Category: SEA

What is happening with Yahoo?

~ michael_msft ~ 2 Comments

Had a few people pinging me and looks like some serious retrenching in EMEA and Asia.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/03/more-yahoo-restructuring-as-offices-sales-teams-get-cut-across-europe-and-asia/

It makes sense – outside of the USA the biz keeps falling. What is scary though, is in places like Asia, other companies are growing like a weed. Is Yahoo quickly becoming a USA focused company or is this just more centralization around running the biz from the states? But these are sales folks though so not sure how one can grow the number by losing more sales people?

I am sure there is more info to come. What is stunning though is at one point Vietnam was one of the bigger offices in Asia – pricey real estate too. Gone are the days where Yahoo 360 and messenger ruled the roost. I think in places like Vietnam where Yahoo used to be powerful, Yahoo is suddenly looking irrelevant.

I argue the biggest issue in Yahoo Asia is that the team has not brought in new blood similar to what has happened in EMEA and USA.

The numbers are telling – the revenue keeps slipping in Asia and the Alibaba pressure is greater than ever.

Quite the shakeup.

I am sure more news to come.

Singapore the aircraft carrier

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

https://www.techinasia.com/singapores-startup-scene-is-overrated/

Great article and largely models how I think about Singapore – it is an incredible base for being a global startup and it should be how it is marketed. I still think there is too much focus on local businesses and having your staff all be in Singapore though but it is improving.

We at Spuul don’t get talked about much in the local scene – I think mostly cause we are not great at PR, have never been externally funded and are not very big in Singapore. My guess is there are others out there in Singapore like Spuul who else don’t get much attention since they don’t focus on Singapore but just use it as a hub. At Spuul we are now even exploring our first remote engineering center – guess where we are putting it? 🙂

I also think Singapore is a good hub for foreigners as well given the ability to become a permanent resident, the schools, the family friendly atmosphere and the rule of law. Nowhere is perfect but from other places I have been I think Singapore is pretty damn good.

All the recent activity is just a nod to how important the region is becoming but Singapore in my opinion will do very well as the center of the region for a lot of startups.

Hopefully you will see more global ones in the making.

Video consolidation pace is pretty staggering

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Looks like I spoke too soon – maybe another deal going down already – http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/20/sources-yahoo-in-talks-to-buy-video-ad-platform-brightroll-for-around-700m/

Some of you may or may not follow all the companies in the “video” space but since I am in the space I can’t stop watching. Lately though the pace of acquisitions has been hectic. Couple this with all the announcements these past few weeks about all the content guys getting into launching their own OTT services and you can see that their is a land grab going on. I won’t list all the players but yesterday I was having a meeting with Brightcove and talking to a senior Zencoder employee about the space and the consolidation. Zencoder was a yCombinator company that was bought by Brightcove so they kicked off some of this activity.

Liverail bought by Facebook – this was the other big ad player in the region so now we have Videoplaza being bought by Ooyala :: http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/20/ooyala-buys-euro-video-ad-startup-videoplaza-in-its-first-acquisition/ . Ooyala was just recently bought by Telstra.

Viki was bought by Rakuten which kicked off activity in this region.

Dramafever was just picked up by Softbank. Their big competitor Crunchyroll was picked up The Chernin Group.

The list goes on and on but the more this pace quickens the more I realize there are not that many independent players left to work with in the space which means the products we all use to build video based sites are shrinking pretty rapidly. This is partially the reason why at Spuul we try to roll a lot of our own kit – we never know anymore what product we are using if it will still be around.

Nutty times!

Google vs Apple

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Say what you will but this is the battle of our times. Why do I feel that way? Cause I still believe the mobile phone or let’s say the handheld computer that is always on, always connected to the Internet and happens to be in our pockets that is able to make and receive calls – is the biggest thing since sliced bread. It just is – bottom line.

There are still years to go for this global phenomenon to play out. Years.

That being said, even if you do not agree, it means that the biggest two companies in the world who control this ecosystem are Apple and Google.

You can click the Google or Apple categories on my blog to see what I have written before. I am not a fanboy. I am a realist. I started with Android and moved to Apple. As a startup wanting to dominate the world – I am fluent in managing teams shipping both Apple and Android apps. I won’t get into which app to build first or which platform is bigger or better – if you expect global domination then you have to ship Apple and Android apps. Period.

I won’t lie – there are reasons to like one platform over another but lately I have to admit that Google is pulling ahead. Not in hardware, software but in other places – sheer scale, better app store tools and in relationship building.

Knowing people is a big thing – it trumps developer docs, forums and conferences. I do my best to network and I think it’s important to reach out to folks you know when you need some help. Knowing people is a huge asset.

Do I know anyone in Apple for SEA region? No – only one developer contact who doesn’t respond to me much. Do I know anyone in Google SEA? Yes – many. Did I hunt them down? No – they hunted me down.

It started with someone from Adx and then grew into other connections from various departments and groups. Then it was over to some Android folks and then it is suddenly a meeting with four Android folks from around the region. Yes – they called me.

They updated me on the latest Android news, talked through some issues we had and gave us some guidance with our Google strategies. Was it groundbreaking or earth shattering? No – but is was helpful, meaningful and personal.

Does it make my team and I feel closer to Google? Yes. Do I feel even farther away from Apple as a result? Yes.

Apple seriously needs to step up their game. The OS’s are buggy, the developer support is weak and the App Store needs a redo.

Am I still a big fan! I am. But for the first time ever – I am starting to think Apple is spreading themselves way too thin.

Given their huge profit margins – I find this slightly appalling.

This team is killing it!

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

You may not have heard of this team or know about all their apps they have built as a team or individually. I use dispatch, nextride and of course Spuul. Yes HC of clean shaven apps is the guy behind Spuul iOS. I need to check out clips.

This is a humble team folks but you know they are making it when they are having to explain how to prep for Apple promotions.

I stand by the statement – this is the best OS X and iOS team in Singapore – maybe Southeast Asia.

Love working with these folks.

http://blog.cleanshavenapps.com/app-store-promo-artwork-tips-and-sketch-template

Russell heads to TechCrunch

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Wow. Been hearing rumors of lots of things changing at The Next Web and now we see Jon has left. Not much else to say other than congrats on the new gig. Interesting to see TechCrunch expansion in Asia and where Jon will take the coverage going forward.

Jon – just let me know when you want your first interview. 😉

Have fun on your trip!

Android First

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Untitled

The prevailing wisdom is to generally ship iOS first when it comes to mobile apps. However in certain circumstances when the region and the needs permit it, I think it can make more sense to go with Android first.

I met the http://stylhunt.com/ team while mentoring at JFDI and have been fortunate to stick with them past the program while they raise money and launch their product on a wider scale.

If you look at their target market – Thailand, the Android tools available to them and the fact that payments are not the first focus, then it makes complete sense to go Android first.

Yes – they have plans for iOS but at the moment they are rocking the Android charts and people are noticing.

Will try to interview Sam at some point for the blog.