Will Wang runs a smart-glasses startup in China. He thinks consumer electronics companies will become the next Apple faster in Shenzhen than in Silicon Valley. This is him telling you his factory is better than your factory.
The CEO of a company that makes smart glasses says smart glasses should be made where he makes smart glasses. Stunning bravery. Next week a Nebraska corn farmer will explain why Nebraska grows better corn than Iowa.
Wang used to work at Apple. Now he works at a Chinese startup betting against the place that created Apple. The logic here is that Shenzhen has supply chains and manufacturing expertise. Silicon Valley has venture capitalists who funded seventeen meal-kit companies in 2014. Fair point.
But here's what Wang won't tell you. The next Apple will not be an Apple. It will be something nobody called "the next Apple" until after it already won. Blockbuster Video was not the next movie theater. Netflix was not the next Blockbuster. The pattern holds.
Retail traders will read this headline and think they've unlocked alpha. They'll search for Chinese smart-glasses stocks on Robinhood. They'll find three SPACs and a leveraged ETF that tracks Shenzhen consumer electronics. They'll buy calls expiring Friday. By Monday they'll be explaining to their wives why groceries are a luxury good now.
Wang's pitch is simple. Shenzhen builds things faster and cheaper than California. True. Shenzhen also builds products the Chinese government permits and promotes. Silicon Valley builds products that seventeen regulatory agencies want to investigate. Different game.
The next Apple will not come from the former Apple executive who announced he's building the next Apple.
Photo by on Unsplash
Leave a Comment