<p>We kick off Season 7 with a bang: Pinduoduo, the incredible five year-old Chinese mashup of "Costco and Disneyland" (as self-described in their IPO prospectus) which recently became the fastest company ever to pass $100B market capitalization. What makes PDD so special, and how were they able to enter a market that everyone considered "already won" and disrupt massive entrenched competitors Alibaba and JD.com? This story is chock-full of lessons that apply not only to China tech, but to high-growth company building and investing everywhere. </p><p><br></p><p></p><p><strong>Sponsors:</strong></p><ul><li>Legora: <a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora">https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora</a></li><li>Vanta: <a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta">https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta</a></li><li>ServiceNow: <a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26">https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26</a></li><li>Statsig: <a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26">https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>More Acquired!</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.acquired.fm/email">Get email updates</a> with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes</li><li><a href="http://acquired.fm/slack">Join the Slack</a></li><li><a href="https://pod.link/acquiredlp">Subscribe to ACQ2</a></li><li><a href="https://www.acquired.fm/store">Merch Store</a>!</li></ul><p><br>© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC</p><br><p>Links:</p><ul><li>Photo of 26 year-old Colin at lunch with Warren Buffett: <a href="https://thelowdown.momentum.asia/cv-of-pinduoduos-founder/">https://thelowdown.momentum.asia/cv-of-pinduoduos-founder/</a></li><li>PDD users on mini-programs vs other Chinese e-commerce players: <a href="https://miro.medium.com/max/1080/0*39fpSP_JqhDaPhQ2.png">https://miro.medium.com/max/1080/0*39fpSP_JqhDaPhQ2.png</a></li></ul><p>Carve Outs</p><ul><li>How to Make a Spaceship <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Spaceship-Renegades-Spaceflight/dp/1594206724">https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Spaceship-Renegades-Spaceflight/dp/1594206724</a></li><li>Creativity, Inc. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012/">https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012/</a></li></ul><p>Sources:</p><ul><li><a href="http://investor.pinduoduo.com/static-files/468b2c9f-9112-410d-84b3-2b22e07c7ee0">http://investor.pinduoduo.com/static-files/468b2c9f-9112-410d-84b3-2b22e07c7ee0</a></li><li><a href="http://investor.pinduoduo.com/static-files/5539839d-0a1c-4d40-9bb7-bdb490e2370c">http://investor.pinduoduo.com/static-files/5539839d-0a1c-4d40-9bb7-bdb490e2370c</a></li><li><a href="https://analyse.asia/2018/08/09/episode-260-pinduoduo-their-upcoming-ipo-in-china-with-matthew-brennan/">https://analyse.asia/2018/08/09/episode-260-pinduoduo-their-upcoming-ipo-in-china-with-matthew-brennan/</a></li><li><a href="https://analyse.asia/2020/06/28/pinduoduo-on-social-ecommerce-agriculture-with-xinyi-lim/">https://analyse.asia/2020/06/28/pinduoduo-on-social-ecommerce-agriculture-with-xinyi-lim/</a></li><li><a href="https://blog.ycombinator.com/pinduoduo-and-the-rise-of-social-e-commerce">https://blog.ycombinator.com/pinduoduo-and-the-rise-of-social-e-commerce</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinduoduo#cite_note-8">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinduoduo#cite_note-8</a></li><li><a href="https://hans.vc/pinduoduo/">https://hans.vc/pinduoduo/</a></li><li><a href="https://medium.com/@clarkboyd/pinduoduo-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pdd-chinas-third-biggest-ecommerce-site-38ac42086e47">https://medium.com/@clarkboyd/pinduoduo-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pdd-chinas-third-biggest-ecommerce-site-38ac42086e47</a></li><li><a href="https://overcast.fm/+HWy7CWz34">https://overcast.fm/+HWy7CWz34</a></li><li><a href="https://overcast.fm/+I8dmHF4NU">https://overcast.fm/+I8dmHF4NU</a></li><li><a href="https://overcast.fm/+PLdRNCiCg">https://overcast.fm/+PLdRNCiCg</a></li><li><a href="https://overcast.fm/+TmYdC1VPQ">https://overcast.fm/+TmYdC1VPQ</a></li><li><a href="https://overcast.fm/+TmYfSO3sc">https://overcast.fm/+TmYfSO3sc</a></li><li><a href="https://targetchina.com.au/article/how-pinduoduo-successfully-gained-market-share-through-social-commerce/">https://targetchina.com.au/article/how-pinduoduo-successfully-gained-market-share-through-social-commerce/</a></li><li><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/26/the-incredible-rise-of-pinduoduo/">https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/26/the-incredible-rise-of-pinduoduo/</a></li><li><a href="https://technode.com/2020/05/12/pinduoduo-growth-story-needs-a-new-chapter/">https://technode.com/2020/05/12/pinduoduo-growth-story-needs-a-new-chapter/</a></li><li><a href="https://trendslates.substack.com/p/amazons-335bn-in-gmv-amazon-testing">https://trendslates.substack.com/p/amazons-335bn-in-gmv-amazon-testing</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/bgurley/status/1255172025053663232">https://twitter.com/bgurley/status/1255172025053663232</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fabulous-life-colin-huang-pinduoduo-2020-7">https://www.businessinsider.com/fabulous-life-colin-huang-pinduoduo-2020-7</a></li><li><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/what-is-pinduoduo-chinese-ecommerce-rival-to-alibaba.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/what-is-pinduoduo-chinese-ecommerce-rival-to-alibaba.html</a></li><li><a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/02/why-pinduoduo-stock-popped-today.aspx">https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/02/why-pinduoduo-stock-popped-today.aspx</a></li><li><a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/07/4-tough-tasks-for-pinduoduos-new-ceo.aspx">https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/07/4-tough-tasks-for-pinduoduos-new-ceo.aspx</a></li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#721870433d78">https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#721870433d78</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/3081078/pinduoduo-doubles-down-rural-china-five-year-us71-billion-e">https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/3081078/pinduoduo-doubles-down-rural-china-five-year-us71-billion-e</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1737806/000104746918005204/a2236308z424b4.htm">https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1737806/000104746918005204/a2236308z424b4.htm</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1737806/000110465920051022/pdd-20191231x20f.htm">https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1737806/000110465920051022/pdd-20191231x20f.htm</a></li><li><a href="https://www.techbuzzchina.com/episodes/ep-17-pinduoduo-from-zero-to-23b-in-three-years">https://www.techbuzzchina.com/episodes/ep-17-pinduoduo-from-zero-to-23b-in-three-years</a></li><li><a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinas-pinduoduo-is-nipping-at-alibabas-heels">https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinas-pinduoduo-is-nipping-at-alibabas-heels</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BidaQ22vWvM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BidaQ22vWvM</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqxtfOMMVFg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqxtfOMMVFg</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjLhCK8sUcw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjLhCK8sUcw</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbskb0KMBUU&t=4s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbskb0KMBUU&t=4s</a></li></ul>