Demi Skipper started the TradeMeProject when she was quarantined in 2020. The TradeMeProject began as a social experiment. Inspired by Kyle MacDonald’s TEDx TALK in 2005, the foundations of the project were laid down. In his TEDx TALK, Kyle MacDonald talked about how he started with a red paper clip and, 14 trades later, had landed in his dream house worth $80,000.
Demi Skipper and Trade Me Project are synonymous in this article.
This zeal was picked up by Skipper when she started her TradeMeProject. Skipper searched the Internet for anyone else who had done this feat and found no one. After thorough searching, she became convinced that no one in the world had tried it and, therefore, she must.
Skipper, who works at Cash App, had secured an $80000 house after 28 trades under her TradeMeProject that started with a bobby pin. It took her 18 months to do so.
Before the TradeMeProject, Skipper had a lot of other side hustles. One of them was renting out wedding dresses. This side hustle became so successful that it became too much for her to handle alone. She abandoned this side hustle after her tally reached 1000 wedding dresses. It was only then that she stumbled upon the TEDx TALK by Kyle MacDonald, and the TradeMeProject was born.
Demi Skipper has appeared on the “Ellen Degeneres Show.” Currently, she is on a hiatus from TikTok and trades to care for her mental health.
Demi Skipper, aged 31, decided to trade her way up to a house using a bobby hair pin. It was in the year 2020. She was already a full-time product manager in a leading company and had a bride dresses rental service on the side. However, this wasn’t enough.
Trade Me Project was based on the fact that Skipper, the founder, cannot trade items with her family, which includes her husband or her near and close ones. So, it was complete strangers she approached for her trades.
At first, The Trade Me Project’s trades were shot and uploaded on TikTok by Demi to keep a tab. However, the videos started getting traction. Many more joined in her cause. After trade number 10 or 11 - her TikTok blew out of proportion. Her trades - which were for a charitable cause, made her a TikTok star.
Trade Me Project’s 28 trades included four cars, three pairs of sneakers, a MacBook Pro, a Peloton and a tiny cabin on wheels. Demi also reached out to her followers for various trades during her mission from time to time after the Trade Me Project got big. After getting the house, post the last transaction - the Trade Me Project gave it to charity. As Demi Skipper’s/ Trade Me Project’s bio says, “I trade bobby pins up to houses then give the hosues to people in need.”
It is hard to put an exact number on the TradeMeProject’s actual income - however, due to the online traction through various social media platforms, the TradeMeProject must have had an estimated net worth of $900k - $1 million, as of January 2023.
The Trade Me Project is prominent on Instagram. It has 282K followers on Instagram. The Trade Me Project’s follower count increased manifold because of its unique content, which has always tried to spread a message. Demi Skipper uses her Instagram to post about her daily life, plans for future growth, her husband, and making reels on trending topics.
Demi Skipper posts extensive videos about her trades and everyday life. She has over 2.62k subscribers on the platform.
In this TikTok, Demi Skipper is replying to one of the comments stating that she never got the house. She replied that she did and gave it away and will embark on her trades once more in some time.
In this TikTok, Skipper is lip-syncing to an audio which says burn it in reaction to not being able to trade the item in the background.
A funny TikTok showing she does v/s what her husband does during vacation.
In this TikTok, Skipper talks about what her life was before the Trade Me Project.
In this TikTok, Skipper reveals her 11th trade.
A. The Trade Me Project is the brainchild of Demi Skipper, a product manager at Cash App. The goal of this project was to start with something as small as a hair bobby pin and make enough trades for a house to be the end product.
A. Demi Skipper traded the bobby pin for a pair of earrings. This was her first trade after the launch of the Trade Me Project.
A. Demi Skipper is from San Francisco, California.
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