The Impulso Podcast

What food delivery platforms are building next…Behind a simple tap is a multi-billion-dollar battle reshaping how cities function, how restaurants survive, and how consumers behave.In the last decade, food delivery in Southeast Asia has exploded - now processing 8.5 to 9.5 million orders every single day. What started as a convenience feature has quietly become core infrastructure.If you want to understand food delivery platforms in 20 minutes - this episode is for you.Subscribe for more conversations breaking down the industries quietly shaping our future.Featured Materials:Food delivery platforms in Southeast Asia 6.0, Momentum Workshttps://momentum.asia/insights/detail...

Jianggan and Kaifei return to discuss how Chinese companies adapt their domestic playbooks for overseas markets, using Shein as a case study to explain why its ultra-low prices and agile supply chain work—and what global partners and competitors can learn.Key Topics00:40 – Kaifei is in Singapore for our MWX immersion01:16 – Chinese firms testing the “China playbook” overseas02:51 – How SHEIN is reframing the global e-commerce competition with "Selection, Speed, Quality, and Savings"03:55 – The inventory risk of non-standard apparel and how SHEIN's small batch fast re-order mitigates this risk07:23 – Traditional OEM apparel pains: Middle East retailer drowning in dead stock11:10 – How SHEIN solves dead stock with Data optimization and factory-task matchingFeatured Materials:Who is Shein?https://momentum.asia/insights/detail/who-is-sheinMomentum Academy: Off the Record - Behind SHEIN’s Success and Global cross-border trendshttps://youtu.be/n67pXR-SQkE

China’s EV race is usually dominated by giants like BYD, Tesla, XPeng, and Nio. But the real surprise? The country’s top-selling model in September 2025 wasn’t a flagship sedan or high-tech SUV. It was a tiny, ultra-affordable, highly customizable “lunchbox-sized” EV from Wuling.In this episode, Sophia and Jianggan unpack why this humble Hongguang Mini EV has become a nationwide phenomenon and a global export success. From social media fame to clever product strategy, this little car offers a window into how China builds for real consumer needs.Tune in to discover:Why a sub-USD 4k EV is outselling major brands in ChinaHow Wuling built a mass-market hit by focusing on accessibility, not specsThe role of customization culture on Douyin and XiaohongshuWhy small business owners love this car’s modular, configurable designHow Wuling quietly expanded overseasWhat this model reveals about China’s EV supply chain, segmentation, and competitionTimestamps:00:01:59 – China’s EV leaders and surprising sales rankings00:03:51 – What a sub-USD 4k EV offers00:07:52 – The viral Wuling ad that changed everything00:14:26 – Customization culture and social media fame00:17:15 – How the Mini EV is expanding overseasFeatured Materials: Momentum Works Executive (MWX) Immersion

Most of us open our map apps every day, but have you ever stopped to think about how they actually work, or how little they’ve changed in a decade?In this episode, Jianggan and Shaolin (co-founder of NextBillion.ai) dive deep into the invisible world of mapping technology , the infrastructure powering everything from ride-hailing to food delivery, and explore why keeping maps accurate is one of tech’s most expensive and underappreciated challenges.Tune in to discover:Why maps haven’t really evolved in 10 years — and why that’s a problem;The hidden cost of keeping maps alive (and how they “decay” without constant updates);How local players like Grab and Naver build their own maps;The role of AI in fixing global address chaosTimestamps:05:30:00 – Why maps stop improving once they’re “good enough”10:00:00 – Local vs global: who should build the world’s maps?15:30:00 – AI, addresses, and the promise of smarter navigation22:00:00 – The future: AR maps and new ways of seeing the worldFeatured materials: Inside Luckin Coffee: How they launch 119 drinks a year | Impulso E131WTF is Carbon Accounting?! | Impulso E89E33: [Unfiltered CTO talks] US vs China team culture, business design, loneliness, the future

Laopu Gold is shaking up what it means to be a Chinese luxury brand. From heritage-inspired designs to fixed pricing that defies the traditional “by-weight” gold shop model, the brand has carved out a premium niche that’s turning heads.In 2024, Laopu’s revenue jumped 167% year-on-year, six times higher than in 2021. But what’s behind this meteoric rise?Tune in as Sabrina and Elody unpack:How Laopu reinvented itself from a traditional gold retailer into a modern luxury house;Why Xiaohongshu has been central to its popularity;The “national wave” of Chinese heritage brands, and how Laopu fits right in;What its overseas push, starting with Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, says about its global ambitions.Will Laopu really become “the Cartier of China”? Let’s find out.Timestamps:00:00:54 – From gold trader to luxury brand: the founder’s story00:01:36 – Why Laopu went viral on Xiaohongshu00:02:14 – Breaking tradition: fixed pricing vs. by-weight gold00:03:49 – Going global: Laopu’s Marina Bay Sands store00:07:57 – The ‘national wave’ and rise of Chinese heritage brandsFeatured materials: E103: Behind the Labubu craze: PopMart business explainedE124: Labubu makes no sense - and that’s why it sellsE127: Is POPMart engineering a soft landing for Labubu?Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2025, Momentum Works