Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2013; Threadless’s design and artist numbers, payouts, prize amounts and voting format are figures from that time and may have changed since.
There is still room for innovation in the clothing business. Or rather, I’d say, in the business model. That is the case with Threadless.com, which started out as an online shop selling T-shirts and other garments and ended up hitting on the idea of selling all kinds of clothing designed by its own users.
Anyone can submit their own design to the website and take part in a public voting contest that lasts six days. The designers whose garments get the most votes can win prizes of up to 2,000 dollars in cash. On top of that, the user earns a commission on every reprint or sale of their garment.
This business idea was founded by Jake Nickell and Jacob DeHart, after both entrepreneurs had won a T-shirt design contest. It started as a hobby, but the hobby ended up becoming a very profitable business. They started with 1,000 dollars and printed as many T-shirts as they could. Once they had sold them, they printed more.
In their first two years in business they had received more than 300,000 designs submitted by 100,000 different artists. Some designers have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last few years thanks to the website, according to Jake Nickell.
The founders say the business has been profitable since the first month and that the company’s growth is only just beginning. Although Threadless’s revenue isn’t public, according to Forbes the company turned over 35 million dollars in 2009, a figure that may well have doubled by 2012.
Nickell says that many designers already make a living creating designs for the website, and some have even earned millions of dollars in that time. What started as a website has ended up as a huge warehouse where they can barely keep up with getting orders out of the door.
According to the figures Threadless gives on its website, 1,510 artists have shared more than 7 million dollars in earnings between them.
Without a doubt, a good business idea for Threadless, and an excellent opportunity to make money by creating your own clothing designs.
Further reading
- 10 micro-business ideas
- A children’s food business idea that became a big company
- A clothing business opportunity in plus sizes
- Businesses that work in a crisis
Featured image: Todd Kopriva, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
