28. The opening reprint discusses young workers choosing stability over promises: 61.5% earn only enough for expenses, 13.2% feel financially comfortable, and 54% primarily want to keep their jobs. Leaders need to provide security. Robin adds that everything has an opportunity cost. Founders must produce results to attract and reward talent, not rely on visions alone. How different might an excellent employee’s wealth be after ten years at the startup versus TSMC? Investors’ capital also has an opportunity cost and needs sufficient returns to compensate for early-stage risk.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26939467572305652/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26939467572305652/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-27. The opening audio-summary excerpts argue that performance is often weakest in the year after fundraising, as attention shifts from doing the work to proving the company deserves the money. Robin adds that pursuing an excessive valuation, raising capital, then failing to deliver expected results pushes a team toward a cliff. Startups do not always starve; many overfeed themselves. Immediate hiring and advertising expansion can raise expenses before the organization, product, user experience, and sales are ready. Faster cash burn then makes the next funding round a harsh test.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27145139895071751/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27145139895071751/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-04-15. Robin agrees with Jian (簡老師)’s view that a venture developing in Taiwan should connect with Taiwan’s core strengths and stand on giants’ shoulders. He relays a senior VC colleague’s question: if an AI inquiry reports iCHEF revenue above 400 million, a return to profitability, and a one-billion acquisition by 91APP, does that anchor the ceiling for Taiwanese software startups at around one billion? For investors with limited capital, the question is where the highest potential return multiples can be created.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27715001524752249/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27715001524752249/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-01. Robin argues that entrepreneurship is not an exam. A tutor can summarize material and teach test-taking techniques, but a few startup classes or advisers cannot substitute for learning through practice. The middle reprint describes success stories as rough frameworks and urges founders to find their own path rather than copy appearances, using restaurant brands as examples. Robin concludes that even Jack Ma or Pony Ma could not reproduce Alibaba or Tencent in a different time and setting. Details change, and some teachers and advisers have no actual entrepreneurial experience.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27921414680777598/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27921414680777598/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-17. The opening reprint from Sam Altman argues that successful people have usually made at least one correct prediction others thought wrong. Self-belief needs self-awareness: hear criticism on the initial assumption that it is true. Robin adds that founders are often confident and optimistic. As a VC, he frequently tells them that his views are personal, and that if theirs differ, they should not let him override their judgment. Many VCs remain open to learning. Founders likewise need humility, respect for uncertainty, and openness, because entrepreneurship contains so many pitfalls they do not know they do not know.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6411843952161315/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6411843952161315/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-02-21. Robin observes business owners bombarded with claims that AI and digital transformation are essential for survival. Hearing AI discussed everywhere, they return anxious and announce adoption with only the vague aim of reducing costs and improving efficiency. Without understanding why, they soon confront data preparation, process changes, changing behavior, and disappointing benefits, then retreat. Leaders must understand their company’s problems and define the scope and boundaries clearly. If they cannot explain what they need, internal teams, advisers, and startups struggle to deliver.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6505485139463862/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6505485139463862/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-21. The opening passage relays views from Chen Zhiwu and Peter Thiel on venture capital’s role. Robin adds four observations: only around 1–2% of US startups receive VC, comparable to Taiwan and perhaps lower; VC is an alternative asset representing a tiny share of total financial assets, possibly below 0.1%; that capital nevertheless drives entrepreneurship, technological change, and economic transformation; and Taiwan’s large businesses, financial institutions, family offices, and wealthy individuals could allocate 1–2% of assets to early-stage and venture investment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6533731329972576/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6533731329972576/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-03-30. Robin argues that a startup building at the application layer—on a technology giant’s platform—may lack strong barriers and differentiation. A better way to win is exceptional product quality and user experience. A competent team can produce a 60-point product, but a giant can casually do the same; matching it means losing. Differences emerge between 60 and 80, while winning truly requires 90 to 100, with each additional half-point to point extremely difficult. Use your product and competitors’ products as a user would, examining differences throughout the workflow and whether they actually solve users’ problems.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6854419994570373/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-6854419994570373/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-01. After Apple announced Vision Pro, Robin considered the options for small startups around the world that had spent years developing a single technology, such as eye tracking or gesture recognition. Startups with outstanding, clearly leading technology could become acquisition targets. Strong technology, a comprehensive patent portfolio, and a capable team could also attract a buyer seeking next-generation development talent. Others with ordinary technology but valuable patents could sell those while they still had value. Most laggards would gradually disappear. Headset makers lacking a developer ecosystem or price advantage against Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro would, he expected, mostly exit.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7571684339510598/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7571684339510598/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-11. Robin discusses choosing between venture capital and corporate venture capital. Beyond the familiar concern of being labeled or forced to take sides, a large company has its own interests and long-term business considerations. He cites Alphabet’s investments in both Uber and Lyft, alongside litigation between Waymo and Uber, as an example of a delicate relationship. CVC seeks business synergies and explores deep integration, potentially exposing almost everything about a startup to a large company and creating new risks. Investment always involves trade-offs; keeping the relationship simpler is also a choice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7953317174680644/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7953317174680644/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-04-14. Asked in a community discussion about the most unusual corporate investment he had heard of, Robin named South Africa’s MIH investment in Tencent. He describes MIH acquiring 45.5% from PCCW, IDG, and Tencent’s founders for around US$32 million in the internet downturn of 2001–2002, becoming its largest single shareholder before its stake declined. With Tencent’s peak market capitalization around US$500 billion, he calculates roughly US$100 billion in gains from that investment. He regards it as perhaps the greatest VC or CVC transaction in history.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8477425835603106/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8477425835603106/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-07-27. Robin urges platform founders to distinguish traffic brought by influencers, key opinion leaders, or teachers from traffic created by the platform. A star’s traffic can disappear as quickly as it arrives. He compares this with artist-management relationships: recording companies may continue selling recordings through their copyrights, while management contracts simply end. One early-stage approach is to offer favorable terms to attract top stars, quickly build the platform’s name, then distribute traffic to second- and third-tier creators and newcomers. Distinctiveness and a moat can create a platform flywheel. Without its own brand-driven traffic, a platform can be dominated by stars who move between platforms for better terms.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8590711754274513/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8590711754274513/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-08-15. The opening story about sociologist Corey Keyes illustrates how environment shapes people. Robin argues that Taiwan’s best may rank only in the middle in Asia and need enormous effort to keep up globally. He compares moving from Taiwan’s professional baseball league to Japan and Major League Baseball, and describes a software team of over 200 facing global competition despite leading Taiwan. Some ventures, such as semiconductors, can start in Taiwan because it has world-leading talent, customers, and technology. In fields where Taiwan has little global presence, founders should carefully consider targeting the world or their main market from the outset.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9220777661267916/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9220777661267916/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-11-09. Continuing his discussion of challenging industry consensus, Robin argues that the next technology giant will necessarily do things differently from today’s giants. To win, you cannot follow the existing winners’ rules; within their rules, you will always lose. Rather than hoping to do better, create something different. The world may not need a second Microsoft or Google, but many areas still need innovation and breakthroughs.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9431616523517361/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9431616523517361/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-13. Robin notes that most people were skeptical when Lei Jun announced Xiaomi would make cars, yet the SU7 sold over 120,000 in its first year. What impresses him most is Lei’s ability to catch up after entering late. Dozens of phone makers preceded Xiaomi, and electric vehicles also appeared to be a crowded market, but the team’s exceptional execution let it catch up. Other lessons—changing one’s thinking, setting aside pride, and learning from competitors—are offered for reference.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24204702079115562/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24204702079115562/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-05-20. Robin argues that semiconductors are Taiwan’s top priority and have put it in the global spotlight through choices about positioning, trade-offs, focus, and business models. With only 23 million people, Taiwan cannot do everything or win everywhere. China focuses resources on Olympic strengths such as diving and table tennis; South Korea knows its strengths in shooting and archery. Taiwan’s greater bottleneck is talent rather than capital. With fewer than 130,000 births a year, even if all those children entered semiconductor-related industries after graduating from college twenty years later, they might still not meet demand.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25093874280198333/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25093874280198333/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-06. Robin responds to the new digital affairs minister’s call for software companies to build products rather than take project work. Owning a product is preferable, but practical constraints matter. Trend Micro, founded in 1988, remains Taiwan’s most successful software company in his account, supported by Taiwan’s position as a computer-production powerhouse at the time. Semiconductors generate exceptional output, profits, and pay per employee and reach the world through supply-chain positions. Software lacks that structure and must actively reach global customers. Electronics companies have repeatedly spawned new ventures; software has yet to produce a similarly influential major company.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25094759000109861/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25094759000109861/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-06. Robin counts 2,243 companies on Taiwan’s main board, Taipei Exchange, and Emerging Stock Board as of August 31, 2025: 1,032, 855, and 356 respectively. That is roughly one for every 10,404 residents, potentially falling to one per 10,000 by year-end. He argues that becoming a Taipei Exchange-listed company is increasingly attainable: annual after-tax net profit of 30–50 million is around the middle range. The harder challenge is attracting sustained investor attention and investment after listing, with over 2,000 companies to choose from and alternatives including US stocks and cryptocurrencies.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-e5c852a363acee87/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-e5c852a363acee87/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-07. Using TNL Mediagene in October 2026, Robin questions the strategic direction of a Taiwan–Japan media group that merged, listed in the United States, and then agreed to sell its Japanese business. He compares its market capitalization, the transaction consideration, and DIGITIMES’ valuation, but the dates, exchange rates, and share-count bases have not been reconciled. The announced US$5.5 million is conditional total consideration including cash, debt treatment, and a note—not an immediate cash receipt of that amount. At announcement, the agreement still awaited closing. This article preserves the questions raised then, without drawing conclusions about valuation gaps or the future headquarters.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2c9b646c525912b7/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2c9b646c525912b7/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-07. This reprinted article on forward-deployed engineering discusses how B2B startups choose reference customers. Such customers provide revenue and peer endorsement, while field experience shapes product direction. Well-funded requests that build no reusable capabilities can consume the entire team. Robin adds that knowing which projects and customers to decline matters as much as knowing what to pursue. The Harvey and Palantir examples are relayed from the article and were not individually verified in this review. Their figures should not be read as achievements independently confirmed by this site.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-e53b67bedb95aaee/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-e53b67bedb95aaee/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-09. In this short commentary, Robin considers Taiwan’s place in global industry. He links its manufacturing strengths with an education system emphasizing standardization. Rather than trying to become another Silicon Valley, he argues that Taiwan should build industrial capabilities Silicon Valley cannot do without. This is an industrial-positioning view, not causal research connecting education and manufacturing strength or a guarantee of future competitiveness.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-5a3ba2afe0ab185f/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-5a3ba2afe0ab185f/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This summary of Dedao’s audio discussion of 精進 considers activities through immediate benefits and how long those benefits last. It recommends allocating more time to learning and skills that accumulate over time rather than only immediate pleasure. Robin echoes this: choose things that accumulate, build on one another, and bring continued progress. The ‘benefit half-life’ is a thinking metaphor, not a scientific model that directly measures personal value. Games, entertainment, and reading cannot be judged solely by their labels.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a02d23e18b0514f4/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a02d23e18b0514f4/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This summary of Dedao’s discussion of 精進 warns against preparing forever without finishing. A minimal product need not be a complete company or complex software; it can be a structured account of experience that others can use. Deliver something first, then improve it through feedback. Robin adds: learn and adjust by doing, rather than making unreadiness an excuse. The Thiel program described uses its early under-20 design; later rules differ, as explained in the source note. This is not encouragement to leave college and start a company without assessing the risks.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6f74dde2298bd2b3/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6f74dde2298bd2b3/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This summary of Dedao’s discussion of 精進 starts with concise writing and the thinking it demands, then offers tables, lists, and deliberately introduced differences to break fixed problem structures. Robin uses the catfish effect as a metaphor: some conflict and new stimulation may disrupt organizational complacency. This does not mean more conflict is always better. No reliable historical evidence for the story of catfish keeping sardines alive was found in the review; it remains an unverified fable. The book edition and Jobs’s office example also await verification.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-bd8f1c47ac9ee7cd/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-bd8f1c47ac9ee7cd/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This summary of Dedao’s discussion of 精進 argues that effort needs focus, resource allocation, and strategy as well as willpower. Barrel and learning-stage metaphors distinguish individual from team development and warn against staying perpetually at the starting stage in different fields. Robin distinguishes the two: organizations and production processes should identify and clear bottlenecks, while individuals entering working life need one or two outstanding strengths rather than being average at everything. This is a framework, not a law that every team’s performance is determined by its weakest member.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-5a782c957c35feb2/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-5a782c957c35feb2/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This concluding piece in Dedao’s 精進 series treats success as a personal path that cannot be copied, revisiting time, choices, action, learning, thinking tools, and focus. It encourages continual improvement to build distinctive abilities while recognizing the cost. Robin humorously opts to remain a happy ordinary person and offers the material to those who want to become more capable. These are not success rules he promises to follow. The piece sits between management methods and personal values and was submitted for a decision on inclusion.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-63b6ad423f674dc5/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-63b6ad423f674dc5/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This summary of Dedao’s discussion of 精進 considers decision standards and the limits of knowledge, then offers three tools: deferring goals, transferring skills, and making work more like a game. Its Stanford six-year lifelong-learning example needs qualification. Stanford’s official retrospective describes Stanford 2025 as a future-oriented thought experiment proposed in 2014, not an implemented academic system introduced in 2015. The original account is retained, with a separate source note explaining the difference. There is no additional commentary by Robin.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b1d068bbaa2243a0/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b1d068bbaa2243a0/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-10. This summary of Dedao’s discussion of 精進 distinguishes hoarding information, understanding words, and actively decoding ideas. Ask what the author claims, why, where it applies, how it can be challenged, and whether it transfers elsewhere. Robin treats reading as a continuing conversation with the author, not wholesale acceptance. He also suggests assigning AI different roles to challenge, defend, and supplement an argument, helping reveal blind spots. This is a thinking exercise: it cannot guarantee that AI perspectives are independent or replace source checking and human judgment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-1ea8b256dfd538dd/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-1ea8b256dfd538dd/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-13. A reprinted article on AI-powered one-person companies, followed by Robin’s brief commentary; the original author is not identified. Before starting, recognize the gap between observing and doing, and the reality of not yet knowing how to run a company. Three layers matter: distinguish resources supplied by an organization from personal capabilities; build a working business system from positioning through customer relationships; and use AI as a long-term collaborator that amplifies judgment and capacity. AI helps only when you enter the market and improve your judgment through experience. Robin favors leaner teams and more careful hiring.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7b057792df5a440a/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7b057792df5a440a/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-14. These Dedao management notes discuss four of Fredmund Malik’s tools. Reduce meeting frequency; prepare, follow up, and stay focused on the agenda. Reports should make writers think, rather than substitute breadth of information for depth of thought. Job descriptions and delegation should keep the best people focused on the most important work, including in self-management. Systematic organizational cleanup asks which activities you would not start today if they had not already begun. Set aside a day each year to remove obsolete work and list what to stop next year. The central idea is that focus is the essence of execution.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-95ebb7941ebcc80b/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-95ebb7941ebcc80b/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-14. These notes tagged 未來回推法 describe leaders’ need to manage today while looking further ahead. Three horizons cover optimizing the core business, cultivating new growth opportunities, and working backward from a vision five to ten years ahead to today’s strategy. The central proposition is that the future is designed rather than predicted, and strategy reshapes the future rather than merely extending the present. Robin adds: begin with the end in mind, but take each present step well.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-47f8fd43e425bc75/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-47f8fd43e425bc75/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-14. This second recommendation foreword to 未來回推法, whose author is not identified, contrasts projecting forward from today with working backward from the future. The former supports daily stability, the latter strategic breakthroughs; both are necessary. It presents future-back thinking as a trainable organizational practice: co-create a future picture across departments, break it into staged tasks, and establish regular foresight mechanisms to counter short-termism. With AI and supply chains changing, founders and corporate investors need to balance survival pressure with long-term positioning.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-738b7a12b613e66f/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-738b7a12b613e66f/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-15. The translator’s foreword to 未來回推法 argues that optimizing the present cannot guarantee future success: past strengths can become constraints. Leaders should imagine changes in their industry and organization five to ten years ahead, then work backward to decide what to invest in, change, and stop. Strategy creates a reason to exist in the future. Facing AI-driven change, organizations need to move from past-experience-driven thinking toward future possibilities through dialogue and team co-creation. The method also applies personally: move from being pushed by the past to being drawn toward the future.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c932e7cb7893ce8e/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c932e7cb7893ce8e/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-18. This reprinted FDE article, whose author is not identified, describes trust in enterprise procurement: vendor publicity ranks below analyst reports, public peer cases, and ultimately private peer recommendations. FDE can generate material customers share privately. Three actions matter: turn delivery results into a story with numbers, people, and contrast, preparing a one-page summary, three graphics, and a thirty-second version; make customers’ business success part of their own professional standing, illustrated by Walgreens and J.D. Power; and manage endorsement backlash, because reference-customer failures can spread faster than successes.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-01/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-01/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-08-02. This 2023 column distinguishes an ordinary business from a venture-backed startup through growth speed, scalability, and capital needs. First clarify what you want to build, the life you want, and the sacrifices you are willing to make. Then decide whether fundraising and scaling are the right path.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-04/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-04/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-05. Investors assess a market’s ceiling, but founders should not simply chase media excitement. This column brings together industry size, niche needs, and personal passion. Begin with a problem you genuinely understand and want to work on for years, rather than choosing a venture for fundraising.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-09/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-09/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-11-02. Facebook’s early investment story illustrates the value of trusted introductions: trust, industry understanding, and an introducer willing to share the risk. The author then compares fundraising to concentric circles, reminding founders to value all money equally and accept the responsibility it brings, whoever provides it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-11/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-11/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-12-07. Before investing in a team and product, establish who needs it, why the need is urgent, and whether they will pay. Starting with the technology-first approach common in academic ventures, this column emphasizes priorities, niche customers, and continual validation rather than attributing every sales problem to insufficient market education.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-14/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-14/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-02. Using Threads’ early development alongside Tesla, SpaceX, and Amazon, this 2024 column argues for focusing on customer problems and distinctive solutions rather than merely catching incumbents. The examples reflect observations at the time of writing, not conclusions about the products’ later development.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-17/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-17/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-01-29. Do not choose a listing venue solely for its prestige. Consider customer location, whether investors understand the company, and the fit among scale, liquidity, and cost. Using company examples through year-end 2023, the author explains how Taiwanese small and medium-sized businesses can use listing as a tool for their next growth stage.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-19/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-19/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-25. Shareholders are long-term partners, not funding sources you can replace at will. Comparing CVC and VC resources, interests, and risks, this column advises founders to investigate investors’ reputations while cash is still sufficient and consider whether the shareholder mix supports long-term cooperation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-22/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-22/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-04-23. Reflecting on VC’s role in innovation, the author argues it must connect talent, policy, and markets as well as capital, and share entrepreneurs’ risk of failure. Taiwan’s fortieth VC anniversary becomes a call to accept responsibility for the next generation of industry.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-30/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-30/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-24. A fixed fund life can force investors to exit before good companies continue growing. Beginning with the tension between long-term ownership and shareholder liquidity, this column considers how evergreen VC and public listings might change investment horizons, exits, and room for early-stage investing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-33/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-33/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-19. Looking back at the Great Tree Pharmacy investment, the author sets out four assessment layers: industry potential, competitive structure, the team’s ability to change the industry, and resources a VC can provide. Systems, sharing success with employees, culture, and capital-market capabilities matter more than store counts alone.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-35/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-35/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-16. Drawing on FITI and research-commercialization mentoring, the author supports government bearing early technology risk while urging academic teams to return to customer needs, mission, and commitment. Interview methods, peer support, and willingness to pay move ventures forward more effectively than technology demonstrations alone.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-40/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-40/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-05-08. Looking back at crises, this column prepares startups for a funding winter: prioritize customer revenue, concentrate on the core, and offer investors a new plan worth backing. It is a strategic view from 2025, not a real-time forecast of 2026 fundraising.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-46/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/tvca-column-46/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-07-21. This 2026 column considers positioning for Taiwan’s frontier-technology startups through AI infrastructure, semiconductor supply chains, and US–Taiwan industrial complementarity. It advocates understanding end-market giants’ needs and pursuing international opportunities through existing supply chains, hardware–software integration, and strategic cooperation rather than doing everything alone.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-452084519495720/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-452084519495720/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-31. In this note from the end of 2020, Robin suggests that continually adding features may reveal uncertainty about whom a product serves and what it solves. Rather than building an all-encompassing platform, make the first version simple, direct, and relevant to target customers. This is a management perspective, not a causal claim that every complex product must fail.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4077921858886881/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4077921858886881/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-27. This note treats strategy as trade-offs. Knowing what not to do creates depth in what matters most. Using quantity, speed, quality, and economy, Robin warns against confusing rapid hiring or broad activity with irreplaceable expertise. Developing one important capability deeply can be stronger than following everywhere. Claims about how many dimensions produce victory or defeat are rhetoric about trade-offs, not a quantitative success formula.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4753029358042791/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4753029358042791/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-11. Robin cautions product teams against merely copying competitors or letting one large customer turn a reusable product into bespoke project work. Preserve your own industry understanding and make products easy to adopt and scale. The note allows an exception for specialized products with long implementations: fewer customers paying higher prices can be a viable model, rather than rejecting such products outright.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24798902769695487/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24798902769695487/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-08-02. This note reverses the planning sequence: describe the desired future, assess today’s position, then gather the people, money, and resources needed. Robin’s stone-soup metaphor describes resource integration and contrasts with beginning from what is already available. This is a goal-oriented perspective, not a claim that startups can know outcomes in advance or must exclude experimentation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26651697621082650/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26651697621082650/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-02-26. More accessible funding, abundant incubators and accelerators, founder-friendlier terms, and AI have lowered entry barriers. Success is harder: abundant capital fuels irrational, unprofitable competition; talent costs more and is harder to retain; accelerating technology makes investors hesitate. Understanding the rules and everyone’s motives still offers a chance to win.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5740832065929177/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5740832065929177/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-18. Centralized organizations have enabled pyramids, cathedrals, NASA’s Moon missions, and US–European cooperation on the Webb telescope. Robin asks: if people must organize to achieve great things, what ambitious vision do decentralized organizations seek to realize?https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8562639860415036/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-8562639860415036/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-08-10. Founded in 1988, Trend Micro is presented as Taiwan’s most successful and international software company; thirty-six years later, it remains the name people mention. Robin argues Taiwan must value software: business owners, consumers, and creators need to pay for it. That culture is necessary for a truly digital island. The post links to reporting that Trend Micro was considering a sale.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24083948294524275/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-24083948294524275/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-05-06. Robin argues that America’s strength owes much to sustained funding that attracts leading global talent to study, teach, and conduct frontier research. Funding freezes and interference with academic freedom threaten that foundation. Harvard president Alan Garber’s open letter said the university would not surrender its independence; more than US$2 billion in federal funding was subsequently frozen.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-576153827088788/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-576153827088788/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-07-18. Founders and investors should sit on the same side of the table. Investors help founders solve problems and face challenges, caring not only about short-term orders or user counts but also their direction and thinking when choosing a path.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5303991982946523/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5303991982946523/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-16. Write regularly to employees and investors about the thinking behind decisions, the company’s position, and its challenges. Written communication forces periodic reflection and builds trust across the team and investor base.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5529811170364602/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5529811170364602/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-05-08. Robin offers six practices for adaptive thinking: read more; think and develop your own views; express opinions and discuss them rationally; remain open; stay rational, calm, and clear under intense pressure; and respond quickly in urgent, dangerous, complex conditions. A surgeon may discover unexpected conditions and rapidly deteriorating vital signs despite tests and simulations, requiring decisions textbooks do not cover. Combat pilots face similar situations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5705777362767981/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5705777362767981/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-07. New investors can use several books to build a coherent system and methodology. At some point, Robin argues, they should leave the textbook framework behind. After over a decade of experience, including the 2008 crisis, he believes exceptional investments cannot be assessed solely through due diligence. Excessively rigid investigations may select mediocrity. Investments producing thousandfold or ten-thousandfold returns may initially look completely implausible, yet achieve extraordinary results.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4859695000709559/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4859695000709559/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-10-14. Robin argues that low interest rates, inflation, and wages, alongside exchange-rate controls, have prolonged the survival of firms needing to upgrade or exit. He sees a positive role for inflation and normalizing rates, exchange rates, and prices in stimulating transformation. Major improvement, he believes, requires innovation and investment, directing a small portion of capital toward early-stage venture opportunities and future trends.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5073214712690919/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5073214712690919/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-17. TSMC’s Night Hawk program used round-the-clock shifts of PhDs to break physical limits. Robin argues that doubling effort to compensate for weak strategic thinking no longer suits the times. Choices matter more: creativity and innovation should let excellent researchers fulfill their potential, rather than merely tend machines on shifts.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-849441793093322/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-849441793093322/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-18. Robin begins by arguing that disruptors look different and achievement requires differentiation. He uses analogies: Nokia’s feature-phone dominance was challenged by Apple’s smartphone market, not a stronger feature phone; a Baidu challenger might enter like Toutiao rather than build a better search engine. He similarly imagines TikTok rather than another social website challenging Facebook—an analogy, not an established outcome. A Starbucks challenger might open a delivery-and-takeaway online market like Luckin rather than copy its model.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5147677285244661/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5147677285244661/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-05. Silicon Valley has long emphasized believing before seeing, and much of Holmes’s defense revolved around that idea. But the distinction between ambition and fraud lies in details: sending tests to outside laboratories when machines do not work, and dressing claims with celebrity photographs and endorsements. Robin’s conclusion is that founders can have vision and ideals, but must not deceive, overpackage, or fabricate for investors who trust them.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5735028579842859/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5735028579842859/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-16. Responding to Facebook claims that donations merely move money between pockets, Robin argues that few people give away their entire wealth. He favors the Gates Foundation over governments, less effective foundations, or direct gifts to individuals, believing it can maximize impact through health, medicine, and education in developing countries and billions in annual spending. He considers foreign billionaires’ thinking worth learning from: Buffett pledged 99% of his wealth, mainly to the foundation, while Larry Page preferred entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk who seek to change the world over conventional charities.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27974958398756559/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-27974958398756559/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-21. Robin argues that government has long protected living costs through electricity, fuel, and water subsidies, while resource-limited Taiwan imports almost all energy. Rather than single out milk, compare overall price changes with other countries. Taiwan cannot expect everything to be cheapest while wages match global standards. He considers its combination of strong growth and controlled prices enviable and urges appreciation of those advantages.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-309387973765376/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-309387973765376/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-09. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5176193135726409/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5176193135726409/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-14. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3495207613824978/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-3495207613824978/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-11. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4021173701228364/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4021173701228364/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-07. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5813788015300248/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-5813788015300248/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-08-13. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9262791690399846/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-9262791690399846/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-11-15. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-fd0fc57b9396/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-fd0fc57b9396/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-20. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25593570616895361/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-25593570616895361/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-10-29. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4726863627326031/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-4726863627326031/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-02. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26400142799571468/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-26400142799571468/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-01-30. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7079407842071586/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/post-7079407842071586/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-05. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-10a4aed114fb9117/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-10a4aed114fb9117/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-26. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a03f372dd48cdfbf/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a03f372dd48cdfbf/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-19. Four qualities describe the organization a startup team should build: rapid response, sustained value creation, transparency, and continuous evolution.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4817fcff9902a2e1/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4817fcff9902a2e1/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-16. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-79fa603b359a147a/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-79fa603b359a147a/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-14. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-cdebff13d7caaece/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-cdebff13d7caaece/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-10. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-bcbf495182c8c1e0/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-bcbf495182c8c1e0/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-05-30. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-ed8bcfa36403/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-ed8bcfa36403/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-21. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7d873affc089/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7d873affc089/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-21. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b50fcf30144b/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b50fcf30144b/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-22. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-642eb0a649a1d9c4/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-642eb0a649a1d9c4/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-10-26. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-bd850b1b1bccc1ae/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-bd850b1b1bccc1ae/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-16. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b542600dd5d60925/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b542600dd5d60925/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-05-26. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7f741762499f8431/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7f741762499f8431/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-06-13. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-8dbf2eb45edfdd92/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-8dbf2eb45edfdd92/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-09-19. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b8a67364e9be5747/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b8a67364e9be5747/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-24. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-91fc5323be004abf/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-91fc5323be004abf/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-09. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c2f904df5e76/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c2f904df5e76/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-23. 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.”https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-711a0dc95fd7/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-711a0dc95fd7/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-24. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-dfe3acc37d16/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-dfe3acc37d16/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-24. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-ce35f5ae3b1c/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-ce35f5ae3b1c/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-25. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c667e2e83d98/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c667e2e83d98/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-10-25. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-27b84786b3f70665/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-27b84786b3f70665/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-09-06. “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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-86e8829413aec850/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-86e8829413aec850/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-04-09. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2020545f849ab5d9/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2020545f849ab5d9/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-04-26. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7b7b4148207fe4e8/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7b7b4148207fe4e8/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-11-14. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b57ad5759ad85127/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b57ad5759ad85127/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-17. Andy Grove asked Gordon Moore: If we were replaced, what would the new CEO do? Return to first principles when making major decisions.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a798a612829585e7/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a798a612829585e7/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-24. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-77df11fb12f30c04/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-77df11fb12f30c04/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-02-17. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-105d9757310694c7/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-105d9757310694c7/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-30. 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.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c118caa81743873e/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c118caa81743873e/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-01-31. The course describes strong financial performance under Ballmer, alongside Microsoft’s failure to catch the smartphone wave. It argues that long-dominant businesses start to see themselves as the industry and lose sight of market realities. The repeated “we” in the 2013 “One Microsoft” memo, it says, reflects a Windows-centered monopoly mindset rather than attention to customers. A monopolist does not have to make trade-offs—and therefore does not learn to make them.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9eaa002f12431d5a/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9eaa002f12431d5a/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-02-02. Transforming a large company is like replacing an aircraft carrier’s engine. Microsoft’s old engine was Windows. Nadella removed licensing fees for small mobile devices, made products such as Office free on iOS and Android and sometimes prioritized those platforms, and reshaped the culture: less internal performance ranking, more emphasis on team success, Silicon Valley visits, and Nonviolent Communication for senior leaders. The hardest step, the course concludes, is accepting market reality and putting customers first.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4525c0dce45999b9/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4525c0dce45999b9/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-28. A compilation of Zhang Weiying’s observations on entrepreneurship: thinking about the upside and changing constraints. Wahaha’s joint distribution system illustrates how constraints can be incorporated into the rules of cooperation so that everyone makes money. Robin closes with his thoughts on the difference between ambition and unrealistic aspirations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-3bc48c71692d4973/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-3bc48c71692d4973/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-12-27. Robin begins by explaining his preference for confirming demand before starting a business, and asks whether the world would be different if you did not pursue it. The course digest that follows uses Qunar and Ctrip to show why needs should be understood at a higher level of abstraction, revisiting that level roughly every six months.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6a5c309e4c643981/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6a5c309e4c643981/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-03-16. A reposted Dedao audiobook digest on Walt Disney’s creation of Disneyland: designing entrances, visitor flow, and first impressions from the visitor’s perspective, while envisioning a park that could keep growing. Robin concludes that products must start from the user’s perspective: if users do not buy in, the problem is yours.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d519bb3e6a3ad4b2/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d519bb3e6a3ad4b2/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-07-07. An account of how the product manager role originated in P&G’s brand management system. As software and then the internet developed, its core capabilities shifted from brand marketing to project management and then insight into user needs. Robin adds that project managers are gradually being replaced by product managers, though both share the abbreviation PM.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a7a24e64cf89b7b9/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a7a24e64cf89b7b9/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-07-10. A compilation of reasons Japan has so many century-old companies: family succession, commitment to a core trade, small-scale operations, and trading partners as evidence of creditworthiness. Using Kongo Gumi and Keiunkan as examples, it concludes that creditworthiness is a soft capability supporting long-term survival. Robin writes that, as you make your way in the world, you must protect your reputation.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b9285bd1f9b48e5c/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b9285bd1f9b48e5c/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-09. Drucker identifies five tasks for managers: setting objectives, organizing, motivating and communicating, measuring performance, and developing people. Modern managers must also be leaders.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-55af23ca46538a54/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-55af23ca46538a54/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-12-27. In 2002, Amazon lowered prices while taking efficiency to its best level yet: net sales rose 26% to US$3.9 billion, and free cash flow turned positive at US$135 million. Low prices came from efficiency rather than sacrifice.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c963531d9d5ce91f/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c963531d9d5ce91f/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-02. Product innovation starts with identifying opportunities, not discussing features. Beginning with economic, social, and user changes, this article explains how jobs, expectations, and constraints can reveal unmet needs between supply and demand.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-aa71e6b60cddd2b0/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-aa71e6b60cddd2b0/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-23. Product managers should believe that users genuinely face problems without automatically accepting the solutions users propose. This article advocates investigating business logic and work constraints, and developing two habits: pursuing every question to its conclusion and demanding the best possible outcome.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a6e7746481bf02c0/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-a6e7746481bf02c0/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-18. Moving a company through different stages takes more than financial metrics and performance appraisals. Jixun Foo discusses culture, delegation, reflection, and learning, and explains the role of value-chain consolidation in the context of China’s enterprise services market at the time.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-3a69ecf34cc2c9f2/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-3a69ecf34cc2c9f2/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-12-25. Businesses and lives tend to become more complex over time—an increase in entropy—so they need regular clearing out. Robin adds that large companies must remind themselves to keep things simple, while entrepreneurs must stay true to their original purpose. A deviation of just 0.1 degrees becomes larger the further you travel, making continual recalibration essential.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b8150dd3e7a44499/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b8150dd3e7a44499/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-07-08. A first-person account of moving from research to entrepreneurship: research is like exploring a route, while entrepreneurship is like building a road. Researchers can add value on top of humanity’s accumulated knowledge; entrepreneurs must build their own core systems from scratch. The article advocates finding real problems, resisting the temptations of large projects and honors, and growing with a few high-quality customers. Robin concludes that research-based entrepreneurship requires new mindsets and capabilities, and can draw on a venture capital platform to connect markets, technology, management, and funding.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4ec7894555f6a3da/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4ec7894555f6a3da/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-11-05. An introduction to Amazon customer service’s Andon system: frontline staff receiving repeated complaints about the same issue can take a product or promotion offline until the issue is resolved. Borrowed from Toyota’s production-line system, it is illustrated through a story of Bezos listening to service calls and Zhang Sihong’s experience in Chengdu. The article discusses a ceiling on incorrect Andon actions and argues that managers should address hiring, training, and systems rather than add approvals. Good intentions alone are insufficient; mechanisms make them work.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9328988da7aa34f8/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9328988da7aa34f8/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-29. Robin recalls his childhood dream of opening a comic-book shop, illustrating how familiar ideas or personal sentiment can drive entrepreneurship while obscuring its costs. A reposted analysis by Wu Bofan follows: begin with the value proposition, then examine the idea through NABC—Need, Approach, Benefit per Cost, and Competition.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d1542262a03c4e58/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d1542262a03c4e58/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-09-30. A reposted article by Tsinghua professor Yang Bin proposes a simple test of a good university in the AI era: how much entrepreneurship it fosters. Entrepreneurship education offers embodied learning and wholehearted personal engagement, led by an expanded teaching community of coaches, mentors, entrepreneurs, and investors. It should combine an expanded classroom with extracurricular practice and real business challenges. Universities should preserve their educational purpose rather than count only unicorns. Robin concludes that the best universities will have the strongest entrepreneurship education and the most complete entrepreneurial ecosystems.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d550ccdf4f0e365e/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d550ccdf4f0e365e/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-06. The post is tagged as Ning Xiangdong’s management course. Only third-party weekly course notes were obtained, not the original manuscript. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for limitations concerning sources, figures, and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-946f9ca0f3d014e8/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-946f9ca0f3d014e8/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-09. The original text contains explicitly identified comments by Robin; the rest is tagged Wu Jun/Dedao. A matching original manuscript was not obtained. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for limitations concerning sources, figures, and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-dede12c2a7839b7e/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-dede12c2a7839b7e/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-11. The post is tagged Wu Jun/Dedao. Matching passages were found only in third-party notes. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for limitations concerning sources, figures, and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-3ffef460bdb76baa/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-3ffef460bdb76baa/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-13. The post is tagged Wu Bofan’s weekly business commentary. A matching original manuscript was not obtained. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for limitations concerning sources, figures, and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-94773f9b02f7d634/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-94773f9b02f7d634/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-03-13. Robin begins by describing Luckin as a textbook case. A Dedao Headlines compilation follows: after accounting fraud and delisting, Luckin completed a debt restructuring and pursued a turnaround through milk-based coffee products, franchising, and more targeted marketing.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-8bfcc063613faa2d/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-8bfcc063613faa2d/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-13. This is an excerpt from a talk by Chen Chunhua on uncertainty. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d5b4e9e312be1624/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-d5b4e9e312be1624/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-25. The original WeChat article credits Chen Chunhua, with narration by Pan Ting. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-de531ac9e8297ae7/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-de531ac9e8297ae7/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-16. The source is an article narrated by Feng Tang, edited by Sansan, supplied by Qingting FM, and published by Zhenghe Island. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9d8dad665bcfece5/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9d8dad665bcfece5/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-19. This is an excerpt from a talk by Wang Qiang at a ZhenFund training camp; the source includes information about the institution’s activities and resources. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4365b6f954f65631/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4365b6f954f65631/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-09-06. The original WeChat article is credited to Ba Jiuling and the Wu Xiaobo Channel; it should not be treated as a verbatim transcript of Wu Xiaobo speaking. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2eb477d4646c0ef3/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2eb477d4646c0ef3/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-09-27. Robin uses the hot dog stand analogy to argue that founders should first identify their business’s epicenter: if you can remove something and still operate, it is not the epicenter. He then comments on Super Wenheyou, a sensation at the time: packaging can create excitement, but whether it lasts depends on the strength of the food business itself.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-5a5352b81574cd80/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-5a5352b81574cd80/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-24. This post compiles Jessica Livingston’s advice on founders’ qualities and getting started: play to your strengths, listen to users, choose complementary cofounders, and keep experiments small. The original post is a six-point Chinese excerpt, not the complete nine points from the original talk.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-76b82758a7c5dbe0/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-76b82758a7c5dbe0/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2021-04-05. This post reorganizes Paul Graham’s advice for young people into 13 points: explore your interests before fixing your life goals, choose work that expands your future options, and pursue projects with curiosity. The Chinese version substitutes some examples and paraphrases others, so it should be read alongside the original.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6b8859d49b520f90/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6b8859d49b520f90/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-27. This is a Chinese excerpt related to The ONE Thing. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4d3be9b588403ee0/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-4d3be9b588403ee0/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-10-17. The post is tagged Wu Jun and Letters from Silicon Valley, but the matching original manuscript has not been obtained. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-89af1c4169394f3a/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-89af1c4169394f3a/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-11-05. The post is tagged Wu Jun and Dedao. Only some concepts were located in third-party notes; the full original course was not obtained. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c4407a35b8aedf69/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c4407a35b8aedf69/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-05. The original WeChat article and SpaceX material support SN5 completing a 150-meter test flight and landing in Texas on August 4, 2020, using a single Raptor engine. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2664a609d939df34/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2664a609d939df34/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-06. Maven founder Kate Ryder discusses conviction in entrepreneurship, her experience as a journalist, interviewing, and giving feedback. Her experiences emphasize seeking expert advice, understanding candidates’ self-awareness, and allowing room for design exploration within clear objectives.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-93bb4eaf4c442b81/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-93bb4eaf4c442b81/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-11. The original article was narrated by Jiang Nanchun, edited by Ye Kaifu, and published by Zhenghe Island. It includes Focus Media’s marketing claims. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7b0252e33dd72feb/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-7b0252e33dd72feb/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-05-01. This excerpt from Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management professor Yang Bin’s recommendation preface to The Infinity Machine (Chinese edition: 《哈薩比斯：谷歌AI之腦》) discusses three forces driving DeepMind founder Hassabis: purpose (mission), will, and taste. It concludes that the three are interconnected and that purpose need not be a grand narrative. Robin’s closing remarks recommend the book as a way to return to one’s inner compass in an age of AI anxiety.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-f16381b837e7c3f3/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-f16381b837e7c3f3/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-09-24. This post compiles Gmail’s principal developer Paul Buchheit’s 2009 article “Applied Philosophy, a.k.a. Hacking”: complex systems have both intended rules and actual rules. The hacker mindset identifies the gap and creates convenience through shortcuts and changes to the rules. At the end, Robin recommends Paul Graham’s Hackers & Painters and offers his own view of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-1e023d13dc51afd2/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-1e023d13dc51afd2/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2023-09-25. This post summarizes Tim Urban’s observations of Musk: most people work from recipes—established practices—while Musk resembles a chef who redesigns things from first principles. Tesla illustrates the value of an outsider’s perspective and looking at a product afresh. Robin adds background on Urban and Musk at the end.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9cdc3cb03a5a9097/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-9cdc3cb03a5a9097/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2024-02-19. This post compiles three qualities Walter Isaacson draws from Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, Jobs, and Musk: curiosity, passion, and mission. Robin adds a fourth—imagination—and observes that every child has curiosity and imagination, which are sadly often stifled by their environment.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2e31d75732d585a7/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-2e31d75732d585a7/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-02-14. This repost compiles a Dedao book summary’s account of Edison’s innovation methods: choose directions where both demand and technology are ready, make research plans serve a complete commercial ecosystem, act as soon as the direction is clear, and put in the effort required for extensive experimentation. Robin sums it up: start with demand, build on technology, have a business plan, act immediately, and be willing to do the painstaking work.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-cedc43ba5c91300b/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-cedc43ba5c91300b/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-11-23. Using Nestlé as an example, this post describes how companies’ growth hits a “boundary wall” formed by hard constraints such as market size. It claims that Nestlé first made a loss in 1921 because the milk-powder market was saturated, then escaped by inventing instant coffee, and subsequently developed or acquired hundreds of companies, selling them when they reached their growth limits. It then explains boundary walls through balancing loops in system dynamics.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b59a168b1d9b37c4/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b59a168b1d9b37c4/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-09. This is a Chinese summary of Antifragile. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-78ea8d5182e6e373/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-78ea8d5182e6e373/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-08-20. The post ends with a Lao Qi’s Reading Circle tag. It is a Chinese summary of The Ride of a Lifetime, not Iger’s verbatim words. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-eec11d5a2bb33174/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-eec11d5a2bb33174/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-18. This is a Chinese summary of Trump Never Give Up, whose publisher credits Donald J. Trump and Meredith McIver. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-454ebe12522536ea/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-454ebe12522536ea/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2020-07-22. This post can be compared with Master60’s Chinese summary of Lawrence Ingrassia’s book; it is not a verbatim translation of the English original. The original post is retained in full; see the notes in the body for source details and limitations concerning figures and quotations.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-f1b67677b3984e7d/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-f1b67677b3984e7d/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-01-29. Wan Weigang discusses DeepSeek R1 in January 2025: performance approaching o1, very low prices, and publicly available weights, and what these mean in contrast to OpenAI’s closed approach. Robin’s comments on open and closed approaches follow at the end. These views reflect January 2025.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-0774c0fc2bcacaff/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-0774c0fc2bcacaff/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2025-02-18. A repost of Dedao Headlines’ account of Yamaha’s development: from repairing organs and making pianos to other instruments, then furniture, motorcycles, boats, routers, and VOCALOID through woodworking, mechanical, and electronic technologies. Wu Bofan calls this “vine-like innovation” and uses “finding the highest peak in thick fog” as a metaphor for career exploration. Robin adds that founders should first focus: Yamaha’s approach reflects its historical circumstances and should not be copied wholesale.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-f929a0f21510623b/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-f929a0f21510623b/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-08-20. A repost of Dedao Headlines’ three lessons from Unitree founder Wang Xingxing: building one complete thing exposes system-level problems; when conditions change, reassess, holding to your criteria rather than an old conclusion; and define how a forecast will be tested before making it—the “two 80%s.” Robin’s closing comments add figures for Wang’s shareholding and wealth.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6046f77cff609384/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-6046f77cff609384/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-06-23. Robin opens with two points: founders must tell a complete story, and venture capital peers must assess its credibility rather than buy it blindly. A summary of Billion Dollar Loser follows: investors were drawn by WeWork’s story of disrupting US$15 trillion in office real estate and by FOMO; it rewarded them with breakneck expansion, then received further encouragement from Masayoshi Son. The closing warning: the faster you charge ahead, the more alert you must remain.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-51cacbd4876cd0bf/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-51cacbd4876cd0bf/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2026-03-04. Three points about lateral thinking: rational abandonment matters more than stubborn persistence (the well-digging analogy, illustrated by Bettger dropping third and subsequent sales calls after analyzing his records); quantity matters more than quality (force yourself to generate ten ideas, with Dyson’s 5,127 prototypes as an example); and some disorder matters more than perfect organization (add constraints, bring in outsiders, and stay open to surprises). Robin closes by urging curiosity, openness, and alertness.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b4120d7fed38ca28/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-b4120d7fed38ca28/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-13. Bezos offers an unusually detailed look inside Amazon’s technology: random forests, gossip protocols, eventual consistency, and more. Invention is everywhere; service-oriented architecture provides the foundation for scaling it.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-52d2ed3afb003eee/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-52d2ed3afb003eee/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-15. A collection of empowerment stories: KDP gives authors 70% royalties, FBA helps small sellers double their business, and AWS supports an app with 500,000 fans. Platform-based invention is the most thorough form of self-reinvention.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c0b1fa775c891d06/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-c0b1fa775c891d06/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-01-16. Services improve on their own when the drive comes from within: cutting prices proactively 27 times and inventing things customers have not yet imagined. The ending returns to 1997: a voting machine in the short run, a weighing machine in the long run.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-79f178ef8f4a008a/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-79f178ef8f4a008a/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-09. A white paper on high standards: they can be taught and vary by domain. Recognition and expectations must be explicit—a handstand takes six months of daily practice, not two weeks.https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-04797a9e1a8a1d62/https://robinshen.com/en/articles/incremental-04797a9e1a8a1d62/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMTOriginally published 2022-02-18. The power of wandering: efficiency can be planned; invention requires exploration. Third-party sellers grew from 3% to 58%, “beating us badly,” while AWS reached a US$30 billion annual revenue run rate.