Ep 113: Understanding business practices and technology maturity in China through a SaaS case

China Paradigms

Matthieu David interviews Michael Chiao, a Founding Partner at MEGI and Axel Standard. Finance and accounting management are important for companies as they weigh heavily in decision-making. That’s why MEGI, cloud-based accounting software has seen a great subscriber count since it’s creation. But is there a local market for such software? Are Chinese companies getting this type of management done internally or are they moving towards streamlining it? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this new China Paradigm interview. 0:00 Guest introduction 2:55 MEGI – brief company history 4:33 The coronavirus outbreak - growing the company in uncertain times 7:10 MEGI - current client base 8:03 Small numbers or niche numbers - what is MEGI's focus demographic? 9:35 Foreign companies vs Local companies in China - the culture difference in finance management 13:42 Do Chinese companies do analog SaaS services internally? 17:23 Are Chinese small and medium companies changing the way they manage their business internally? 23:25 Current company yearly revenue 26:24 What was the initial subscriber goal for MEGI? 29:38 What specific key features do clients value for MEGI? 33:04 How hard is the process of bank reconciliation through MEGI? 35:23 China's baking system accessibility - how hard is it to integrate with MEGI software? 37:48 How is MEGI able to handle finance reconciliation in the present? 41:16 Why did MEGI decide to focus on the financial statements? 46:12 Big Data Collection - has MEGI achieved critical mass yet? 51:42 What type of loans can small and medium companies expect to get from other companies or banks in China? 56:38 What is the process of deciding and then implementing a new feature for MEGI? 1:00:30 Listening to your client - a key requirement in software feature development? 1:01:49 What is Axel Standard and what do they do? 1:06:26 How has computer science evolved since 1998? 1:08:51 How has China benefited over the years by opening up to the world? Learn more about MEGI: www.megichina.com Building a SaaS in the Wechat, Weibo & Douyin ecosystems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WxmtJsXqgQ Listen & Subscribe: Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/china-paradigms-daxue Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/china-paradigms/id1450916630 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/78qDpsYgQXWrkPpJyZJLtx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2y6ixpQB1WIs6GMdUeoq4g?view_as=subscriber Website: https://chinaparadigm.com/ Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, do us a favor and write a review on iTunes. What is China Paradigms Podcast? China Paradigms is the China Business Podcast for entrepreneurs and China watchers. Learn from business professionals in China on our China Paradigms. #ChinaParadigm #SaaS #accounting