Ukrainian internet entrepreneur Alexei Mas has left his position as head of the innovation laboratory at Kyivstar to launch a new venture called «Craft Social Networks.» The project, announced after his last working day at the telecom company on July 31, 2019, aims to provide a platform for creating individual social networks tailored to specific companies, communities, or user groups.
Mas describes the initiative as a return to a decentralized internet in the form of social networks. He argues that existing major platforms have become overly centralized, leaving businesses and communities without adequate tools for communication, audience engagement, and management. The project is designed to fill a gap between Facebook and Telegram, where companies and communities can create groups but remain dependent on platform rules and algorithms, or where Telegram offers channels and chats but lacks the complex community structure, gamification, and user engagement features that many organizations require.
«Craft Social Networks» will offer bespoke social networks built to order. Each network can be adapted to a specific audience, topic, and use case. According to Mas, the product is intended for companies that need not only to broadcast information to users but also to organize sustainable interaction within a community. The platform will allow businesses to create their own online communities without relying entirely on large centralized platforms.
In the initial phase, the project team plans to gather technical requirements, assemble a team, attract investors, and develop several prototypes. From these, a primary product version will be selected. The project also considers launching a mobile web version and developing applications for Android and iOS. Mas is seeking early customers to test the model, and the project already has several potential clients at launch.
The financial model involves attracting a title investor and a syndicate of small investors. Syndicate members can invest small amounts and receive a stake proportional to their investment. Mas believes this approach will help gather not only capital but also a community of people interested in developing a new model for social networks.
Alexei Mas is a well-known Ukrainian internet entrepreneur with a track record of developing online projects, including,, and «Tree of Friends.» He was also a co-founder of the iForum conference. For the past three years, he worked at Kyivstar on innovation initiatives. He views «Craft Social Networks» as an independent business with global potential, aiming to create a tool that allows companies and communities to launch their own social networks without full dependence on large centralized platforms.
The project enters a market where businesses increasingly seek alternatives to mainstream social media due to concerns over data privacy, algorithm changes, and platform policies. By offering customized social networks, Mas hopes to provide a solution that gives organizations more control over their online communities and user data. The success of the venture will depend on its ability to attract both investors and early adopters willing to test the concept in real-world scenarios.
