Why Is Beast Industries Building Its Own Tools?
Shiva Rajaraman says Beast Industries is building its own tools because every project management tool falls short for the way videos get made. About three months ago the question became whether, in the age of AI, the team could build the perfect tool for itself. A new piece now ships every day.
Writers, editors, set designers, and people checking whether a first-ever idea is feasible create content every day at Beast Industries. The physics of doing something for the first time in the world becomes a real question. Specialized people produce a video that drops every two weeks on Mr. Beast, many more channels already run, and a studio is ramping up new channels. One tool has to create the workflow so the group can move fast, produce at the highest quality, and stay on time and budget. In the past the usual move was an enterprise SaaS tool off the shelf. When the studio hits an issue, software can do just about anything, cost is no longer a worry, and maintenance stays easy. Each task is getting an operating system built around it.
Working with one creator is different from working at a platform. The team can aim at the creator's objectives and get very deep in the workflow. Whether the workflow itself changes is still open. On a platform, getting deep in the workflow is really hard. The product is the output, and the platform that enables the output is only part of the job. The shift is not easy, and adjustments are still underway. As chief product and technology officer he oversees both internal and external products.
