Ever since I've started working at #Tiktok 1 year ago many friends r curious about what it's like at a Chinese company and the differences vs American tech
This question is more important as Chinese tech companies have become increasingly
competitive and relevant globally
This question is more important as Chinese tech companies have become increasingly
competitive and relevant globally
This is why Natalie, my friend & PM partner at Tiktok, and I made a video going over our experiences & learnings in the past year
⭐ WATCH HERE:
A summary below:
⭐ WATCH HERE:
A summary below:
1) Labor cost difference between 🇨🇳&🇺🇸 leading to:
* engineers in 🇨🇳 don't write unit tests(!) they rely on QA to manually test each code commit
* 🇨🇳product teams r more hands on + rely on manpower (ops teams) to drive growth, opposed to passive + data-driven Western tech
* engineers in 🇨🇳 don't write unit tests(!) they rely on QA to manually test each code commit
* 🇨🇳product teams r more hands on + rely on manpower (ops teams) to drive growth, opposed to passive + data-driven Western tech
1) Labor cost (cont.)
* e.g. of ☝🏻 Tiktok creator fund: Tiktok deployed $200M via armies of ops teams to give to 🇺🇸 creators to grow the platform. At the time this was highly unconventional in the US, but it worked, & Youtube/IG followed suit
* e.g. of ☝🏻 Tiktok creator fund: Tiktok deployed $200M via armies of ops teams to give to 🇺🇸 creators to grow the platform. At the time this was highly unconventional in the US, but it worked, & Youtube/IG followed suit
1) Labor cost (cont.)
Most differences we noticed between Chinese🔄US tech were a side effect of labor cost, a trend of Chinese firms relying more on manpower
We think this is a key reason Chinese companies succeed @ entering new markets so quickly
Most differences we noticed between Chinese🔄US tech were a side effect of labor cost, a trend of Chinese firms relying more on manpower
We think this is a key reason Chinese companies succeed @ entering new markets so quickly
2) Meetings:
* 1:1 meetings are rare bc they are unscalable. why? teams are less partitioned, you're interacting w/ way more ppl
* top-down mgmt results in 90+ minute meetings with 60+ people. usually 1 person talking, rest reading a doc. fewer socratic discussion meetings
* 1:1 meetings are rare bc they are unscalable. why? teams are less partitioned, you're interacting w/ way more ppl
* top-down mgmt results in 90+ minute meetings with 60+ people. usually 1 person talking, rest reading a doc. fewer socratic discussion meetings
3) Org structure
* Org charts are hidden due to competitive nature of poaching in China
* Orgs are extremely flat at Tiktok, some managers manage 200+ reports (not partitioned!) some reports don't know what their manager looks like
* Org charts are hidden due to competitive nature of poaching in China
* Orgs are extremely flat at Tiktok, some managers manage 200+ reports (not partitioned!) some reports don't know what their manager looks like
4) Process & execution
* Chinese firms have less BS, people r heads down working & less writing narratives & virtue signaling
* Flip side, Chinese firms r less mature on process side. Docs & improving team comms r not rewarded behaviors. No code review for engineers!
* Chinese firms have less BS, people r heads down working & less writing narratives & virtue signaling
* Flip side, Chinese firms r less mature on process side. Docs & improving team comms r not rewarded behaviors. No code review for engineers!
5) Work life balance:
* 996: Chinese coworkers work from 9am-9pm & alternate 6 and 5 day workweeks bi-weekly 大小周, but 2x pay for weekend work!
* 996 not required of US teams, but we must keep up w/ 🇨🇳timezones, led to big attrition, 10/10 of my PMs quit at 1 yr mark
* 996: Chinese coworkers work from 9am-9pm & alternate 6 and 5 day workweeks bi-weekly 大小周, but 2x pay for weekend work!
* 996 not required of US teams, but we must keep up w/ 🇨🇳timezones, led to big attrition, 10/10 of my PMs quit at 1 yr mark
5) Work life balance cont. (key drivers)
* With 4x the STEM PHDs and fewer tech opportunities (TAM of Chinese tech < USA), competition in China is higher than it is in the US. Leads to 内卷, where people increasingly compete within a fixed space for fixed resources
* With 4x the STEM PHDs and fewer tech opportunities (TAM of Chinese tech < USA), competition in China is higher than it is in the US. Leads to 内卷, where people increasingly compete within a fixed space for fixed resources
5) Work life balance cont. (key drivers)
* Class anxiety: coworker friends in China expressed fear of losing their tech jobs and falling a rung in society — thus why it's so competitive. 躺平 is a cultural response to 内卷, avoid the blades of capitalism by lying flat
* Class anxiety: coworker friends in China expressed fear of losing their tech jobs and falling a rung in society — thus why it's so competitive. 躺平 is a cultural response to 内卷, avoid the blades of capitalism by lying flat
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