Ukrainian internet entrepreneur Alexey 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 day at the company on July 31, 2019, aims to provide businesses and communities with the ability to build their own tailored social networks, moving away from the dominance of large centralized platforms.
Mas describes the initiative as a platform for creating individual social networks designed for specific companies, communities, or user groups. Unlike mainstream social media, this is not a single network but a set of customizable online communities that can be built according to client needs. The goal, according to Mas, is to return a decentralized internet experience to users through social networking tools that give organizations more control over their audience engagement.
The project targets a niche between Facebook and Telegram. While Facebook allows companies and communities to create groups, they remain subject to the platform’s rules and algorithms. Telegram offers channels and chats for audience aggregation but lacks advanced features for complex community structures, gamification, and user engagement management. «Craft Social Networks» aims to fill this gap by offering bespoke social networks that can be adapted to specific audiences, themes, and use cases.
Mas believes that existing large platforms have become too centralized, and that businesses and communities need their own tools for communication, engagement, and audience management. The project is designed to help companies not only broadcast information to users but also foster sustainable interaction within their communities. Each network can be tailored to the client’s requirements, providing a more focused and controlled environment.
In the initial phase, the project team plans to gather technical requirements, build a team, attract investors, and develop several prototypes. From these, a primary product version will be selected. The development roadmap also includes launching a mobile web version and creating applications for Android and iOS. Mas is seeking early adopters—companies and communities willing to test the model of individual social networks in practice. At launch, the project already has several potential clients lined up.
The financial model involves securing a title investor and a syndicate of small investors. Members of the syndicate can enter the project with modest sums and receive a stake proportional to their investment. Mas envisions this approach not only raising capital but also building a community of people interested in advancing a new model for social networking.
Alexey Mas is a well-known figure in the Ukrainian internet space. He has developed several online projects, including,, and «Дерево друзей» (Tree of Friends), and was a co-founder of the iForum conference. For the past three years, he worked at Kyivstar on innovative 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 reflects a broader trend of seeking alternatives to centralized social media, as businesses and organizations increasingly look for ways to own their data and community interactions. By offering a customizable solution, Mas hopes to empower clients to build engaged communities on their own terms, potentially reshaping how online social networks are conceived and operated.
