--- description: Find out why Whatnot was selected for TIME‘s list of the most influential companies of 2026. title: TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2026: Whatnot image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d413691560e25d6/69d7dcdff1020124663deb12/time100-companies-2026-whatnot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 30, 2026 # Whatnot Live shopping upstart by [Grace Rasmus](/author/grace-rasmus/) ## Grace Rasmus Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Whatnot Co-Founders Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head Whatnot Co-Founders Grant LaFontaine and Logan HeadCourtesy Whatnot Those trying to cut down on screen time should resist downloading Whatnot, the livestream shopping app where the thrill of a limited-supply auction meets the parasocial rush of chatting with your favorite influencers. Founded in 2019, the app’s hundreds of thousands of sellers pitch largely collectible, vintage, or luxury products QVC-style, from antique vases to limited-edition Nikes, while buyers bid on them in real time or snag them instantly. Users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the app, according to the company, a figure nearly equal to [TikTok’s daily user average](https://explodingtopics.com/blog/time-spent-on-tiktok "undefined"). Though Whatnot raised $225 million at an $11.5 billion valuation in October 2025, less than a year after a $5 billion valuation, there’s plenty of competition: TikTok Shop and Amazon Live have built-in audiences from their core offerings, and Alibaba’s Taobao Live has dominated the Asia market for a decade. But CEO and co-founder Grant LaFontaine says Whatnot stands out by “helping small businesses grow.” One in eight sellers on the platform has made it their full-time job. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/whatnot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/whatnot/"},"headline":"Whatnot","datePublished":"2026-04-30T14:03:09.177Z","dateModified":"2026-05-12T07:03:04.172Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/whatnot/","keywords":["TIME100 Companies","franchise","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d413691560e25d6/69d7dcdff1020124663deb12/time100-companies-2026-whatnot.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Grace Rasmus","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/grace-rasmus/"}],"creator":"Grace Rasmus","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d413691560e25d6/69d7dcdff1020124663deb12/time100-companies-2026-whatnot.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/whatnot/","name":"Whatnot"}}]}] ```