71PAXFUL
CRYPTO FOR ALL
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, advocates
argue, make it easier for people in
emerging economies to buy, spend, and
move money, even without access to
traditional nancial infrastructure. Paxful,
a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency- exchange
platform with 6 million users globally, is
helping make that possible. Users can
freely transact in crypto with anyone
across the world, and the company
recently launched crypto education
centers in Nigeria and El Salvador with
the goal of nancially empowering local
communities. “When used as a means of
exchange, Bitcoin can bridge economies
and expand opportunities for the billions
of unbanked,” says CEO Ray Youssef.
—Jared LindzonTIKTOK
VIRAL SENSATION
More than 1 billion people now use TikTok
for bite-size entertainment and more,
making it the biggest existing threat to
the longtime titans of the social media
world. TikTok eclipsed YouTube’s average
U.S. watch time last year, and it had
more U.S. downloads during the rst
half of 2021 than rivals Instagram and
Snapchat. Responding to criticism, TikTok
in the past year developed an incubator
for Black creators, announced additional
teen safety features, and launched
SoundOn, a service to help music creators
monetize their labor. Recently, it has
become a source of unltered—and
often inaccurate—news about Ukraine.
Its next challenge: wartime content
moderation. —Raisa BrunerSKIMSIntimates for every body type
SKIMS, founded three years ago by celebrity
mega-influencer Kim Kardashian as a
disruptive “shapewear” startup, is now
reinventing intimate apparel with an eye
toward body-type inclusivity. Its sizes
range from XXS through XXXXXL, and
its garments are capable of stretching to
twice their original size. An affordable price
point—the average SKIMS panty ranges
from $14 to $24—plus advertising campaigns
featuring celebs like Kate Moss, Addison
Rae, Paris Hilton, and more have turned the
lineup into a big hit, helping the company
reach a $3.2 billion-plus valuation this
year (that’s double last year’s figure). The
company also recently launched a swimwear
collection, as well as collaborations with
Fendi and Team USA. SKIMS’ secret, says
co-founder Jens Grede, is a willingness
to blow up the existing plan and shift to
something new. “We are constantly looking
for creative destructions,” he says. “How do
we replace our business with something that
is even more innovative for our customer?”(^) —Jenna Caldwell
TWIGA FOODS
CHEAPER STAPLES
The typical Kenyan household spends
more than half its disposable income
on groceries, largely because ineficient
supply chains lead to high prices. Kenyan
e-commerce outlet Twiga Foods has a
solution: it lets retailers place orders via
mobile device and grants them 48 hours
of interest-free credit, giving them time
to sell what they order to customers
before the bill comes due. “This means
our clients can buy what their customers
want, not just the goods they can afford,”
says CEO and co-founder Peter Njonjo.
To further cut costs, Twiga is now growing
some of its fastest-selling products—
including onions, tomatoes, and
watermelons—itself. —Aryn Baker
KIM KARDASHIAN
AMC: ILLUSTRATION BY LAURIE AVON FOR TIME; SKIMS: NATHAN CONGLET
ON—NBCU/GETTY IMAGES