A Closer Look At The Man Behind TikTok : TikTok maker

A Closer Look At The Man Behind TikTok

Digital business ventures in China can be tricky due to censorship and China’s data laws that allow the government to access a company’s data for any reason. Whether the result of a personal decision or an effect of China’s censorship, the reality is, information about the CEO is rather limited. Moreover, despite TikTok’s widespread fame, it is important to keep in mind that users in mainland China cannot access the app. In a public statement, Zhang acknowledged that he had taken on the role as an entrepreneur, and not just a software engineer, although in the South China Morning Post, Zhang explained how his way of thinking has since changed. Zhang said, “Since I became an entrepreneur, I have been exposed to more and more people and experiences. When I was an engineer, my thought patterns were pretty limited. But now I must develop a product, which makes it necessary for me to understand our users and what they experience.”

The CEO originally took a back seat with creation because of the feeling that Zhang might not be the right audience to participate in the app. However, Zhang also changed his mind on this and now actively encourages staff to make their own videos. It is worth noting that Zhang has no verified account on TikTok, but this could also be a result of the more frequent access to, and use, of Douyin in China. In terms of the CEO’s philosophy on business, Zhang made a statement on the Chinese social media network, Weibo, stating how companies themselves should be developed as a product.

Zhang’s history of startups and the time spent working at Microsoft likely helped in how the company is now being run. Despite accomplishing so much, Zhang believes that there's still plenty more that can be done. This ideology, innovative thinking, and the attempts to understand users have further helped in the creation of such a popular app. Through ByteDance, Zhang continues to test and release new ideas.

A Sum Of Technology & Innovative Thinking

Overall, one of the main reasons why TikTok is so popular is that Zhang merged standard business practices and innovated ways that users interact with technology. Regardless of the age group or demographic, TikTok's success is in no small part thanks to how addictive the platform became during the ByteDance reign. For example, it can tailor content so well that, if a person likes watching food content, the app will make sure they see food-related content, while those younger users who preferred what Musical.ly had to offer will find that the app caters to their lip-syncing and dancing needs just as efficiently.

Of course, luck also played a factor, considering that once Vine came to an end, users were actively looking for an app that offers video-sharing capabilities. Since then, viral challenges, whether for good or bad reasons, have helped to spread the word about the app even further, resulting in even more people downloading it to see what is going on. Zhang’s own philosophy about business is another contributing factor to TikTok's popularity, considering Zhang was never selling a product per se, but introducing people to the business instead.

Looking forward, it could be that the changes to Douyin could find their way to international markets, if adopted by Tiktok, and these could potentially reshape how people shop for items online. For example, when a popular user shows off an outfit, followers and viewers could gain the option to just tap the outfit to buy it for themselves. It is this continued approach to innovation and the user experience that could result in TikTok maintaining and possible, attracting an even larger audience in the future.