Kim Kardashian
Founder/ SKIMS and SKKN BY KIM
“I always say calmness is my superpower,” says Kim Kardashian.
This may come as a surprise, because Kardashian, one of the most famous women in the world, appears in a state of perpetual motion: jet-setting to exotic locales, wrangling four children, enjoying high-profile romances, shooting a 20-season reality TV show, and running a multibillion-dollar business. But the fact that Kardashian has stayed squarely in the public eye for nearly two decades—withstanding the frenetic, fruit fly attention span of the internet age—has everything to do with this very quality. As a businesswoman, in the business of relevance, her composure has been her edge.
And when it comes to her businesses, she’s found success by centering her own expertise. “Everything I do is a solutions-based product and that’s always worked for me,” Kardashian says. She developed SKIMS, her ultra-inclusive and comfy shapewear line, as a solution to a problem she dealt with herself: “I cut up my shapewear back in the day because the seams were always wrong and didn’t fit me right. I’d put coffee grinds and tea bags in my bathtub to dye them to a more natural tan color.” Consumers must have experienced a similar plight, since SKIMS sold $2 million worth of garments in the first minutes it launched and was valued at $3.2 billion less than three years later.
Her latest venture, SKKN BY KIM, offers a fix to a perennial problem: how to maintain a glowing visage. “I wanted to bring consumers my knowledge and access to so many amazing dermatologists,” she says. “I’ve been able to learn from the best people, and bottling that up is my goal.” Consulting with her personal esthetician, Joanna Czech (whose fee is $1,250 per “Ultimate Facial”), she’s developed nine products to bring her wisdom to the masses.
Kardashian describes the development process as “thrilling,” and revels in perfecting the details. “I wanted to be really
