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Billion Dollar Boy Group Names 60 Creators to Inaugural Impact List
Billion Dollar Boy, FiveTwoNine and Companion have released the first edition of “The Impact List,” an annual award recognizing 60 creators across six categories. More than 600 creators applied or were peer-nominated, and a jury of 22 industry figures scored the shortlist.
The list is organized into “Creative Visionaries,” “Creator Entrepreneurs,” “Community Builders,” “Changemakers,” “Brand Partners,” and “Creators to Watch.” Each category names 10 winners from the UK and U.S., with one standout selected per category.
Becky Owen, founder of FiveTwoNine and CMO of Billion Dollar Boy Group, wrote in the editor’s note that the list is meant to recognize creators for their work, “not just the size of their following.” She said the team read every application.
The Standouts
The six category standouts are:
- Creative Visionaries: Alessandro Marfella, a London-based creator with a graphic design and art direction background who went full-time in January.
- Creator Entrepreneurs: Ashley Alexander, founder and CEO of the matcha company Nami Matcha.
- Community Builders: Emily Paloma Sanchez, founder of Happy Girl Club, a women’s social club operating across Southern California.
- Changemakers: Ben West, founder of the mental health project “Reasons to Stay.” He said one reel announcing a letter had helped someone was seen 60 million times.
- Brand Partners: Keenan Lam, a British-born Chinese creator and long-term Samsung Galaxy ambassador.
- Creators to Watch: Tatiana DeSouza, who said she has built an audience of more than 25,000 across Instagram and TikTok in eight months.
OnePay sponsored the “Creator Entrepreneurs” category with a $5,000 cash grant for that category’s standout. “We believe better money makes life better,” said Jessica Williams, OnePay’s CMO. Williams also sits on the judging panel.
Who’s on the List
The “Creator Entrepreneurs” category profiles creators who have built companies alongside their content. Natalie Barbu founded Rella, which she said reached $4 million in annual recurring revenue and profitability after a $1 million venture raise. Anela Malik said she has sold more than $800,000 in group travel since 2025, including more than $300,000 from one email launch, without paid ads or a sales page. Nana Del Rey described closing more than $500,000 in brand partnerships in her first year as a creator.
A direct relationship with an audience, through email lists, communities, and apps, is the position platforms cannot revoke. Several profiles in the “Creator Entrepreneurs” and “Community Builders” categories rest on that kind of audience. Examples include DonYé Taylor’s nearly 30,000 Substack subscribers and Gabriel Nussbaum’s “Creator Leaders” community of more than 5,000 members.
Winners in the “Brand Partners” category include Bec and Sam Bartley of “BAM! Comedy,” whose 13-campaign Moonpig partnership won Bronze at the Global Influencer Marketing Awards, and Milky Tran, whose partners include Google, Uber and Dove.
The Organizers
FiveTwoNine describes itself as a global creator platform and community of 5,500 creators. Since launching in 2024, it has supported 46 creators through The Creator Fund. Billion Dollar Boy, founded in 2014, is a social and creator agency that counts Heineken, Unilever, PepsiCo and L’Oréal among its clients. Companion is an AI-powered creator marketing platform and a B Corp.
Everyone on the list is being profiled across the industry, beginning with The Impact List Magazine. Owen said the aim for readers is to find someone they “want to work with in 2027.”
The full list is available here
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