This Shenzhen company seizes Anker's high-end power bank market and achieves over 200 million in revenue | Insight Global

When going global becomes the core strategy of a Chinese company, how to conquer the global market has become an extremely professional topic. In the evolution of globalization, many Chinese brands have stood at the forefront. In view of this, Hard Krypton has launched the "Insight Global" column to explore the cutting - edge directions and opportunities for Chinese brands to go global from the growth and changes of brands, providing thinking and inspiration for players and the industry in the global market.

This is the 37th issue of our column. In 2019, Zhang Bo, who noticed the GaN fast - charging track, founded Shargeek Technology with his friends. The crowdfunding of their first product exceeded one million US dollars. Focusing on the high - end market, with a differentiated user positioning and product design, it ranked first among high - unit - price power products on the Amazon US site within two years, and its revenue exceeded 200 million yuan in 2024... How can Chinese hardware brands avoid the involution trap and find a new way out in the red - ocean market? Based on this, we had a chat with Zhang Bo, the founder and CEO of Shargeek.

Author | Huang Nan

Editor | Yuan Silai

The beginning of 2025 was a bit bitter for Shargeek. Their AI glasses were sold out after the release and became a hot topic in the industry. However, just half a month later, there were large - scale returns of this popular product.

Many people first heard of the name Shargeek. The company has been established for 6 years. Before the grand AI glasses press conference at the end of 2024, it was just a Shenzhen - based hardware company that focused on making money. It was very profitable but a bit dull.

In 2019, Zhang Bo just left Meizu and started a business with a group of friends who left DJI and Gree.

At that time, for a startup to survive in the Chinese hardware industry, it had to find a niche market that large companies had not yet entered.

After investigating the market, they found that in the seemingly saturated power bank market, the precise needs of some users were not fully met. For example, outdoor sports enthusiasts need more durable, waterproof, high - power power banks that support drones and cameras; business people who often travel on business pursue more lightweight, fast - charging, high - end products that are compatible with multiple devices.

At that time, a new material, gallium nitride (GaN), had just begun to shift from military to civilian use. It was previously used in fighter jets, phased - array radars, etc., and has characteristics such as high power density and low energy consumption, making it particularly suitable for the fast - charging charger field. At that time, companies such as Anker, Baseus, and Ugreen had successively launched GaN fast - charging power banks.

Zhang Bo and his team knew that a short - lived opportunity window had opened.

They targeted high - end users who have higher requirements for quality, performance, and design. Their first GaN power bank product raised millions of US dollars on Kickstarter. Two years after the brand was launched on the Amazon US site, it became the number one power product within the $200 price range on that site.

Hard Krypton learned that in 2024, the revenue of Shargeek's power bank business exceeded 200 million yuan. Breaking into a new blue ocean from the crowded market, for Shargeek, the precise product power targeting the target users is the basis of technological innovation.

Shargeek broke a path in the already crowded power bank market.

It proves the survival rule of hardware startups in this era: in niche areas, deeply understand users' usage habits and focus on it.

Focus on the High - End Market

Different from some power bank brands that focus on cost - effectiveness and price competition, Shargeek focuses on the high - end market. Its target customers are geeks and engineers who are curious about innovative products, pursue ultimate performance and experience, and are willing to pay for product quality. Therefore, with a similar product positioning, Shargeek will invest 2 - 3 times more in raw materials, workmanship, and design processes.

The Shargeek team referred to the transparent design of Apple's iMac G3. The outer shell of its power bank is made of transparent material, allowing users to clearly see the internal components such as the PCB board, chips, and batteries, which increases the technological sense of the product's appearance and enables users to more intuitively understand its internal structure and working principle.

Shargeek 170W Cyber Prism Power Bank (Source/Company)

In some products, Shargeek also adds a multi - function display screen that shows real - time information such as remaining power, input/output voltage, current, power, and battery temperature, which is convenient for users to manage the charging needs of their devices. This will increase the volume, weight, and power consumption of the power bank, and the production cost will also increase.

Due to the premium in design, the prices of Shargeek's products are generally 2 - 3 times higher than those of its competitors. For example, the previously released Flow Mini, a super - small 5000mAh power bank, uses Tesla - level automotive - grade 21700 battery cells and reconstructs the charging and discharging circuits, allowing it to be directly hung under the phone for charging. This product is priced at around 150 yuan. In contrast, the average unit price of 5000mAh power banks in the market is generally between 50 - 60 yuan.

"According to our actual research and user feedback, users who are more concerned about product performance and design are willing to pay a higher price for a more beautiful and high - performance product," Zhang Bo, the founder and CEO of Shargeek, told Hard Krypton. "No one has ever made a power bank worth more than 1000 yuan, integrating the style of hard - core technology and strong performance into the product. In fact, this demand from users has always existed. I believe this market still has room for growth."

Shargeek's Product Portfolio (Source/Company)

In addition to geeks, the number of photography and drone enthusiasts among power bank users is also increasing. The battery capacity of these devices is limited and cannot meet the needs of long - term use or high - intensity shooting. Whether it is outdoor exploration, travel photography, or professional photography, a more powerful power bank is needed.

"This group of users has more diversified choices in charging solutions, and they are also one of the main forces for product repurchase. For example, when traveling long - distance for photography and needing to take care of multiple devices, they will choose to bring 2 - 3 power banks with large - capacity batteries as backups," Zhang Bo said.

There are no longer any technical barriers in the power bank industry. The key is to segment users as precisely as possible. According to the differences in user needs and preferences between domestic and overseas markets, Shargeek has also made targeted SKU differentiations.

Domestic users are more concerned about efficient and convenient charging, wide - range scene applicability, and high cost - effectiveness. Shared power banks are very popular in many shopping malls and restaurants. Therefore, Shargeek makes its products smaller and lighter than ordinary shared power banks, while maintaining the same capacity and efficiency. The price range is mainly between 100 - 200 yuan.

Shargeek 30W Fast - Charging Mobile Power Bank Pouch Mini (Source/Company)

In overseas markets, especially in the United States and Europe, users have higher requirements for device performance and user experience. They like to try new technologies, so Shargeek mainly promotes GaN - technology fast - charging power banks, which can provide higher charging speeds and larger battery capacities.

Hard Krypton learned that currently, among Shargeek's products, the high - end products with the strongest performance sell best overseas, with an average unit price of 100 - 200 US dollars. Previously, the monthly traffic of its independent website could reach 700,000 - 800,000, and at peak times, it could reach up to 1 million. The monthly sales basically remained at 400,000 - 500,000 US dollars. In 2024, the revenue of Shargeek's charging business exceeded 200 million yuan, with overseas markets accounting for 60%.

Product - First, Marketing - Oriented

Currently, power bank products in the market face a serious problem of homogenization. Many brands have little difference in basic functions such as appearance design, battery capacity, and charging speed, which makes it difficult for users to choose. Without a major breakthrough in the underlying charging technology, this phenomenon not only intensifies market competition but also poses a great challenge to technological innovation and iteration for major manufacturers.

The power bank market has long passed its peak. Now, it can only make subtle functional designs and optimizations around the core needs of the target population. Moreover, a group of people who are good at marketing are needed to formulate targeted communication strategies.

As discussed above, the main users of Shargeek are a group of geeks who know well about specifications, parameters, and performance. The distinct product - purchasing characteristics of this group of users are: whenever a product with higher performance, stronger parameters, or innovative design is launched, they can notice the subtle performance iterations, such as the improvement of energy density and the real - time monitoring of the charging and discharging process.

They generally have strong consumption ability. Even when facing power bank products with higher prices, more beautiful designs, more powerful functions, and more fun, they are willing to update their products every year. Some users regard high - end power banks as fashion items or collectibles to show their personality and taste, so they will collect multiple power banks with special designs or limited editions.

Shargeek 35W Macintosh Charger (Source/Company)

"The service life of charging products is relatively long. A product can be used for at least three years. Although Shargeek has continuously launched many SKUs with different performances, in fact, we are not in a hurry to expand our user base," Zhang Bo said frankly. "Our core seed users are always the main consideration for our product iteration. It's best if ordinary users can appreciate the innovation points of our products. If not, we can't force them."

In the marketing stage, Shargeek also focuses on reaching the core population and achieving secondary communication through seed users. For example, it chose Kickstarter as the platform for the initial crowdfunding, targeting the geek community in Europe and the United States. This group has a high tolerance for innovative products and is willing to support new ideas.

Zhang Bo told Hard Krypton that for Amazon and pure - sales platforms, Kickstarter can introduce 30% to 50% of natural traffic to the project in the early stage. By guiding this traffic to the independent website, the annual repurchase rate of this group of seed users is as high as 40%. A considerable proportion of users will choose to repurchase other types of products in the second year after their first purchase.

"We are not targeting the mass market. Instead, we need to continuously screen out people who are interested in this area through the platform's recommendation algorithms and advertising systems and keep influencing them," Zhang Bo said.

Shargeek S4 Record Charger (Source/Company)

Specifically for different countries and regions, Shargeek has also made a lot of local investments. For example, in Europe, in addition to the English - language website, Shargeek has specially set up an independent German - language website and equipped it with a full set of social media channels. For example, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), etc., are all operated in German; in Northern Europe, it has also established a distributor network and cooperated with local distribution teams.

Currently, Shargeek's products have gone global to dozens of countries. In addition to online channels, it has also set up many offline terminals both at home and abroad, including Suning Tesco in China, Media Markt, and Best Buy overseas.

However, from the actual results in the past few years, the value of charging products entering large - scale channels is not high. Channels have their own brands, and startups need to pay high costs to enter these channels, which is actually like paying an entry fee and protection fee, and the conversion effect is limited. Therefore, Shargeek is considering recruiting local employees in Europe and opening small - scale pop - up stores.

"Opening pop - up stores can choose prime locations in some large shopping malls, such as the core passageways for consumption. The cost is lower than entering large - scale channels, and the offline experience is better," Zhang Bo said.

Shargeek's Products at CES 2025 (Source/Company)

Shargeek's founding team has entered a blank area where large companies are not willing to spend energy for the time being. They are not struggling in a completely new field but making improvements on the shoulders of the winners. From this perspective, their products are not innovative, let alone bold.

However, because they are sufficiently focused, they have stood out in Shenzhen, which is like a "cemetery" for hardware startups.

The future risks for Shargeek are also obvious: as the price of battery raw materials continues to decline, the cost of charging products will inevitably decrease further, and price competition on the sales side will intensify in the short term.

Zhang Bo's strategy is still to focus on the high - end product positioning and further increase the charging power for photography equipment, drone equipment, etc.

At the same time, as the number of