There are a few major differences in how China is doing tech that are a little terrifying if you’re a Silicon Valley company that wants to compete (thread)https://twitter.com/patrickc/status/1008699726005325825 …
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2. Regulation is not an issue In the US one of the most likely killers of revolutionary tech startups is regulation. In China the government is often a first investor, first customer, and is the entity that pushes companies forward as much as anything else
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3. They take a hyper-analytical viewpoint and don’t worry about copying When I was in Beijing we met with the Chinese Airbnb. When they noticed that Airbnb was working they hired 100 people and cranked out feature parity in a few months, and were unashamed of that
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4. They have a much, much greater supply of STEM workers China has 4x the population but 10x the tech employees. Ordinary software engineers get paid living salaries but not what they get paid in the US.
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5. There’s a lot of capital with nowhere else to go This is true in the US as well, but in China you not only have practically zero interest but a law that makes it difficult to get money out. Every VC backed company has an investment arm, and multiples are *higher* in China
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6. They have incredible ecosystems to build into I’ve never seen anything like WeChat. You use it for literally everything, from paying bills to connecting with friends. QR codes are everywhere and actually used, and people expect it
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7. They don’t fear hardware (or atoms generally) Companies were baffled that SV has such a hard time with hardware. It’s no more difficult in their eyes to ship atoms than bits.
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Put all those things together with good ol’ regulatory uncertainty, and it’s difficult to imagine any US company winning a Chinese market. Then you remember that the market is bigger there and growing, and it will likely always be the case that their tech scene is bigger
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Mexicans work the most hours, Germans the least, and yet somehow Germany is richer.pic.twitter.com/F4IYwquDGI
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I mean there’s a lot more to wealth than hours worked. But take a country with the right resources and market and *then* have them work harder...
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That's true, but I don't know whether hours worked is a good measure for how hard people work.
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Glad someone got the memo
Otherwise we’re back to measuring “productivity” as LOC/day...
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They work harder? Than Americans? That's a lie. Silicon Valley is full of foreigners. When it was full of Americans, before we were locked out of the job market? We worked to get things done. However many hours it took.
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Wait how are Americans locked out of the job market? American tech employees work much, much less than 72 hrs/week on average.
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Not interested in debate about USA tech job market. Check Google. Been ongoing for decades. People work. Yes. Long hours. Yes. USA. Yes.
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Seems like the same discussion we had with Europe. At the end connected unified middle class market size is the only thing that matters. US 325M vs 82M in Germany China (potential of) 1.3B
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This was almost exactly the case for the Japanese in the 80s. Doesn't help much. Productivity declines with overwork.
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Chinese have a mid day nap from 11 am until 2 pm every work day so please figure that into your calculations (yes they sleep right at there desks)
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So they actually have 6-hour work days. Then I can see them being more productive and effective. Long hours doesn't equal better work.
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Surprised only that it's effective, if they are truly working that hard. Theyr mining Conscious effort at expense of more valuable subconscious effort. As I get older I realize my most effective problem solving is subconscious, when I am NOT thinking about problem.
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Lol. You think creative work will get *better* with those hours.
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