Why One Founder Is Giving Up On TikTok
TikTok’s roughly 12-hour shutdown earlier this month, however brief, was a reality check for businesses built around the app. Before that, many brands and creators that sell goods on TikTok’s shopping service, TikTok Shop, had been kicking the can down the road on what to do if the app disappeared.
Nicole Rechtszaid, the founder of Ghost Agency, a firm that has helped brands like Alo Yoga, Phix skincare and Final Boss Sour candy sell on TikTok Shop, has had a front-row seat to the drama. Last week, she decided to shut down the agency, calling it quits because the situation around the app’s future—and the future of shopping and marketing campaigns built around TikTok—had become too volatile to be worth riding out.
Related Knowledge Center: The TikTok ban
The U.S. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law a measure banning TikTok if it weren’t sold by its Chinese ownership. But now-President Donald Trump gave the service a reprieve, and a sale of its U.S. operations appears imminent.