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 chaos

Timestamps:

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 navigation

22:00:00 – The future: AR maps and new ways of seeing the world

Featured materials:

Inside Luckin Coffee: How they launch 119 drinks a year | Impulso E131

WTF is Carbon Accounting?! | Impulso E89

E33: [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 story

00:01:36 – Why Laopu went viral on Xiaohongshu

00:02:14 – Breaking tradition: fixed pricing vs. by-weight gold

00:03:49 – Going global: Laopu’s Marina Bay Sands store

00:07:57 – The ‘national wave’ and rise of Chinese heritage brands

Featured materials:

E103: Behind the Labubu craze: PopMart business explained

E124: Labubu makes no sense - and that’s why it sells

E127: Is POPMart engineering a soft landing for Labubu?

Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2025, Momentum Works

Luckin Coffee is rewriting the playbook for how coffee chains innovate. From minty coconut lattes to a Moutai latte that sold 5.4 million cups in a day, the brand keeps churning out new - and sometimes funky - flavours.

In 2024 alone, Luckin launched 119 new SKUs. But how

Tune in as Weihan and Sabrina explore:

• Luckin’s data-driven R&D and “horse racing” approach to product development;

• Why odd-sounding creations (grape fizz Americano, anyone?) actually sell?;

• • How Luckin is rolling out country-exclusive flavours as it expands globally.

  
  

  And of course, we had to do a live taste test, because talking about funky flavors is one thing, but trying them is another.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Luckin launches way more drinks a year than Starbucks

03:10:00 – Data over creativity: Luckin’s product development

06:20:00 – How Luckin launches a new drink every 3 days

08:30:00 – What Luckin might brew just for the U.S.

12:40:00 – MW taste test: Grape fizzy americano?

Featured materials:

⁠Inside Luckin Coffee: Strategy, model, and international playbook, Momentum Works⁠

⁠How can Luckin Coffee launch 119 new drinks in a year, TheLowDown⁠

⁠E123: Luckin Coffee brings manufacturing back to the USA?, Impulso Podcast⁠

⁠Luckin Coffee copies Chagee’s best selling drink, TheLowDown⁠