OnePlus released two great smartphones in 2017, but the smartphone startup is facing more and better competition than ever before. That's great for you and me, but much trickier for a startup still trying to carve out a notable niche for itself. What's a small company to do?

In this case, OnePlus' answer is to keep making the best products it can and avoid looking at competitors simply as rivals to be crushed over time. Kyle Kiang, head of global marketing for OnePlus, joined us on our CES stage to discuss the team's strategy for building a successful mobile brand and the difficulties of developing a foundation of trust in through hardware.