72 TIME April 11/April 18, 2022
DISRUPTERSGOODRX
MAKING MEDICINE
AFFORDABLE
Doug Hirsch’s realization that his $500
prescription cost only $250 elsewhere
led him to create GoodRx, which offers
digital coupons for prescription drugs.
“We’ve tried to inject market forces into
a business that traditionally hasn’t had
them,” says co-founder and co-CEO Hirsch.
GoodRx, which makes money via online
advertising, says it has saved its users
$35 billion since 2011, while revenue
topped $200 million for the rst time in
the most recent quarter—success that
underscores Americans’ struggle to get
affordable medicine. —Don SteinbergSUPERGOOP!
SAVING YOUR SKIN
Supergoop! has managed to cut through
the noise of the multibillion-dollar skin-
care industry with a simple idea: SPF pro-
tection should be a fundamental part of
everyone’s daily routine. While 84% of
people don’t wear SPF on a daily basis,
75% of Supergoop! users wear its
products every day. Also key to the
brand’s success: a recognition that all of
us have different skin-care needs. “It’s not
about one type of person or lifestyle or
gender or skin tone,” says CEO Amanda
Baldwin. “It’s about everyone.” In Decem-
ber, investment rm Blackstone took a
majority stake that reportedly valued the
company at $600 million to $700 million.
—Megan McCluskeyDIVVY HOMES
HOME-BUYING
HELPER
Buying a home may be the American
Dream, but many rst-time buyers lack
the funds (or the credit score) to get a
traditional mortgage. That’s where Divvy
Homes comes in. Through its rent-to-buy
program, aspiring homeowners can pay
a 1% to 2% down payment, and Divvy
will pay for the rest of the home. Clients
then pay monthly rent to Divvy—but
unlike with traditional renting, a portion
of each payment goes toward building
equity. About half of Divvy’s clients build
enough equity to buy their homes within
three years. “Our mission is to make
homeownership accessible,” says CEO
Adena Hefets.—Leslie DicksteinGOTO GROUP
AN INDONESIAN GIANT
GoTo Group, an Indonesian “super-
app” with 100 million users offering
everything from ride hailing, shopping,
and entertainment to payments and
i nancial services, is set to expand
even more this year. That’s thanks to
a planned $1.26 billion IPO this April
that’s expected to value the company at
nearly $29 billion. Formed last year in a
blockbuster merger, GoTo Group previously
raised more than $1.3 billion in November
from investors looking to ride the wave of
Southeast Asia’s rapidly growing digital
economy, which is expected to double to
$360 billion by 2025. —Juliette PearseSHEIN
FASTER FASHION
With estimated global sales of over
$10 billion and more app downloads than
Amazon in the U.S. , fast-fashion upstart
Shein has become a rare example of a Chi-
nese retailer making a worldwide name for
itself. The company’s secret sauce: it uses
AI to identify hot new trends, produces gar-
ments quickly (it lists 6,000 new items a
day, compared with around 10,000 a year
for rival Zara), and taps TikTok in uencers
to promote its wares. But the company is
accused of copying other makers’ designs,
and its suppliers have been scrutinized
for alleged labor violations. In turn, Shein
says it audits and enforces a “code of con-
duct” for all suppliers. —Chad de GuzmanTHRIVE MARKET
HEALTHIER
GROCERY DELIVERY
With the Amazoni cation of Whole
Foods under way, upstart online grocer
Thrive Market—which has 1.2 million
subscribers (nearly double 2020’s
number) paying $60 annually to order
nonperishables and frozen foods
direct to their doorsteps—spies an
opportunity to become the new go-to
destination for well-curated healthy
foods. In part, Thrive’s goal is to make
it easier for people in underserved
areas to access high-quality staples,
says co-founder and CEO Nick Green.
Sustainability is a major focus too; orders
are delivered via ground and frozen
items are insulated with recycled denim,
not Styrofoam.—A.F.OPIBUSA cleaner way
around cities
Motorcycle taxis
are the easiest and
cheapest way to get
around Kenya’s capital
of Nairobi, but the
ubiquitous boda bodas,
as locals call them, are a
major polluter. Kenyan-
Swedish startup Opibus
is setting out to create a
cleaner transportation
option with a fleet
of made-in-Kenya
electric motorcycle
taxis. It has deployed
160 prototypes and
launched a successful
pilot program with
Uber. After raising
$7.5 million in a
November 2021 funding
round, Opibus, led by
CEO Filip Gardler, is
poised to scale up to
mass manufacturing,
with an anticipated
3,000 vehicles ready for
sale on the local market
by the end of the year
at a price on par with
that of conventional
motorcycles. —Aryn Baker