Rui Ma Part 2 | China Tech Headed West & Understanding The Phenomenon 'Lookism'

<p><strong>Topics Discussed and Key Points:</strong></p><p>●      Trends taking place in China that may soon quickly spread to the rest of the world</p><p>●      Why offline retail continues to prevail in the West</p><p>●      How views toward entrepreneurship and working in the tech industry have evolved over the past decade in China</p><p>●      Emerging Chinese tech companies to keep an eye on</p><p>●      Why <em>lookism </em>has become “rampant in China”</p><p>●      Why Rui revisited Agora and her thoughts on sinophobia and the education crackdown in China</p><p>●      The future of cross-border investments</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>Today on The Negotiation, we continue our conversation with angel investor and fund consultant Rui Ma, whose work involves identifying superior technology investment opportunities in both the US and China.</p><p>Rui is best known as the creator of Tech Buzz China, a paid community for investors and operators interested in China tech. Rui also co-hosts the biweekly Tech Buzz China podcast.</p><p>Live streaming in the eCommerce space is poised to explode in popularity in a few countries outside of China, including India and much of Southeast Asia. After all, according to Rui, “There is nothing culturally Chinese about live commerce.”</p><p>However, eCommerce penetration is still lower in the U.S. compared to China due to greater development of, and continued preference for, offline retail. Further, major eCommerce companies in China have gone all-in with regard to KOLs, whereas American companies, by large, have not.</p><p>Over the past ten years, entrepreneurship and the tech space have seen drastic changes on a cultural, economic, and political level. Rui shares how the government “made it socially okay” to become an entrepreneur, whereas as late as 2014 the choice for a young person to go into business for oneself was seen as irresponsible by many parents.</p><p>She then speaks on the phenomenon of <em>lookism </em>that she