About me

Every week, something gets built in Shenzhen, Hangzhou or Taipei that would work perfectly well in Berlin or Austin. Almost none of it gets written about in English. That gap is the entire reason this newsletter exists.

Sinosphere covers startups, apps and business models from China and Taiwan. Each issue has one deep dive on a company worth understanding, a handful of quick hits, and an honest read on what a Western builder could take from it.

It’s for founders, product people, and anyone who suspects the good ideas aren’t all coming out of San Francisco.

I’m Colin. I work in SaaS in Cologne, I spent a year in Anhui, China, and I’m learning Mandarin with a preference for the Taiwanese version of it. The part that matters for you: I read the Chinese sources directly — 36氪, 少数派, the app stores, the founders’ own posts. English coverage of Chinese tech is thin and roughly six months late. I’m reading what Chinese product people read.