A few years ago, the tech world hopped into a time machine and, intentionally departing from the mainstream SaaS craze, resurrected the monthly subscription model for stuff. eCommerce was already shipping things to people everywhere but the new subscription angle rode the wave of the “concierge” boom; much in the spirit of the infamous Columbia House, the stuff was picked for you.
Groceries were quick to catch on, but then so were beauty accessories and random “lifestyle” merchandise, opening the door to more ambitious experiential subscriptions to things like hobbies and spontaneous travel. In very little time, with only a few clicks and zero ongoing effort, anyone could be in constant discovery mode.
A lot of people are into fashion-related subscription boxes, but what if your passions converge? Perhaps, let’s say at the 3-way intersection of cool new products, fashion and companies? What if what you really love are startups, their innovative products and the dope logos and slogans they come up with to market it all?
Well that’s where Sttartup comes in – they give early adopters a one-of-a-kind way to support the startup ecosystem. As their cofounder Chris Lawson puts it, Sttartup is “Product Hunt delivered to your door”, and they want to meet your startup innovation cravings as well as your casual fashion needs. They plan on doing that by mailing you two new startup t-shirts from two new startups every month.
“We were shocked that there was no good place to buy startup merchandise, let alone a startup t-shirt subscription – so we built our own,” Chris explains. “The only way you could get shirts from your favorite startups was by luck at a conference like SXSW or by winning a contest. We also realized that new, unknown startups needed a way to get their brand in front of new audiences – so we started the subscription box to spread startup t-shirts around the globe.”
It’s incredibly simple: you pay only $39 per month and each month you are subscribed, the fashionable fellows at Sttartup will send you two new t-shirts. No shipping costs, no back-and-forth and most importantly, no boring ugly threads. If you want, you can also subscribe on an annual basis for $420 and save yourself 11%.
Clearly though, there’s more up this sleeve than just a fashion play; this is pretty effective marketing for startups who are now more than ever muted by an online cacophony of competition. “We run a digital marketing agency called Live Pulse that specializes in rapidly growing startups,” said Chris. “So for us, it is critically important to have new and innovative ways for startups to reach their audiences.”
“This is definitely a new approach to marketing for startups,” Chris added. “Most startups have a closet full of shirts, but no way to distribute them outside of the few conferences they go to each year. Startup fans love t-shirts and will happily wear them to promote the brand if they can get their hands on them.”
So check out their current selection of Ts (it’s growing every day) and spice up your startup style. Realistically, if you’re into creative logos, there may be no better place to look. If you really want you can buy individual shirts for just $27, but aesthetics considered, the real value is in the discovery; you might enjoy some new gear, but not as much as you’ll probably enjoy the products and services provided by startups like Drifter, MixRadio and Trobo. But you probably didn’t know that yet…
And that’s the beauty of Sttartup; if these companies provide a service even half as good as their uniforms (which they do), it’s the definition of a “Win-Win”.
If you’re ready to get it all T’d up, click here to select your size and start your subscription.
