WhatsApp take a Hike

Messaging services in Asia bossing it. Everyone’s doing it- Kobe Bryant launches a VC fund. The guy who uncovered Ricky Gervais, Ali G and The Inbetweeners.

Hike and WeChat don’t mean much to us but they’re bossing it in Asia

Hike and WeChat are essentially India’s and China’s online messenger services and they’re somewhat teaming up behind the scenes. WeChat has over 1 billion users or 70% of Chinese internet users with over a fifth of them pegging their credit cards. Both services pride themselves on being able to auto-suggest a sticker whenever you type something 😜

WeChat’s owner Tencent leads investment round in Hike, valuing it at $1.4bn

Hike, the four-year-old messaging app announced it had a base of 100 million, predominantly in India with 90% below the age of 30 earlier this year. The deal represents the first billion-dollar social company in India with other unicorns riding around in the e-commerce fields. Hike plans to use the funds for investment in video, local content, augmented reality and machine learning. It makes sense for Tencent to inject in India, after China given it is the planet’s other billion-person-plus population.

Like watching Chinese kids doing maths, WeChat makes WhatsApp look…

WeChat is a one-stop shop for Amazon, Facebook and Tinder. It is often compared to a mobile operating system, rather than a messaging app at all. The platform allows users to play games with friends, compete in fitness challenges, send animated stickers, share photos as well as buy stuff directly from businesses with an in-built wallet. The latest iOS update comes with iTunes support to share songs.

Some quirkier features include the ability to send a message in a bottle to a random user, a walkie talkie and shake functionality to make new friends. Maybe it’s a cultural thing…

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Kobe Bryant is launching a $100 million investment fund

After a 20 year sporting career, the retired NBA star is buddying up with brain scientist and tech entrepreneur, Jeff Stibel. The fund plans to invest in tech, media, and data companies over the next few years. They’ve been ally ooping since 2013 with 15 investments together ranging from sports media, gaming to legal services.

Everyone’s doing it- Kobe is not the only ‘famous’ person with VC side hustles

Other public figures dabbling in investing include: Aston Klutcher (Change.org, AirBnB), U2 Bono(Facebook), Leo DiCaprio (Casper) and Jared Leto (Headspace, Reddit).

Forget all of them combined- main man Obama hinted in an interview earlier this year that he might be looking to make a move into the venture capital space with a scientific slant post presidency. ‘nuff said.

The similarities between high performance sport and business teams

With the Olympics closing, the potent combination of strong work ethic, an inner belief of endurance and a sense of lightness has been plain to see amongst the winners.

Netflix publicly coined the idea of building a pro sports team for their company a few years back. If you don’t have time to read the 124-page culture slide deck, it essentially says give people freedom and responsibility, pay them top dollar and keep a revolving door.

Stalk corner (Companies I like).

This week, I’ve been looking at HighBrow– a Netflix for healthy content aimed at kids. Founded by a husband and wife team, they’re in early stages with the product but essentially trying to build a repository of entertaining content with learning outcomes, vetted by educational experts.

Don’t expect to see the likes of Disney or Peppa Pig on there. It’s providing a platform for young independent content creators and crucially the chance of upside for them to benefit from their content’s success.

Whilst there is no substitute for quality time with your kids, at least you know this activity is enriching!

Digi-stationary for the pencil case

Concerned about the danger of filter bubbles on my social feeds, I’ve been fiddling around with Feedly this week. It lets users curate personal reading lists from preferred publications. It’s simple to user and helps avoid that face I make scrolling through mindless drivel.

Shower thoughts

(contributed via Reddit)

• Today I beat my personal record of days most lived
• Does anyone use ‘Head and Shoulders’ to wash their shoulders?
• I feel such irrational pride the moment when Google gives up autosuggesting what I’m typing

Fancy yourself a bit of a comedian?

The latest podcast interview is with the BBC’s Head of Comedy, Shane Allen.LISTEN HERE! This mastermind behind British comedy has uncovered Ali G, The Inbetweeners, Ricky Gervais and more! In this episode, we journey behind the scenes through his escapades in the media industry and get into what makes something funny!

As always, pass this signup link to strangers on the 24-hour tube or in your Uber Pool http://eepurl.com/bQheMj.

Enjoy the last of summer’s sunsets!

Missed you — Samira x