Threading an innovative route

T-shirt World

Jack of all Threads’, a platform that allows individuals and communities to crowd fund T-shirts, provides an opportunity for people to raise money by designing and selling their own T-shirts online.

It was started two years ago by four youngsters — Yash Vardhan Kanoi, Pratibha Nair, Akash Datta and Apoorvaa Agarwal. 

“We started with regular bulk T-shirt printing for colleges. Very soon, we took a social spin and allowed all buyers to donate an extra few rupees per T-shirt to a cause. ‘Jack of all Threads’ would match their donation and the total amount would go to the cause. In return, buyers would get a special symbol of recognition printed on their T-shirt corner. The buyers have since tweaked our model repeatedly to arrive at where we are now — helping individuals and communities make money 100 percent free,” says Yash.

How did the idea come about? Pratibha Nair says, “The idea of a crowd funding platform came in nearly two years ago when ‘Jack of All Threads’ began trying to help social causes. We wanted to print T-shirts for animal welfare but didn’t know how many people would want it and were afraid to hold stock ourselves. We initially thought of simply trying this via Facebook photos. Many months later and after much experience, we are helping others deal with the same setback, but with a slightly more sophisticated solution.”

Apoorvaa continues, “You design your T-shirt in minutes using our online design tool and we give you a base price per T-shirt based on your design. This includes the production and shipping costs and our small adminstration fee. You decide your profit margin and selling price and when your campaign ends.” 

She adds, “You market your campaign to your friends, community and anyone interested via Facebook and buyers purchase your T-shirt via the platform. The more you sell, the lower your base price and higher your profit margin. Once your campaign ends we transfer the profits online to you.” 

The platform is being used in numerous ways. Students are using it to earn a quick buck and are learning to market their products. They’ve been able to clear debts, fund grad trips, buy gifts and enjoy some degree of financial independence. NGOs like CRY, WWF and Make a Difference have signed up with them because of their social work. “We’ve investment from a few angel investors but are currently bootstrapping our way to higher statistics before we raise a seed round,” sums up Yash.