Crowdfunding is the new way to start a business. Even though Kickstarter was the first crowdfunding platform to generate a lot of press, various other crowdfunding platforms have popped up since. But, none of the other options are quite like Teespring. Teespring is a newly developed crowdfunding platform that was created by two Brown graduates. Originally, the site was created to save a local bar. The founders behind Teespring spent a good deal of time creating t-shirts and selling those shirts on the site. The profits then went to to the local bar in question.

From there, Teespring founders, Walker Williams and Evan Clayton, conducted a bit of market research. Williams and Clayton discovered that other students had interest in creating t-shirts, but local printers were too expensive for the average student. So, Williams and Clayton developed Teespring – the crowdfunding site that allows entrepreneurs to develop and sell original t-shirts without any upfront costs.

How Teespring Works

Say you have a great idea for a t-shirt. But, you don’t want to dole out over $1000 in upfront costs to have a printer create that shirt for you. You can, instead, design your t-shirt on the Teespring site. From there, you can set a price per shirt (something reasonable like $18 seems to work), and you can determine how many customers you need in order to print your t-shirts (say, 200).

Once your Teespring site has been created, it’s your job to get the word out about your new t-shirts. If you sell enough of these shirts upfront, Teespring will then print your shirts. Anyone whose purchase a t-shirt will then receive the shirt you’ve designed. How do you make money from a t-shirt venture? Tack on a few bucks to the price of each shirt. A great idea, you say? Well, you aren’t the only one.

Setting Up a Teespring Account

Right now, Teespring is still in beta mode. Amazingly, the founders behind Teespring haven’t really marketed this idea widely. Instead, word of this great venture has spread through those who are excited about the idea – and those who have purchase some excellent t-shirts through the site. You can set up a Teespring account right now, even though the site is in beta mode. The Teespring site is easy to use too. Should you decide to try your luck at designing a t-shirt, you’ll find that the site is easily navigable.

All Teespring users begin by choosing a t-shirt style, picking out colors, and playing around with design specifics like fonts. You can even upload your own art. After playing around with the Teespring site for a few minutes, I can tell you that this site is a lot of fun. You can also select the brand of t-shirt or tank top that you want to create (ranging from Hanes to American Apparel). The whole process can take just a few minutes or longer depending on how complex your design is.
A Crowdfunding Site That’s Going Somewhere

Teespring isn’t like Kickstarter. It’s not even like other crowdfunding sites. Teespring is in a crowdfunding class of it’s own, and it’s a class that many people are certain to appreciate. The site is designed well, the business plan behind the site is solid, and it looks like Teespring is on its way to crowdfunding fame.