It's August 2016 and Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are about to pull off the tech equivalent of a heist — and they just might get away with it. But despite its success, Instagram faces trouble at home when Mark Zuckerberg starts rocking the boat. In China, TikTok founder Zhang Yiming has his eyes on global expansion. He's willing to spend big to acquire his competition — and that poses a huge threat to Instagram's supremacy.  Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With TikTok’s legal future hanging in the balance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t been shy about borrowing what works from the Chinese upstart and replicating it within Instagram. But his copycat feature Reels made more of a ripple than a splash when it debuted. For more on TikTok’s woes, we speak with Taylor Lorenz. She covers culture and technology for the New York Times and tells us why TikTok’s success can’t be easily duplicated and how Instagram’s Reels-focused redesign angered the platform’s long time influencers. Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.