Step into the world of Pop Mart (泡泡玛特)—the Chinese collectible toy giant that turned “ugly-cute” designer figures into an international sensation. In this episode, we reveal founder Wang Ning’s journey from a small Beijing shop to a multibillion-dollar brand leading the global blind-box craze. What key business foundations did the Pop Mart team lay before launching Labubu to enable such massive worldwide success?

🔑 What You’ll Learn

• Pop Mart’s Rise: From humble Beijing beginnings to global blind-box dominance.
• Design to Factory to Store: Behind the scenes of how Pop Mart identifies artists and creates blind-box designs.
• Business Model Secrets: The gamified blind-box strategy driving explosive growth.
• The Labubu Effect: How one IP became a global hit thanks to social media.

Whether you’re into designer toys, collectibles, or retail strategy, this deep dive shows how Pop Mart built a worldwide following—one blind box at a time.

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Episode Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: the “ugly-cute” monster that blew up the internet

00:05:00 From CDs to grid shops: Wang Ning’s college hustles

00:12:02 Surviving the early years: cash-strapped and cornered

00:16:03 The VC lifeline: how Mai Gang’s faith saved Pop Mart

00:24:58 Sourcing the management team from MBA class

00:30:40 The great pivot: from licensing to IP powerhouse

00:41:03 The blind-box formula: Molly, Labubu, and the gamified craze

00:57:34 Behind the scenes: from artist discovery to store sales

01:16:37 Global expansion: from partnerships to full control

01:34:55 Our take on why Pop Mart succeeded

Today we are covering a company that built its name on viral smart phones and a "magic touch" for creating every kind of smart home appliance imaginable. We're, of course, talking about Xiaomi.

This company, which started far from the automotive world, has just launched its first two EV models, and the result is stunning. The SU7 sedan and the YU7 SUV have become one of the most wanted and pre-ordered EVs in China. It also made the fastest EV sports car in history so far.

This is Xiaomi EV.

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Episode Chapters

00:00:59 Intro

00:02:47 The “Tony Stark” of China: the story of Lei Jun

00:10:41 Building an empire: the Kingsoft years and the founding of Xiaomi

00:25:18 More than phones: a breakdown of Xiaomi's business lines

00:34:17 Blacklist, boardrooms, and a big decision: how a crisis led to the EV venture

00:45:09 The EV hunger game: navigating a “game of elimination"

00:57:17 The SU7: a masterclass in smart EV manufacturing

01:17:15 The "Halo effect" of Ultra: how racing puts Xiaomi on the map

01:33:17 The numbers game: sales, market share, and industry trends

01:39:54 Demand outruns the factory: the production challenge

01:45:15 The fastest to profit: Xiaomi's future and global ambitions

Today, we dive into the fascinating story of a global powerhouse that, on the surface, appears distinctly Western, yet boasts surprising Asian roots.

This isn't just a company that sells a drink; it sells a feeling – the promise that "gives you wings."

It's a brand that established dominance not through traditional advertising, but by deeply embedding itself in the worlds of niche sports, adrenaline junkies, athletes, artists, and innovators, cultivating an exceptionally strong and loyal following within these high-influence communities.

Instead of mere ad placements, it operates like a full-fledged media company, producing high-quality documentaries, films, music, magazines, and other digital content, often with the product subtly, or even entirely, in the background.

Yes, you have guessed it, we're talking about Red Bull.

In this episode, you'll discover its humble beginnings in Asia, its journey to Europe, its groundbreaking marketing and content creation strategy, its evolution from sports sponsor to team owner, why you can find at least four different Red Bull cans in China, and the ongoing legal battles it faces.

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:20 Thai origins: Krating Daeng and Chaleo Yoovidhya

00:09:55 The Austrian visionary Dietrich Mateschitz

00:14:50 Conquering Europe (with a lot of bans)

00:40:48 Journey into the world of extreme sports and media production

01:07:14 From sponsorship to ownership: F1 & football

01:24:45 Same bulls, different drinks: TCP Red Bull, Red Bull Austria & Red Bull China

01:56:15 Red Bull’s legacy and future

DeepSeek is the Chinese large language model (LLM) that stunned the AI world with its low training costs and open-weight approach. This episode dives into the extraordinary founder story of Liang Wenfeng, the secretive quant trader who pivoted his billion-dollar firm, High-Flyer Capital, into a top AI competitor.

How did a quantitative finance empire become the birthplace of DeepSeek R1 and V3? We unpack the innovations, the GPU hoarding strategy, the DeepSeek architecture, and the controversial pivot that positions them as a serious challenger to ChatGPT and Llama in the global AGI race.

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In This Episode:

00:00 Intro

04:23 Liang Wenfeng's early life and education

08:16 Inception of the quant trading journey

18:47 Becoming quant king: building a billion-bollar empire

31:00 The hoarding (of GPUs) begins

39:53 Liang Wenfeng's vision for China's quant future

46:48 The 2021 challenge and fund drawdown

50:29 The pivot: from trading to AGI

57:17 Innovation under constraint

01:08:31 DeepSeek's unconventional hiring philosophy

01:12:35 Future uncertain: can DeepSeek outlast the giants?

01:20:50 Ascent with open source

Correction: at 59:24 - it should be 600 billion not 6 billion parameters

P.S. Yes, these show notes were also generated by DeepSeek!

Insta360 is the world's fastest-growing action camera brand, dominating the 360 camera market with its software innovation and Invisible Selfie Stick technology. This episode of ASCENT unpacks the incredible journey of founder JK Liu, a visionary software engineer who took the company IPO this year, making him one of the youngest tech disruptor CEOs.

Discover the Insta360 strategy that allows creators to "shoot first, frame later", a technique redefining content creation and giving them the edge over competitors like GoPro. We explore the full Insta360 story: from early product development (Nano, One) to its focus on the global market, strategic partnerships, and the key success factors behind its rapid evolution.

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Key Topics (Time-stamped):

00:00 Intro

02:50 The journey of JK Liu

05:57 Early ventures of JK

09:02 The birth of Insta360

11:58 Identifying opportunities in the market

14:54 Product development: from Nano to Insta360 One

18:06 The evolution of Insta360: key products and innovations

39:51 GoPro vs. Insta360: a tale of two strategies

44:03 The importance of focusing on the global market

49:49 Strategic partnerships is the key to Insta360's success

56:11 Innovative marketing and brand ambassadors

01:01:48 Navigating IPO challenges

01:05:05 Our reviews of the key success factors