TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance which was founded in 2012 is now more valuable than the world’s biggest soda brand Coca Cola and energy giants, Exxon Mobil.

ByteDance was founded by Zhang Yiming in 2012 and he went on to launch TikTok, a video sharing application in 2016. Tiktok immediately became a hit on the internet. In less than two years of its launch, it became the most downloaded app in the world according to Forbes.

With over 500m active monthly users, TikTok quickly gained the attention of big venture capitalist firms who invested more in it.

READ: Exxon begins talks with domestic firms to divest businesses in Nigeria

Shocking comparisons 

ByteDance was founded in 2012 and is currently more valuable than a company founded in 1892 (Coca Cola) and (1999) Exxon Mobil.

ByteDance, according to its company profile has over 60,000 employees while Coca Cola and its 300 bottling partners employ over 700,000 people. Exxon Mobil has an estimated 72,000 employees.

Difference in valuation

According to Bloomberg, ByteDance is currently trading at a valuation of more than $250 billion in the secondary market. The number is set to go up with some investors pegging the valuation at $350 billion.

ByteDance with a current valuation of $250bn is more valuable than Coca Cola which was recently valued at $235.33bn. ByteDance also beats Exxon Mobil which is currently valued at $237.08bn.

READ: Exxon Mobil to cut 14,000 jobs as pandemic hit oil demand, prices

What you should know 

• The above story paints a clear picture of the power of the internet age. A company founded 9 years ago is currently more valuable than a transgenerational business like Coca Cola and Exxon Mobil.
• According to Investopedia a valuation is the analytical process of determining the current (or projected) worth of an asset or a company.  An analyst placing a value on a company looks at the business’ management, the composition of its capital structure, the prospect of future earnings, and the market value of its assets.

What is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a platform that helps small businesses and individuals build customized websites and online stores for e-commerce. It is also a hosting company which is based in New York City, United States. It provides software as a service for website building and hosting, and allows users to use pre-built website templates and drag-and-drop elements to create and modify webpages.

Who founded Squarespace?

Squarespace was founded by 38-year-old Anthony Casalena seventeen years ago. The platform was founded in his dorm room at the University of Maryland. For many years, he was the only one running the platform. He launched the platform with a $30,000 seed fund and grants from his university and the platform reached a $1m valuation in 2006.

READ: Mark Zuckerberg, youngest person ever to be worth over $100 billion

Squarespace latest valuation and growth

Last month, Squarespace raised a whopping $300m from investors who valued the company at $10bn. The successful outing prompted the decision by the Founder to go public.

The company has grown tremendously since its inception in 2003. The number of subscribers increased nearly 23% in 2020, to 3.7 million users. The company also made a revenue of $620 million which was a 28% increase from the previous year according to Forbes.

Squarespace employees have grown from just the Founder to 1200 employees across the United States and Ireland.

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Anthony Casalena’s new net worth

Following the latest valuation of his company at $10bn, Anthony Casalena is set to become a billionaire. According to Forbes Squarespace’s SEC filings revealed that he has a 33% stake in the company.

The latest valuation of his company sets him up for a fresh $3bn making him the latest billionaire in the market.

What you should know

Squarespace is listing its company in the market using direct listing. A direct listing is a process by which a company can go public by selling existing shares instead of offering new ones.