How to Become a Born-Global Company, Step by Step | Going Global

Going global is an old topic, but we're not here to retell the stories of the "Five Tigers of Bantian" or the "Three Heroes of Amazon." Chinese entrepreneurs have now entered the era of Globalization 2.0: vertically integrating design, R&D, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing into full-stack operations, becoming global brands from day one.

Thanks to China's robust supply capabilities and proven business models, consumer tech, new energy products, and robotics are three particularly promising categories in this 2.0 era — and also the focus areas of BlueRun Ventures. Recently, Cao Wei, Partner at BlueRun Ventures, joined Li Haoqian, CEO of Oladance, an OWS (Open Wearable Stereo) true wireless open-ear headphone brand; Lin Xiao, CEO of Botree Cycling, a power battery recycling solutions provider; Jiang Gonglue, CEO of Viture, a fashion AR glasses developer; and Yang Jianbo, CEO of Keyi Tech, a consumer robotics platform, to discuss the globalization of Chinese tech brands.

You'll find firsthand answers to hot topics in this conversation: how to leverage China's supply chain while completing localization, how to navigate geopolitical controversies, how to create that "I got a great deal" feeling for consumers... We've distilled the most compelling and practical insights, with the full text under 2,500 words. Enjoy —

01

Why Now? Why Me?

Yang Jianbo

The massive opportunity we face lies in the development of the entire industry and the entire supply chain. For example, three or four years ago when we were sourcing motors for Clicbot, we searched through virtually every motor factory in China. Most companies had "old master" types leading their motor design teams, and many of our requirements couldn't be met. But in recent years, when developing Loona, a wave of new supply chain enterprises emerged in the Pearl River Delta, with strong capabilities in algorithms and foundational methodologies — partly thanks to companies like DJI, whose demands have driven the maturation of the entire industrial chain.

Jiang Gonglue

Rather than thinking about how Chinese companies go global, it's better to consider what kinds of companies can succeed in today's context. The blueprint has already been written: Japan started by imitating products from Germany and other Western countries, spent 40 years developing from supply chain capabilities to becoming a manufacturing-intensive country, and then achieved full-stack competence. If we place ourselves in a broader perspective, it becomes easier to see where the opportunities lie: the next revolution in personal digital terminals will undoubtedly happen in China.

XR glasses face an impossible triangle — you cannot simultaneously achieve sufficient immersion, sufficient portability, and sufficient computing power. But by 2021, 5G and a consumer-grade MicroOLED component had matured enough to make the upstream supply chain ready for mass production. There has never been a period when all these factors aligned at once.

Li Haoqian

There was a phase of supply chain going global, but now it's brands and technology going global. Before choosing to go global, we considered three questions: the forward trajectory of technology, which market our product could best survive in, and who the most accessible and convertible customers are. In fact, our products perform better in overseas markets like the US and Japan than in China.

02

What Do Consumers Want?

Li Haoqian

Oladance didn't choose the TWS (True Wireless Stereo) category; instead, we pioneered OWS (Open Wearable Stereo) based on careful thinking about what the world will look like in ten years. Change never stops, which means what we use now may not exist then. Going global isn't just about selling products for us — it's also about promoting a revolution.

In overseas markets, consumers spread word-of-mouth for good products. We initially lacked branding or marketing capabilities, but we "do not allow" negative reviews. We established a rapid-response team within the company specifically for Amazon negative reviews. Any negative review triggers immediate action across the company, and similar types of negative reviews cannot be left unresolved overnight. Once word-of-mouth was established and we layered on some marketing, momentum built quickly.

Yang Jianbo

A major challenge for consumer products is judging user demand — the worst outcome is building something that ends up gathering dust at home. Our products Clicbot and Loona both respond to users' need for companionship. Some might think identifying this demand is difficult, but demand isn't something you just "stumble upon" — it's activated. Everyone needs companionship; it's just that previous product forms couldn't satisfy it, so the demand remained dormant.

Jiang Gonglue

Users have an internal scale; real markets always form because of value-price gaps: the value a product provides must far exceed what they pay. What kind of experience makes users feel they're getting tremendous value? Watching movies, information alerts — these don't hold much value for ordinary people. But gaming is different.

At the core, regardless of which terminal they use, users need digital content, and XR glasses are the next-generation vehicle for digital content. The decline in consumer electronics doesn't stem from industry-wide weakness, but from a lack of innovation — no product has truly ignited people's passion or let them experience completely different digital content. We need to get users wearing XR glasses first; content will then have the opportunity to grow on top of that.

03

Great Voyages Meet Great Storms

Lin Xiao

The biggest change in the past year is that basically the whole world now recognizes China's new energy policies and product forms. But due to competitive relationships, they don't want to use Chinese products, so positioning ourselves becomes a major challenge. We build an expert image and strengthen our identity as an international technology company outside of China. Last year we even did extensive publishing work abroad and participated in many international initiatives.

Another issue is inconsistent standards — European standards differ significantly from China's, especially for industrial products. For example, CE certification is required. PP and PPH plastic materials common in China's new energy industry cannot clear customs in Europe.

Yang Jianbo

The biggest difficulties come from cultural differences and user concerns about information security. Later, a user with disabilities suggested that we shouldn't limit ourselves to explaining geopolitical issues, because even doing that well is hard to prove. So for Loona, we emphasized caring, love, and creativity — these deep, spiritual pursuits are universal across any region and make people forget about value disagreements.

Jiang Gonglue

Understanding your target market is a major challenge. My eleven years living in the US may give me some innate advantage in going global. American society is stratified — different strata have their specific living, consumption, and social habits. For example, most overseas gamers are men aged 30 to 40. After getting home from work every day, they need substantial fixed time for gaming. After going to bed on schedule, they still want to play, but can't disturb their wives' sleep so they have to turn off the lights — Viture hits them right in the heart.

---

Founded in Silicon Valley, BlueRun Ventures was established in 2005 as a venture capital firm focused on early-stage startups.

Currently, BlueRun Ventures manages multiple USD and RMB dual-currency funds in China, with assets under management exceeding RMB 15 billion, making it one of the largest early-stage funds domestically. Its investment stage focuses on Pre-A and Series A rounds, covering hard tech and innovative interaction, enterprise technology, new consumer, and healthcare. It has invested in over 150 startups, including Li Auto, Waterdrop, QingCloud, Guazi, Qudian, Songguo Mobility, Ganji.com, Energy Monster, Yuntu Semiconductor, Machenike, CloudSaints, Anxin Network Shield, and BioMap.

BlueRun Ventures has been ranked first in Zero2IPO's "China's Top 30 Early-Stage Investment Institutions" and ChinaVenture's "China's Best Early-Stage Venture Capital Institutions TOP30," and was named among Preqin's Top 10 venture capital fund managers globally for sustained high returns.

Additionally, BlueRun Ventures has received consecutive honors from Forbes China, 36Kr, Cyzone, Caixin Media, CBNweekly, Jiemian, and other media institutions, including "China's Best Early-Stage Institution of the Year," "China's Top Venture Capital Institution," "Most Entrepreneur-Friendly Early-Stage Institution of the Year," and "Most Influential Early-Stage Institution of the Year."