關於 e commerce platform market share ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

🌻Docusign(DOCU), Crowdstrike(CRWD)財報結果
上週這兩家公司發表財報了.

這兩天看了一下他們的財報結果. Again, 兩家的表現都很好, 但發現分析師給DOCU的調價(往上)幅度比較多, 就好奇研究了一下SaaS公司是怎麼被估值的. 有興趣的話可以看看(從中學習到很多. 非常推薦一讀):
https://makingsenseofusastocks.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-post.html

(By the way, 分析師對CRWD的價格調幅沒那麼大, 主因是成長趨緩了. 而DOCU的free cash flow佔營收比, 以及顧客黏著力在這季創了新高, 是讓分析師按讚的幾個原因).

關於CRWD: "The Street is already modeling revenue growth deceleration in 2022 to 36%, down from 60% expected in 2021, which on its own might prove a hurdle for a stock already trading at a high multiple," said Bank of America analyst Tal Liani in a report.

分析師對於DOCU的評價:
• 11位buy; 給的價格分別是: $310, $320 (x2), $330 (x2), $340 (x2), $345, $350, $350, $389
• 給Buy的分析師的評語:
o Baird: The analyst continues to view them as a best in class way to play digital transformation trends with strong growth, cash flow and profitability, and a strong competitive position. Power said DocuSign remains one of his top long-term compounding growth ideas.
o Citi: While slightly shy of the double-digit billings beat in recent quarters, DocuSign still delivered a solid 8% beat to Q2 billings, which grew 47% year-over-year, Radke tells investors in a research note.
o Evercore ISI: he calls "another strong quarter." While some may have wanted to see more aggressive Q3 billings guidance, he believes estimates "continue to leave room for upside," Materne said.
o JMP Securities: While revenue growth decelerated to 50% from 58% in Q1, the company is the clear leader in electronic signature and the broader system of agreement having crossed over 1M customers with a $2B run rate this quarter, the analyst tells investors in a research note, adding that he sees lots of room for growth as DocuSign targets a $50B total addressable market.
o Needham: The analyst commented, "Docusign reported another strong quarter in 2QF22 with typical DOCU upside to revenue and profitability. Sales metrics and growth decelerated Q/Q, as we expected against a massive pandemic quarter, but at a much slower rate than we believe much of the Street was anticipating. 65k net new customers was lower than the 70k - 90 range of CY20 but was still more than 2x greater than any pre-pandemic quarter, highlighting a strong end-market driving 47% billings growth against a strong comp. Commentary on incremental Agreement Cloud demand was positive, suggesting an additional growth tailwind combined with solid international can further aid 2HF22. Although DOCU shares could be lower near-term due to weak 2H OpMg guidance, we think this guidance is conservative, as the recent OM was greater than the pre-pandemic level even with tough comps."
o RBC Capital: The quarter highlighted the sustainability of the company's tailwinds post-pandemic as most of its underlying metrics such as billings and net revenue retention were solid, the analyst tells investors in a research note, adding that the traction with CLM and Notary was also "impressive".

分析師對於CRWD的評價:
• 12位buy; 給的價格分別是: $300, $310 (x2), $313, $315 (x2) , $305, $320, $325, $330 (x2), $340
• 1位給hold: $280 (from $220 by J.P. Morgan(same))
• 給Buy的分析師的評語:
o Baird: The analyst believes the company has significant room for growth with core modules, opportunities with Humio and in cloud workload security, among others, should help drive a continuation of strong growth over a long time horizon.
o BTIG: The company's "strong" Q2 results "cleared every hurdle", even though the buy-side benchmarks may have been slightly higher, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Powell adds that Crowdstrike is clearly gaining share in its core endpoint security target market at a rapid pace and gaining traction with new products across multiple categories.
o Canaccord: The analyst said the stock is down from its recent highs, and he thinks the re-rating creates a more favorable entry point for longer-oriented investors for a foundational security name. He views Crowdstrike as a long-term secular winner in security due to its native cloud platform advantage versus closely held peers in endpoint security combined with platform expansion into tangential segments to capture greater share of security budgets.
o Goldman Sachs: CrowdStrike last night delivered "another beat and raise quarter as the company benefited from another quarter of elevated demand," Essex said. But it traded lower following net new annual recurring revenue growth guidance that was slightly less than investors had hoped for. Essex, nonetheless, said the quarter demonstrated CrowdStrike's "ability to continue to go down market efficiently."
o JMP Securities: The analyst notes the company's Q2 annualized recurring revenue of $1.34B topping his estimate of $1.30B, with "sustained" 70% ARR and revenue growth along with margin upside seen as key highlights for the quarter. Suppiger adds that the metrics reflect Crowdstrike's "strong execution and robust demand environment".
o Mizuho: "very good" fiscal Q2 results. The annual recurring revenue growth of 70% year-over-year "was strong and still nicely surpassed" the Street's 65%-66% estimate, Moskowitz tells investors in a research note. He believes "strong execution can propel" Crowdstrike's stock higher.
o Piper Sandler: The company's metrics "outperformed across the board" in Q2 with 70% annual recurring revenue and revenue growth and record net new customer adds in the quarter, Owens tells investors in a research note.
o RBC Capital: Hedberg adds that CrowdStrike's record pipeline entering Q3 should continue to fuel the company's "land-and-expand" momentum.
o Stifel: Q2 results that he said "exceeded consensus estimates across all major financial metrics." He continues to believe that Crowdstrike's growth opportunity "remains in the early days" despite the company's scale given continued share capture within its core endpoint security market and incremental module adoption on the Falcon Platform, Reback tells investors.
o UBS: the company reported "pretty good" Q2 results against high expectations.

🌻趨勢: 跨境電商 Cross-border commerce
Morgan Stanley:
From our perspective, we think many are underestimating what the cross-border eCommerce demand could ultimately be, once key friction points like FX rates, tax and duties, shipping, language, etc are smoothed—all issues that Global-E directly addresses.

Cross-border ecommerce brings new, high-yield volume: We think elevated levels of cross-border ecommerce (ex-travel) is a structural shift thathas yet to be fully contemplated in MA (and V)'s long-term forecasts. MA's cross-border CNP ex-travel volume was 69% above 2019's level in 2Q and 63% higher in 1Q. Strength reflects both broader ecommerce adoption plus globalization of commerce, as marketplaces and services that reduce cross-border friction (such as those from GLBE) make international online ordering more readily adopted. Early data at V suggests greater cross-border ecommerce spend is persisting even in areas with pre-pandemic levels of international travel. Cross-border transactions also come at a higher yield, making us more optimistic that the trend can bring incremental long-term growth to the networks.

產業的潮流是有連貫性的. 疫情讓電商更發達後, 接下來應該就是加速電商跨境了. 跨境的話, 有很多問題需要解決(稅率, 語言, etc.) 這就需要有公司來做整合的動作. 這種跨境, 也可以想像是omnichannel的一種呈現.

Harley Finkelstein (President of Shopify): "I mean I think commerce in 2021 is cross-border."

🌻SPAC熱潮退卻，初創市值蒸發750億美元
"SPAC熱潮已經退卻。分析顯示，在2月中旬以前完成合併的137家SPAC的總市值已經蒸發25%，市值回落幅度上個月一度超過1,000億美元。"

"像貝萊德(BlackRock Inc., BLK)和富達投資(Fidelity Investments Inc.)這類企業管理的基金，以及許多對沖基金、養老金管理公司和其他一些投資者，都在SPAC的回落中遭受了衝擊，他們在去年年底開始的熱潮中競相投資SPAC。其中許多基金由於在價格還很低的時候就早早入場，所以現在仍坐擁可觀收益。事實上，SPAC市值仍有約2,500億美元，高於一年前的約1,000億美元，反映出這期間股價上漲和新公司上市的影響。

但即便如此，今年年初令人炫目的回報還是讓許多後來者做了接盤俠，扎堆投資所謂穩賺不賠的領域，其永恆的風險可見一斑。在過去的幾個月裡，一些投資者眼睜睜看著帳面財富縮水。"

"股價下跌會在SPAC領域形成惡性循環，因為投資者有權在併購交易前從空白支票公司撤資。一旦SPAC跌破發行價，投資者就更有可能這樣做，而許多SPAC的股價現在正處於這樣的水平。目前，在尚未宣布併購交易的空白支票公司中，超過95%的公司股價低於發行價。

投資者的大規模撤資會讓已經上市的空白支票公司手上的現金大幅減少，讓其更難實現業務目標，並可能加劇股價跌勢。"

https://on.wsj.com/3n6JznC

🌻BNPL (buy now pay later)
But most BNPL providers including Affirm, Klarna and Afterpay have been losing money despite breakneck revenue growth as they invest heavily in marketing to win share. Sweden-based Klarna’s credit losses more than doubled in the second quarter. Affirm has projected adjusted operating losses of $50m-$55m for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The path to profitability for many of these companies was to achieve massive scale, analysts said.

https://www.ft.com/content/ca201a37-a16d-4223-b123-04d38350a972

Pictures: 一葉知秋; from EarningsWhispers

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Amazon ให้บริการแพลตฟอร์ม E-commerce...
Continue ReadingAll tech companies are heading into game business / invest manly
The technology industry is undoubtedly driving the world.
Because, wherever you look, things surrounding us are all related to technology companies.

Amazon provides e-commerce platforms
Alphabet, Google's mom company, search website, information.
Apple sells electronic devices such as iPhone, iPad
Facebook dominates social media platforms market.
Microsoft Develops Operating Systems and Computer Software

But did you know that there is one thing these companies are paying attention to?
That's the ′′ game business

What are tech companies doing about the game industry now?
Invest man will tell you about it.
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Scenario and Economic Update with Blockdit
Podcasts available on the go
Blockdit.com/download
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First start at Amazon

Amazon company has invested in the game business since 2014 after acquiring Twitch business, online video platform, game containers with 29,000 million baht.

Passing through now, Twitch has grown beyond the competitors clearly.
9,340 million hours a year videos are viewed by 73 % of the market.

In addition, they have a business called Amazon Web Services (AWS) that provides cloud database storage, which major game developers such as Bandai, Capcom, Epic Games, Supercell, Zynga are the company's customers.

Meaning that every time people play online, AWS services are also being used.
And most importantly, this business has much higher profit margins than E-commerce.

Next one is Alphabet

The company owns YouTube, the world's biggest online video platform, with about 250 million game-related followers per day.

In addition, YouTube has also launched a YouTube Gaming feature to support streaming games especially.
There are 2,681 million hours of video viewing per year. The market share of 21 % is the number 2, secondary from Twitch.

But what creates a lot of excitement for the industry.
Is Launching a cloud gaming platform business named Stadia at the end of 2019

This service may change the gaming patterns as we can buy games immediately. No need to download, install or need to use a good, expensive spectrum. Stadia will process and adjust the game quality details to suit the devices that people. Play and use.

The next company to talk about is Apple

In fact, indirect income game for Apple.
In 2019, there are people who spend in game application via App Store. App Store is about 1.2 trillion Baht. It is 70 % of all apps. Every 100 Baht will receive a share of 30 Baht.

Apple decided to expand its business to the gaming industry.
By launching an online gaming platform called Apple Arcade

Subscription subscriber, 150 baht per month. You can choose to play any game on every device of Apple brand.

There is an assessment that in the next 2 years, there will be around 50 million accounts of Apple Arcade users who will make additional income for the company over 93,000 million baht per year.

Another interesting one is Facebook.

Facebook has launched a 2018 Facebook Gaming online video feature.
Focusing on connecting to social media user base to create an advantage for people to follow contents easily under the same platform.

The company reveals 700 million video game visitors per month.
However, compared to the number of hours, Facebook Gaming also has a market share of only 3 %

But in the future, Facebook may develop new businesses similar to Google's Stadia.
Because I just bought PlayGiga business, cloud-based platform from Spain for 2,400 million baht.

And the eye-catching thing is Oculus VR owned by VR, a virtual reality technology developer with a high chance of making Facebook create successful virtual reality gaming devices.

The last part is Microsoft

Microsoft has been in the gaming business since 2001, as an Xbox gaming console developer that currently has total sales of more than 155 million machines.

And in 2016, the company launched a streaming platform named Mixer.
But the response is not as expected. There is only 3 % market share.

Get Microsoft to turn off this platform this July and rock the account with Facebook Gaming instead to collaborate with Twitch and YouTube.

In addition, Microsoft is also undergoing a cloud gaming business development. It is expected to be launched by XCloud this year.

All of them have businesses involved in gaming either way or anyhow.

But I have to say..
No matter how fierce the competition is, no one can compete with the real game owner like Tencent, Chinese tech company.

Because they have created or invested in a loud game with many players around the world like Fortnite, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Arena of Valor (RoV), League of Legends, Honor of Kings, Clash of Clans

Resulting in Tencent reigning the industry's highest position. Earning up to 612,000 million baht from the game business.

Arrived here. Many people may wonder why the game market is so interesting in the eyes of tech companies?

What these companies need is inevitable bringing their technology into consumer hands to build a strong user base.

Gaming business is becoming a very large industry.
From the world population of 7,800 million people, there are 2,700 million people playing games or around 35 %
Covering people of all ages and all devices whether it's mobile, computer or game console.

So, the game market is worth up to 4.7 trillion baht and it predicts that the number will grow to 6.2 trillion baht in 2023

The special thing is gaming people always pay to buy unlimited items or features.
Different from other markets where customers may buy limited amounts of money or subscription payments which are always the same.

And the company can also offer products to customers directly in real time. When order happens, players get items immediately. Game owners get paid at the same time.

While buying normally, consumers may have to shop at the mall or wait for delivery later. The seller may have a central or multi-layer dealer to get paid and also to manage inventory.

Including game owners and players can also do game-changing activities such as gamecast reviews or serious Esports to win prize money.

This is not surprising if it says in the near future, the game market where humans pay virtual purchases.
Could be bigger than any physical product market that is tangible..
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Podcasts available on the go
Blockdit.com/download
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Follow to invest manly at
Website - longtunman.com
Blockdit-blockdit.com/longtunman
Facebook-@[113397052526245:274: lngthun mæn]
Twitter - twitter.com/longtunman
Instagram-instagram.com/longtunman
Line - page.line.me/longtunman
YouTube - youtube.com/longtunman
References
-https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/28/tech/google-stadia-apple-arcade-mixer-gaming/index.html
-https://www.protocol.com/tech-gaming-amazon-facebook-microsoft
-https://www.geekwire.com/2019/microsofts-mixer-grows-audience-amazons-twitch-continues-dominate-streaming-market/
-https://aws.amazon.com/gametech/
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles
-https://www.reuters.com/article/esports-business-gaming-revenues/report-gaming-revenue-to-top-159b-in-2020-idUSFLM8jkJMl
-https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2020/01/global-consumers-spent-over-83-billion-on-mobile-apps-in-the-last-12-months.html
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tencent#Video_games
-https://www.statista.com/statistics/983227/global-video-games-revenue-companies/Translated

昨天台灣大哥大發布訊息，自 2019 年 4 月 1 日起將聘任 AppWorks 創辦合夥人 Jamie 林之晨為總經理，長期關心 AppWorks 的朋友，或許會有些疑惑。其實不是 Jamie 換工作，而是 AppWorks 將與台灣大一起，挑戰一個放大 10 倍的計畫。在此跟大家分享 Jamie 的聲明，有更完整的敘述。

#以下是_Jamie_聲明全文

稍早台灣大哥大發布訊息，自 2019 年 4 月 1 日起將聘任為我為總經理，我的朋友們，以及長期關心我與 AppWorks 的媒體，一定會有許多疑惑，請容我在此統一向大家說明。
...Continue Reading
#EnglishBelow 稍早台灣大哥大發布訊息，自 2019 年 4 月 1 日起將聘任為我為總經理，我的朋友們，以及長期關心我與 AppWorks 的媒體，一定會有許多疑惑，請容我在此統一向大家說明。

首先，我不是接下了台灣大總經理的職位，而是接下了整合市值美金 120 億、營收美金 38 億的台灣大與市值美金 36 億、營收美金 25 億的 AppWorks Ecosystem，放大出 10 倍成果的任務。

這得從我的故事說起，如果您還沒聽過的話，我原本已經移民美國，和老婆小孩開心的住在紐約，2008 年，我在美看到 iPhone、Android 相繼問世，Facebook、Twitter 等社群媒體成為主流，意識到軟體的力量將越來越大，而硬體將越來越沒有價值，換言之，台灣的國際經濟地位將受到極大挑戰，因此決定舉家搬遷回台，推動台灣的轉型升級，以免我熱愛的福爾摩沙從世界經濟奇蹟變成失落的遺跡。

這是一個很大的決定，不僅我要放棄自己的美國夢，老婆、小孩都得跟著改變職涯、學涯，因此既然要做，就得發揮最大的 Impact。所以回台之後，我每天思考、決定、努力的，都是最大化我對台灣的貢獻。

因此這些年來我戴了很多帽子，表面看起來沒什麼相關性，但背後都有一個共同的目的，那就是推動台灣的改變。首先，我長期寫網誌、經營 Facebook 等網路社群、在《天下》等期刊寫專欄、出書、演講、接受採訪，心想的是分享新知、新觀念，散播進步需要的養分。

我與夥伴們成立 AppWorks，有系統的幫助年輕人創業，為的是培養千千萬萬帶領台灣前進的下一代生力軍。這也是為什麼 AppWorks 從 2010 年啟動半年一期的創業加速器，至今一直堅持免費提供。目前 AppWorks Accelerator 共畢業的 17 屆、925 位創業者，由他們成立的活躍企業高達 328 家，2018 年產值 760 億，提供 9,500 個工作機會，非常確切的為台灣貢獻一股向上動能。更重要的是，這些創業者們因 AppWorks 而相識相惜，形成一個緊密互助的網路，更是社會的長期資產。

當 AppWorks 在台灣站穩腳步，2014 年我們開始積極走訪東南亞，邀請優秀的東協創業者前來加入，希望透過串連跨國創業者網路，促進台灣的區域化，同時貢獻東協的數位發展。經過 5 年的推動，這個工作也有大幅進展，即將在 3 月進駐 AppWorks 的 33 組 AW#18 團隊，將有高達 19 組來自東南亞，包含他們在內，AppWorks 有 160 家企業在台灣以外的大東南亞市場有據點，形成一個真正區域化的網路。現在，來自台灣、香港、新加坡的 AppWorks 創業者要前往印尼、越南發展，可以很容易的找到 AppWorks 校友帶路，大大降低了區域化的門檻。

除了創業加速器，透過 AppWorks，我們同時努力創造更多台灣改變需要的新典範。以創業投資為例，我們 2012 年成功募集 3.2 億 Fund I，2014 年募得 15 億 Fund II，在 AppWorks 團隊的努力經營下，目前兩支基金的投資績效都是水準以上，其中 Fund II 至今的年化內部報酬率 (IRR) 達 29%，遠高於歐美同期創投基金的 Top Quartile (前四分之一) 指標。透過追求與國際一流基金同等的表現，我們希望促進台灣 LP (創投投資人的簡稱) 更有信心支持本土新興 GP (創投管理公司的簡稱)，進而推動台灣創投業的復甦。

2016 年，我們出資成立 AppWorks School，每 4 個月一期，免費幫助年輕人透過實作學習程式、轉職工程師、加入成長中的數位行業，提升他們的職涯的同時，也為台灣貢獻人才。目前 School 已畢業 106 位學生，其中 85% 成功轉職，第一年起薪中位數達 67 萬。雖然杯水車薪，但我們希望拋磚引玉，刺激台灣教育的現代化，幫助年輕人準備好面對 AI 時代。

此外，AppWorks 雖然仍是中小企業，但受到的關注較多，因此也經常以身作則，為台灣業界示範新時代企業可以有的新思維。除了看齊國際優質創投的薪資獎金水準、年假無上限、自由選擇工作時間地點、新年假期長達三、四週外，我們更在日前啟動交棒計畫，讓年僅 30 歲的 Jessica 劉侊縈、40 歲的 Andy 蔡欣翰升任合夥人，希望激發台灣企業勇敢讓年輕人當家。

私部門之外，有機會推動台灣轉型的公領域活動，我也積極參與。2016 年，我從詹宏志先生手上接下 TiEA (台灣網際網路暨電子商務產業發展協會) 理事長，上任後便努力推動網路電商正名運動，成功說服了櫃買中心創立電子商務分類；2017 年起我開始擔任亞洲·矽谷民諮委共同召集人、數位國家諮詢委員、代表台灣參加每年四次的 ABAC (APEC Business Advisory Council) 會議，2018 年又奉總統之命擔任 APEC Vision Group 代表，與其他 20 會員國派出的先進，一起定義 APEC 未來的 20 年願景。這些雖然都是義務工作，但我都當作正職全力以赴，因為都有機會大大影響台灣的命運，以及在經濟領域的國際能見度。

最後，我去年決定再次舉家，準備遷往雅加達，同樣還是以為台灣貢獻出發。我觀察到 2.6 億人口的印尼正在快速崛起，短短 5 年內從有限的新創活動，到 4 隻本土獨角獸加 3 隻外來獨角獸的蓬勃景況，必須要幫助台灣抓住這個成長機會，但印尼商業生態與台灣大不相同，所以我決定進駐雅加達、深耕當地，希望能因此扮演帶領 AppWorks 新創進入印尼的嚮導，縮短我們與世界第四大國、東南亞第一大國的距離。這麼做得犧牲一些我在台灣的工作，但這些工作多半我的夥伴們可以承接，因此我便毅然開始行動。

講了這麼多，我其實只是希望您能了解，我大老遠從紐約搬回來的目的就是改變台灣，所以這些年來我做決定沒什麼懸念，因為不需要考慮自己的利益，只需要考慮在這個時間點，我做這件事情，是不是最能貢獻台灣。

如此我們便可以回到正題，這次的「台灣大 + AppWorks」專案。

不久前，蔡明忠董事長約我談話，詢問我有沒有興趣接下台灣大總經理的職位，一開始我其實是無法答應的，首先我已經決定搬去印尼，再來我也不確定接這個位子，跟貢獻台灣的關係。回去想了兩整天後，我有了答案，我跟蔡董事長說，必須有四個先決條件：

第一，結合台灣大和 AppWorks，用 AppWorks 生態系去幫助台灣大轉型為科技企業，同時以台灣大為平台去加速 AppWorks 新創的成長，因此創造更多成功的企業，為台灣示範成熟企業如何與新創實際合作；

第二，由 AppWorks 帶路，推動台灣大 + AppWorks 走出台灣，成為一個大東南亞科技集團，為台灣企業的區域化寫下典範，同時也成為能加速 AppWorks 新創區域化的大平台；

第三，以建立一個市值 1,000 億美金 (US$ 100B) 的科技集團為目標，創造第一個由台灣出發、真正達到國際級的非代工企業；

第四，所有因為台灣大 + AppWorks 集團未來的價值成長，公司依規定希望給予我個人的獎勵，要能全數由集團捐為公益使用，且專注在推動台灣的教育改革與電影工業上。

我跟蔡董事長說，如果以這四個目標為前提，那就值得我花 10 到 15 年的生命去推動。這基本上是我的夢幻清單，如果這麼做的話，能為台灣創造的貢獻，比 AppWorks 繼續獨立營運還會巨大許多，想不到蔡董事長毫不猶豫的答應。也因此，我回頭與 AppWorks 的夥伴們溝通，得到大家的支持後，我們決定一起接受這個挑戰。所以開頭我說，我不是接下了台灣大總經理的職位，而是接下了整合台灣大與 AppWorks，放大出 10 倍成果的任務。

當然，這不是一件容易的工作，發展新的商業模式，我或許有 20 年的創業、工作經驗作為後盾，但對於管理電信事業，對於領導一個 7,000 人的大集團，我有太多需要學習的地方，所以，我請蔡董事長務必持續扮演我的 Partner，在這個過程中一起確保電信本業的營運，好讓我們有最大的空間與時間，去爭取新事業的發展，為所有「台灣大 + AppWorks」的 Stakeholders，爭取最佳的長期利益。

未來幾年，將是電信業轉型的關鍵時期，去年 499 之亂加速電信用戶 ARPU (平均每戶營收) 的下滑，消費者換機時間拉長導致手機營收停滯，接下來資本支出是 4G 近 4 倍的 5G 即將到來，更讓電信長達 20 年紅利時代難以延續，AI、IoT、Blockchain、Cloud 等巨型典範轉移接連的到來，進一步逼迫電信業者不能繼續防守。

另一方面，電信業已經建立的品牌、長期客戶關係、大量用戶數據，卻是極有價值，可以更全面應用的資產。透過台灣大 + AppWorks 的結合，目前已經產生 760 億年營收的 AppWorks 的 328 家新創，以及未來將持續培養的更多新興企業，都有機會透過與台灣大的合作加速成長，而台灣大也能因此取得新的營收引擎，創造雙贏的局面。

所以，在可預見的未來，AppWorks 的方向不會改變，我們將持續邀請優秀的創業者加入，透過 AppWorks 原有的能量，以及新增的台灣大平台幫助他們。AppWorks 基金的營運也不會改變，事實上，加入了台灣大的能量，我們有信心能為 LP 們創造更好的財務、策略報酬。我的角色，除了新增台灣大總經理以外，也沒有改變，將持續擔任 AppWorks 的董事長、合夥人，戮力確保台灣大 + AppWorks 的整合能順利成功、長長久久，創造多贏。唯一改變的，大概是我的工作時間將會增加，因此要犧牲與家人的相處，在此先跟偉大的老婆、兩個可愛的兒子道歉，感謝他們對這個決定的支持與諒解。

至於搬遷至雅加達、引導更多 AppWorks 新創進軍印尼的計畫，很遺憾必須暫緩，所幸 AppWorks 的新任合夥人 Jessica (劉侊縈)，已經承諾會扛起這個責任，相信在她的帶領下，AppWorks 的印尼計畫還是能夠大鳴大放、開花結果。

以上，就是針對此次台灣大 + AppWorks 的重大發展，向各位好友、媒體朋友的報告，懇求你們的支持。無論如何，我會持續為貢獻台灣而努力，希望我們這一輩的小孩們長大後，可以和我們一樣，以做台灣人為榮。

最後，預祝 您

新年快樂 諸凡順遂
助君張目 豬滿福保

Earlier today, Taiwan Mobile published an announcement communicating their intention to appoint me as the company’s general manager as of 4/1/2019. I’m sure this announcement may come as a surprise to many of my friends in the startup community, likely leaving you all with ample questions, concerns, and potentially even doubt. Let me take the opportunity to clarify the situation and explain the reasonings behind my decision for everyone.

Firstly, I must clarify that I am not merely taking over as GM of Taiwan Mobile, but taking on the bigger job of integrating Taiwan Mobile, a $12B market cap & $3.8B revenue company, and AppWorks, a $3.6B valuation & $2.5B revenue ecosystem, to amplify our impact by 10x.

But to adequately understand where we’re going, I think it’s important for everyone to know where we’ve come from. This begins with my story—for those of you that haven’t heard it before—which dates back to my time living in New York. It was around 2008 when I saw the launch of iPhone and Android, as well as the advent of Facebook, Twitter, etc, collectively catapulting social media into mainstream use. It was clear that software was increasingly taking over the world while the value of hardware was becoming more and more commoditized. This posed a dire existential threat to Taiwan, whose global economic contributions had been primarily driven by hardware and semiconductor manufacturing. This eventually prompted my resolve to move back to Taiwan and prevent our country from becoming a relic of the past.

This was by no means an easy decision. Not only did I have to give up my American dream, but my wife and child would have to completely uproot their lives, changing jobs and schools. It was a huge sacrifice on their end, so after moving back I dedicated myself to working hard every day to maximize my contribution to Taiwan and exert the greatest impact possible.

I have worn a lot of hats since, and it may seem that there is no correlation on the surface. But, there is indeed a common purpose behind them, which is to promote change in Taiwan. First of all, I have long written posts and columns in online communities such as my own blog, Facebook, and journals like “The Commonwealth Magazine,” while also giving speeches and interviews for a variety of outlets whenever possible. I see these activities as a way to share new knowledge, new ideas, and disseminate the nutrients needed for progress.

I set up AppWorks with my partners to systematically help young people start their own businesses and cultivate the next generation of business leaders that will steer Taiwan forward. That's why AppWorks started its semi-annual startup accelerator in 2010, and has been offering it for free ever since. With the addition of the latest batch AW#17, the AppWorks Ecosystem encompasses 328 active startups and 925 founders, having collectively generated US$ 2.5 billion in revenues and created 9,586 jobs—not an immaterial contribution to Taiwan’s economy needless to say. More importantly, we’ve created a tight-knit community where founders can form lifelong relationships, while seeking advice from both peers and mentors in good times and bad. I see that as a long-term value to society.

Once AppWorks took a firm foothold in Taiwan, we began targeting Southeast Asia in 2014 to invite outstanding ASEAN entrepreneurs to join us. We hope to promote Taiwan's regionalization through a network of international founders, and in turn, facilitate the development of SEA’s digital economy. We've made significant strides these past five years. AW#18 will kick off in March 2019, and consists of 33 teams, 19 of which hailing from countries across SEA and beyond. Spanning our entire ecosystem, AppWorks encompasses 160 companies currently operating in Southeast Asia, forming a truly regional network. Now, AppWorks founders from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore are expanding to Indonesia and Vietnam, and it is easy to find local AppWorks alumni to lead the way, greatly reducing the barriers for international expansion.

In addition to AppWorks Accelerator, we have been working hard to create more examples for a modern Taiwan. Taking venture capital as an example, we successfully raised US$ 11 million for Fund I in 2012 and US$ 50 million for Fund II in 2014. Under the efforts of the AppWorks team, the investment performance of the two funds is currently above the industry average, of which Fund II has achieved an annualized internal rate of return (IRR) of 29%. This is much higher than the top quartile of VCs in both Europe and the United States. By pursuing the same performance as international first-class funds, we hope to encourage Taiwanese LPs (short for venture capital investors) to be more confident in supporting local emerging GPs (short for venture capital management companies) and to promote the recovery and ultimate longevity of Taiwan's VC industry.

In 2016, we created AppWorks School with the aim of helping the younger generation pick up new skill sets, enhance their careers, and join the growing tech industry. The school offers four-month free programs and has now graduated 106 students, 85% of whom have secured jobs as software engineers, with a median starting salary of US$ 21,833. Although our scale is still tiny compared to larger institutes, we hope our efforts have inspired others to promote the modernization of Taiwan’s education system and equip young people with the necessary skills to thrive in the AI ​​era.

In addition, although AppWorks is still a small to medium-sized enterprise, it has received a lot of attention. Therefore, it often leads by example and demonstrates how to apply new thinkings to modern corporate management. In addition to internationally-competitive salaries, our colleagues enjoy flexible working hours and locations, unlimited vacation days, and several weeks off around Chinese New Year. AppWorks also recently launched an internal promotion track, promoting two of our very own staff to partners, Jessica Liu (30) and Andy Tsai (40). We hope that this move will also create a ripple effect across traditional Taiwanese industries, inspiring more local enterprises to put their faith in younger leaders.

Alongside the private sector, I am also actively involved in promoting Taiwan’s transformation through public sector activities. In 2016, I took over as chairman of TiEA (Taiwan Internet and E-Commerce Association) from Mr. Hung-Tze Jan (詹宏志). After taking office, I have worked hard to promote our industry and successfully convinced government cabinet members to create a separate category for e-commerce companies, which didn’t previously exist in Taiwan’s stock market. Since 2017, I have been the co-convenor of the Asia-Silicon Valley Development Agency Advisory Committee, advisor of DIGI+ Taiwan, and the country’s member in ABAC (APEC Business Advisory Council). Most recently in 2018, I was appointed by the President to represent Taiwan in the APEC Vision Group, where 21 member states come together to define APEC's vision for the next 20 years. Although these are all voluntary work, I have treated them as full-time jobs because they produce opportunities that can greatly influence Taiwan’s future.

Finally, last year I was prepared to uproot my family again and move to Jakarta. With a population of 260 million people, I observed that Indonesia was a rapidly emerging economy, producing many areas where Taiwan and Taiwanese companies can contribute. In the span of just five years, Indonesia went from a barren startup landscape to producing four local unicorns and attracting the presence of three international unicorns. Although the opportunities are abundant, Indonesia’s ecosystem was much different from Taiwan’s, creating immense cultural, regulatory, and competitive barriers for Taiwanese companies. I had thus planned on relocating to Jakarta in hopes of better leading AppWorks startups into Indonesia and shortening our distance from the world’s fourth most populous country and GSEA’s biggest economy. I would have had to sacrifice some of my roles and responsibilities in my Taiwan, but I put faith in my partners and co-workers to fill the void.

With all that said, I want you to understand that the underlying mission to change Taiwan has never faltered. With this mission in mind, I’ve never hesitated in making decisions over the years because I’ve never needed to consider my own interests—but only the things I can do at the moment to best contribute to Taiwan and generate the most impact. It’s what prompted my resolution to move back from New York, my intent to move to Jakarta, and now my decision to take on this new opportunity with “Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks.”

Not long ago, the Chairman of Taiwan Mobile Daniel Tsai reached out and asked if I was interested in taking over as General Manager of Taiwan Mobile. At first, I was unable to take his offer because I was getting ready to move to Indonesia and I didn’t know how this would contribute to making Taiwan better. After allowing myself a few days to contemplate, I found an answer. I told Chairman Tsai that I would take on the position, but only if I can pursue these 4 ambitions:

First, leverage the AppWorks ecosystem to help transform Taiwan Mobile into a true technology company. At the same time, leverage Taiwan Mobile as a platform to accelerate the growth of AppWorks startups, thereby creating a successful collaboration template for other Taiwan & SEA large corporations to work with startups.

Second, with AppWorks leading the way, establish Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks into a regional technology group across Greater Southeast Asia, in turn, inspiring other Taiwanese companies to explore Southeast Asia as well as becoming a platform for startups to go regional.

Third, build Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks group to a market cap of US$ 100 billion and create the first non-OEM company that originates from Taiwan and truly reaches a global scale.

Fourth, throughout the process, all the bonuses I am entitled to shall be donated by the group to public welfare, focusing specifically on promoting education reform and the film industry in Taiwan.

I told Chairman Tsai if these are the goals, it’s worth dedicating the next 10 - 15 years of my life to achieve. This is basically my dream list. If I do this, the contribution to Taiwan and the GSEA region as a whole from the combined entity will be much greater than the continued independent operation of AppWorks. Chairman Tsai agreed on these four goals and gave me his promise, but it was still not a decision that I could make on my own--after all building AppWorks into what is it today was not something I did alone. Therefore, I went back to communicate with the AppWorks partners and team, and with everyone's support, we decided to accept this challenge together.

Thus, at the beginning of the post, I said, that I am not only taking over the position of Taiwan Mobile’s GM, but undertaking the task of integrating Taiwan Mobile and AppWorks to amplify our impact by 10x. Of course, developing a completely new business model is not an easy job. I may have 20 years of entrepreneurship and work experience under my belt, but I still have much to learn when it comes to managing a massive telecoms operation with over 7,000 people, most of whom are much more familiar with the industry than me. Therefore, I asked Chairman Tsai to act as my partner through the process to ensure the continued operations of the telecoms unit. This will enable more time and space to develop new businesses, benefiting all “Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks” stakeholders in the long run.

The telecoms industry will likely undergo a crucial transformation in the next few years. Last year’s “NT$499 war” accelerated the decline of telecom subscribers’ ARPU (average revenue per household). Longer replacement periods for smartphones have led to the stagnation of mobile phone revenues and the rollout of 5G will cost four times the capex as 4G. These factors all threaten the industry’s ability to maintain the fluid growth it’s experienced for the past 20 years. Furthermore, the arrival of paradigm shifting technologies such as AI, IoT, Blockchain, and Cloud have put all telecom operators on the defensive.

On the other hand, the telecoms industry has established brands, long-term customer relationships, and a massive amount of user data—all valuable assets that can be better maximized. Through the combination of Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks and the 328 startups that AppWorks has cultivated, all emerging startups will be able to look to the combined platform as a strategic engine for cooperation and growth. This is will also enable Taiwan to develop new sources of value creation--a win-win for both sides.

Therefore, in the foreseeable future, AppWorks will not change direction. We will continue to invite outstanding entrepreneurs to join our accelerator, staying true to the original ethos of AppWorks, while leveraging the new Taiwan Mobile platform to help them. The operation of AppWorks Funds will not change. In fact, with the backing of Taiwan Mobile’s resources, we are confident that we can create better financial and strategic rewards for LPs. My role at AppWorks will not change. I will continue to serve as a partner of AppWorks. I will ensure that the integration of Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks will be a successful, long-lasting win-win situation for all stakeholders involved. The only change is probably that my working hours will increase, effectively cutting into my family time. So first, I must apologize to my great wife and two lovely sons, and thank them for their continued support and understanding of this decision.

As for the plan to move to Jakarta and guide more AppWorks startups to enter Indonesia, regrettably it must be suspended. Fortunately, Jessica Liu, AppWorks’ newest partner, has promised to take up this responsibility. I believe that under her leadership, AppWorks' Indonesia initiative will still be able to make a big splash and develop fruitfully.

Hopefully, this post has provided you with all the relevant details regarding the Taiwan Mobile + AppWorks announcement. To friends and media, I sincerely appreciate your continued support. At any rate, I will continue to work hard to contribute to Taiwan. I hope that the children of our generation will grow up and be proud of being Taiwanese.

Finally, I wish everyone all the best. Have a wonderful and prosperous pig year!