Insights
Field notes on international growth, AI and the markets between Europe and Asia.
When Someone Offers to Open a Market For You, Assume They Are Buying It
Partners who offer to open a market are pricing your option on it. Rules from 20 years in Europe and Asia on distribution, exclusivity and equity terms.
Traction Gets the Meeting. Diligence Decides the Round.
Investors don't buy upside at term sheet stage, they buy the absence of surprises. Why rounds stall after the first meeting, and how to fix it early.
Your China Problem Isn't Finding a Factory. It's Who Owns the Relationship.
Founders treat China sourcing as procurement, then lose their margin. The WFOE vs local partner question is asked too early, and usually the wrong way round.
No, the Factory Isn't Cheating You: What the Foreign Buyer Premium Actually Buys
Western founders read higher China factory pricing as discrimination. After 20 years in Asia, I can tell you the gap is priced risk. Here is how to shrink it.
Pick the Market That Says Yes: Why Smaller Countries Beat Bigger Ones for Your Second Market
Market size is the wrong criterion for your second market. Four tests to find the country that hands you a flagship paying reference customer in ten weeks.
You Don't Have a Supplier Problem. You Have a Shortlist Problem.
Directories and trade show booths are advertising, not sourcing. How to vet a contract manufacturer in Asia before you ever book the flight.
You Can't Test a Market. You Can Only Test a Channel.
Market entry validation fails when founders test demand instead of distribution. How to design a country test that produces a decision, not encouragement.
Your First Factory Visit in China Is a Negotiation, Not an Inspection
A Chinese factory decides what kind of customer you are in the first two hours. What they assess, why the dinner is the meeting, and the questions that matter.
The Business Licence Proves Nothing: How to Actually Vet an Asian Partner Before You Wire Money
Registry checks and a signed MOU prove a company exists, not that it will perform. The behavioural due diligence sequence I use before wiring money in Asia.
The First Partner Who Says Yes Is Almost Always the Wrong One
Why the fastest yes in a new market is usually the weakest partner, how to read intent across Europe and Asia, and the three questions that separate real partners from card collectors.