Empires - An Asian Business Podcast Bytedance (CN) I Earthquake & Shockwave I 3/5
Tiktok's parent company Bytedance, is the world's most valuable Startup.
With an ecosystem spanning short-form video, news aggregation, and artificial intelligence, ByteDance’s influence stretches far beyond its roots in China. Today, the company’s flagship app TikTok stands as a cultural phenomenon, captivating billions of users across continents and redefining how content is created, shared, and consumed.
This is the story of ByteDance, driven by the relentless vision of Zhang Yiming. From its humble beginnings as an app factory producing memes and news aggregators, ByteDance would go on to challenge titans like Tencent and Facebook, navigating fierce competition, regulatory hurdles, and cultural resistance to become a global empire.
Episode 1: Clickbait and Addiction
Zhang Yiming discovers that the secret to building fast-growing apps lies in mastering the science of clickbait and addiction.
Episode 2: Today’s Headlines
ByteDance hit it's first major success with Toutiao, the news app that redefined personalisation and propelled the company into the spotlight.
Episode 3: Earthquake and Shockwave
ByteDance shakes up China’s tech scene with Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), spearheading the short-form video revolution before Tencent joins the battle.
Episode 4: Sayonara and Ni Hao
ByteDance perfects its strategy in Japan, then Asia, laying the groundwork for global domination.
Episode 5: Gold Rush
ByteDance storms into the U.S. by acquiring Musical.ly, rebranding it as TikTok. Leveraging its proven strategies, TikTok quickly becomes America’s top app.
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
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