T-Shirt Brand success stories can inspire and teach us all a thing or two about the tee business. We all know that starting a Tee brand is a daunting task. There are so many factors to consider and obstacles that it hardly seems worth it. "Overnight Success" is a rare thing so rare that you shouldn't hope or expect it. Prepare to get your hands dirty and do the actual work. Here we see what some of the most successful companies have done right.
Life Is Good T-shirts was founded by two brothers John and Bert Jacobs in 1994 when they decided to change direction after 5 years. The company is now worth $100 Million. In 1989 it started out as the on the road selling out of a van venture which after 5 years and with only $78 in their bank, they had eventually found that there was a market for Optimism and Positive messaged tees. And rather than advertising they set up fundraising festivals to benefit kids with hardships regardless of what the hardships may be. This was brilliant and selfless and damn does it work. From printing on HANES in their early days to their Own label to living up to their brand name Life Is Good article they paid their dues.
Threadless is a company that most people are familiar with. Whether they have been following them online or seeing their products at Target or their brick and mortar shops. The founder Jake Nickell started Threadless in 2000 with $1,000 as seed capital. His net worth is now $50 Million. All because he decided to make the "T-shirt Design Contest" a business model. This brought in talent, and had visitor participation in the form of voting. Granted a lot of the designers were friends of the owner in the beginning, it has blossomed into a juggernaut.
Johnny Cupcakes founded in 2001 by Johnny Earle is a brand that started out as a joke and is all about customer service. Talk about a guy that insists on doing things his own way this guy takes the cake...err you know what I mean. The current net worth is $3.8 Million. This is one of those almost instant success stories that we all wish we had. The concept and timing just all sort of fell into place. Like ingredients when baking a cake... dammit.
“Every t-shirt purchased in-stores and online, comes with an experience; the pastry box packaging, oven mitt shaped neck label, hidden messages inside of some shirts, a story, and sometimes random gifts, like vintage Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trading cards,” says Earle. Source: ForbesLearn more about Johnny Cupcakes in this article
T-Shirt Brand Success Stories.
Hopefully this T-shirt brand success stories inspire you to do your own thing and keep at it rather than giving up.
