// startup autopsy
Beme
Casey Neistat built the anti-Instagram. CNN paid $25M for it. They built a deals website.
acquisition gone wrongAcqui-hire
Fatal mistake: Acquisition by mission-incompatible media corporation
// the model, blind
Evaluating only Beme’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Competition as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: Acquisition gone wrong.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Beme founded by YouTube filmmaker Casey Neistat and Matt Hackett, built around an authentic video-sharing mechanic that prevented users from seeing what they filmed.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Beme officially launched on iOS in July 2015, generating approximately 1.2 million downloads in its first week driven largely by Neistat's YouTube following.
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
CNN acquired Beme in November 2016 for a reported $25 million, with the stated goal of using the platform to build a millennial-focused digital news product.
PIVOT
CNN shut down the original Beme app in early 2017 and attempted to relaunch it as a news-centric video platform, abandoning the core authentic-sharing mechanic that had defined the product.
CEO CHANGE
Casey Neistat departed CNN in early 2018 after the Beme news product failed to gain traction, signaling the effective end of CNN's millennial digital strategy built around the acquisition.
SHUTDOWN
CNN fully shut down Beme by mid-2018, redirecting the brand name to CNN Underscored, a deals and product-recommendations site unrelated to the original social video concept.