Ecommerce Business Ideas
By
Sara Wilson
A t-shirt might not have much inherent value, but slap an
original design on it that's been voted for by an online
community, and sales can soar. That's what Jake Nickell, 25,
and Jacob DeHart, 24, discovered in 2000 when they launched
Threadless.com and started an on-going
contest--winning designers get cash and prizes.
This community-based e-commerce site knows how to attract
today's elusive youth. They've grown their user base to
more than 300,000 with zero advertising. With the T-shirts
available online and at select retailers worldwide, 2006 projected
sales are $25 million--up from $6.2 million in 2005. Meanwhile,
under SkinnyCorp, their Chicago-based umbrella company, the pair
operates other community-based projects, such as 15 Megs of Fame, a
site where users can upload and rate original music.
All this success, though, hasn't distracted them from their
top priority. Says DeHart, "We don't make any moves
without consulting the community."