6 things to learn from TikTok startup story

By Luca Russo

Jun 1, 2023

Level: General

Reading time: 3 min

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In 2020, TikTok quickly became a global sensation because of its unique company mission to enhance entertainment. Following its merger with Musical.ly, a small social media-sharing company, Tiktok has expanded its service to customers by introducing several unique features that continuously attract users worldwide. As a result of its broad vision to foster creativity and entertainment, Tiktok has gained popularity among teens and college students between the ages of 16 to 24. With over 1 billion users across 154 countries worldwide, TikTok is regarded by many finance experts as a company to watch.

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1. TikTok is a one-person start-up, not a joint business

Surprise? Well, yes, TikTok is not a joint business or coalition. Founded in 2016 by Zhang Yiming, TikTok surprised the world with its super video-sharing speed and entertainment. While the app has gone global, it all started in China as a part of the Douyin project. TikTok, however, is under the vast tech giant called Bytedance. But still maintain its autonomy, management, and operations independently.

2. Idea started from a small box office

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The app TikTok was developed in a small office in Beijing with a handful of employees led by Zhang Yiming. The team worked tirelessly on growing the company and improving its services, such as video editing and recording tools. In this small Beijing office, the TikTok business model was developed, which entirely focused on video content for users. Regardless of the modest beginning of TikTok, it has immediately gained popularity in the industry., particularly among teens, becoming one of the most downloaded apps in the world.

3. Sold out 5 times before becoming a company

TikTok has been known to have a complicated ownership history, from its acquisition to becoming a full-blown company. TikTok has weathered a series of ownership changes and negotiations due to this. After launching in September 2016 by tech company ByteDance, it was later rebranded to TikTok to gain global relevance. In 2017, Chiba tech giant ByteDance purchased Musical.ly and merged it with TikTok. TikTok has afterwards faced scrutiny over user data breaches which has led to negotiations with top companies like Microsoft and Oracle to acquire TikTok

4. Tried to explore the movie market but failed

Recently, TikTok has ventured into the movie market with the release of “The Outpost”, a movie based on a non-fiction book by Jake Tapper. TikTok partnered with Millennium Media to produce the film “The Outpost”. Although this strategy to expand their content offering has received many possible reviews, it has instead diverted the attention of their users to an entirely new ecosystem. With this rising competition in the movie market, TikTok has drawn back and restarted, experimenting with a more user-friendly approach, such as live streaming.

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5. Turned down by investors at an early stage

During the days of TikTok’s modest beginning, the company needed more support from investors. While many firms were willing to help the parent company raise billions of dollars as growth support, other investors rejected the idea. However, TikTok has done this so well with the management of its own resources, which was used to grow the business.

6. TikTok is geo neutral and not location specific

One stunning fact about TikTok is its global reach. According to Statista, TikTok is present in more than 100 countries and is expected to double in a few years. Content creators worldwide are active on the platform, connecting and reaching a broad audience. It is fun and exciting and connects men and women with different backgrounds, cultures and languages.

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