Good Bad Billionaire: Zhang Yiming - TikTok’s Tech Boss

Episode Release Date: September 16, 2024
Hosts: Simon Jack (BBC’s Business Editor) and Zing Tsjeng (Journalist, Author, and Podcaster)

Introduction

In this episode of Good Bad Billionaire by the BBC World Service, hosts Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng delve into the life and legacy of Zhang Yiming, the enigmatic founder of ByteDance, the company behind the global sensation TikTok. They explore Zhang's journey from his humble beginnings to becoming one of China's wealthiest individuals, scrutinizing his business acumen, personal traits, and the broader impact of his creation on society.

Early Life and Education

Zhang Yiming was born in 1983 in Fujian Province, China, into a family of civil servants. His upbringing was steeped in science and technology, with his father working for the city’s Science and Technology Commission. From a young age, Zhang exhibited a voracious appetite for knowledge, reportedly reading around 25 newspapers a week during his teenage years.

When choosing a university in 2001, Zhang had a unique set of criteria:

• A well-respected institution within China.
• Located far from his parents to ensure privacy.
• Gender-balanced to aid in finding a girlfriend.
• Experiencing snow in winter, which he had never seen.
• Proximity to the coast for access to good seafood.

Ultimately, he attended Nankai University in Tianjin, where he studied software engineering after not meeting the grades required for biology. During his time at university, Zhang built his first business by fixing computers for fellow students, earning between 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a month. This venture not only provided financial independence but also introduced him to his future wife, Liu.

Notable Quote:

"If you keep an ordinary mind, accept yourself as you are, and do well for yourself, you can often do things well."
— Zhang Yiming ([04:16])

Founding ByteDance

After graduating in 2005, Zhang’s initial attempts to start a software company with friends failed. He then joined a startup called Kushun, where he quickly rose to manage 50 people before moving to Microsoft’s Asian research lab in Beijing. Dissatisfied with the unchallenging work environment at Microsoft, Zhang left to join a short-lived social media site, Fanfu, which was shut down in 2009 due to Chinese government censorship.

In 2012, encouraged by investor Joan Wang, Zhang co-founded ByteDance with his university roommate, Liang Rubo. They began in a modest four-bedroom apartment, developing various apps. By 2013, ByteDance had raised $5 million in funding, marking the beginning of Zhang's ascent in the tech world.

Development and Ascendance of TikTok

ByteDance’s early success came with the launch of Toutiao, a personalized news aggregation app leveraging advanced AI algorithms to curate content for users. However, competition was fierce, with established players like NetEase and Sohu dominating the market. Despite numerous lawsuits over content usage, Toutiao gained traction, setting the stage for ByteDance’s explosive growth.

In 2016, ByteDance launched Douyin, a short-form video app in China, modeled after the American app Vine. Despite initial technical glitches and lukewarm reception, Zhang’s strategic revamp of Douyin in 2017—including improved algorithms, enhanced editing features, and strategic sponsorships—propelled it to 100 million users in China.

ByteDance's pivotal moment came in 2017 when it acquired Musical.ly for $1 billion, merging it into what became known globally as TikTok in 2018. This acquisition expanded ByteDance’s user base to 1 billion downloads within months, solidifying TikTok’s position as a global powerhouse.

Notable Quote:

"If someone hadn’t done TikTok, someone else would have done it. It’s the nature of the media."
— Simon Jack ([44:50])

Geopolitical Challenges and Regulatory Scrutiny

TikTok's meteoric rise was not without controversy. Concerns over data privacy, censorship, and potential Chinese government influence led to significant geopolitical tension, particularly between the US and China. In 2020, under the Trump administration, the US government threatened to ban TikTok, citing national security risks. Although ByteDance denied these allegations, TikTok faced a ban in India—its biggest foreign market—alongside 59 other Chinese apps.

In April 2024, US President Joe Biden signed a bill requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company within nine months or face a complete ban. This legislative move underscored the intense scrutiny TikTok was under and placed Zhang Yiming at the center of a complex geopolitical struggle.

Notable Quote:

"TikTok is one of the first platforms many young people share social activism content on."
— Simon Jack ([28:42])

Personal Traits and Leadership Style

Zhang Yiming is portrayed as a private, modest, and unassuming individual, quite different from the more flamboyant tech moguls. Despite founding and leading a colossal company like ByteDance, Zhang stepped down as CEO and chairman in 2021, citing a lack of managerial skills and a preference for solitary activities such as reading and daydreaming.

Notable Quote:

"The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I'm more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles."
— Zhang Yiming ([29:54])

Zhang’s departure coincided with the Chinese government’s crackdown on tech giants, leading him to relocate to Singapore while retaining his Chinese citizenship. Despite stepping down, he still holds over 20% of ByteDance's shares, valuing him at approximately $43 billion.

Philanthropy

Zhang Yiming maintains a low profile regarding his philanthropic efforts. However, he has made notable donations, including:

• $100 million to education in his hometown.
• $14 million to the Chinese Red Cross for medical workers.
• $7 million to his alma mater, Nankai University.
• $10 million towards the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

While these contributions highlight a commitment to social causes, they represent a small fraction relative to his vast fortune.

Notable Quote:

"Teen accounts are set to private by default and that teens have an opt-out 60-minute screen time allowance before they're prompted to enter a passcode."
— TikTok Spokesperson ([37:12])

Impact and Legacy

TikTok has fundamentally transformed social media and digital culture:

• Influence on Music and Pop Culture: Platforms like TikTok have launched careers (e.g., Lil Nas X’s "Old Town Road") and created viral memes.
• Content Consumption Habits: The app’s algorithm-driven content delivery has been both lauded for its personalization and criticized for contributing to shorter attention spans.
• Social Behavior: TikTok has fostered a culture where capturing and sharing moments is ubiquitous, influencing social interactions and privacy norms.

Despite the challenges, TikTok’s success underscores the pivotal role of AI algorithms in shaping user experiences and content virality.

Notable Quotes:

"It's a case of doom scrolling, although I think TikTok would argue that it's a case of joy scrolling because it gives you the videos that you really want to watch."
— Zing Tsjeng ([33:14])

"We give them extra points to that, don't we?"
— Simon Jack ([34:11])

Judgement: Good, Bad, or Just Another Billionaire

In the concluding segment, Simon and Zing evaluate Zhang Yiming across several categories to determine his stance:

1. Wealth:

   • Zhang Yiming: $43 billion
   • Score: 7/10 (Acknowledging his immense wealth but noting his modest personal display)

2. Rags to Riches:

   • Background: Comfortable upbringing, not starting from extreme poverty.
   • Score: 6/10

3. Villainy:

   • Negative Aspects: Concerns over TikTok’s data practices, censorship, and its role in geopolitical tensions.
   • Personal Traits: Not overtly villainous, but responsible for a platform with significant societal impact.
   • Scores:
     • Simon Jack: 3/10 (as a person)
     • Zing Tsjeng: 7/10 (for TikTok’s negative impacts)

4. Philanthropy:

   • Contributions: Significant but small relative to his wealth.
   • Score: 4/10

5. Power:

   • Influence: High due to TikTok's global reach, though Zhang himself is less personally influential post-CEO tenure.
   • Scores:
     • Simon Jack: 2/10 (personal power)
     • Zing Tsjeng: 8/10 (platform’s power)

6. Legacy:

   • Impact: Irrefutable influence on social media, culture, and content consumption.
   • Scores:
     • Simon Jack: 7/10
     • Zing Tsjeng: 8/10

Final Judgment:

• Simon Jack: Just Another Billionaire
• Zing Tsjeng: Just Another Billionaire

Both hosts agree that while Zhang Yiming is not overtly villainous, his creation, TikTok, has profound and complex impacts on society. They conclude that Zhang represents the archetype of a tech billionaire who, despite his humble personal demeanor, has engineered a platform with significant cultural and political ramifications.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up by teasing the next installment, which will explore the life of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, setting the stage for another deep dive into the minds of influential billionaires shaping our technological landscape.

Notable Quotes Recap:

• "If you keep an ordinary mind..." — Zhang Yiming ([04:16])
• "TikTok is one of the first platforms..." — Simon Jack ([28:42])
• "If someone hadn’t done TikTok, someone else would have done it." — Simon Jack ([44:50])
• "They write over their own videos..." — Various ([33:14], [37:12])

Disclaimer: This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode. For a comprehensive understanding, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full podcast.