A custom apparel eCommerce platform has announced it has achieved profitability following a dramatic turnaround after years of turbulence.
The business had been burning millions of dollars and was ‘facing near death’ in 2016, according to the business.
The company, which allowed creators to create designs for apparel and sell them on the platform, was backed by some of Silicon Valley’s top venture capitalists, but despite the investment struggled due to a heavy reliance on the digital ads eco-system.
Under the new leadership of British CEO Chris Lamontagne, who has led the company to project $1bn in its lifetime sales, it is now celebrating improved operational efficiencies and diversification in new growing revenue channels such as commercial partnerships with YouTube, Amazon & eBay.
The business said that it had lost its footing, even as a leader in the market, which forced the leadership team to evaluate the company as a platform rather than a ‘marketplace’.
The San Francisco-based company has welcomed over 400,000 successful sellers on its platform, and over the past 7 years gas driven over $400m in profits for customers including top YouTubers, celebs Will Smith and Beyoncé, and media company Buzzfeed.
“In late 2016, early 2017, it became clear that the pursuit of ‘growth at all costs’ was not the right approach for the company,” explained Teespring CEO Chris Lamontagne.
“It was time to change tact and call our ‘profitability play’. This was an incredibly difficult time for us as a business, as it meant a total restructuring of our team and rethinking of our approach despite a variety of difficult challenges along the way, I am so proud of what we have achieved and very excited for the future.”