The true hard core geek/fanboy crowd loved ValleySchwag when it launched in the Spring of 2006. For $15 per month you would receive a package containing tshirts, stickers, pens and other junk that new startups pay a fortune to have created with their logo printed on it. Usually this stuff is handed out at parties and conferences, but ValleySchwag created a way for people to get it even if they didn’t, or couldn’t, attend the events.
Sadly, ValleySchwag faded away as the founders moved on to other projects. Now another service, Startup Schwag, is taking its place with a similar business model. For $15/month, plus shipping, you receive a monthly shipment containing a startup tshirt and possibly other stuff as well.
Startup Schwag was created by Roddy Richards, a web developer, and is based in Chicago. Richards says he’s going to tweak the way they fulfill demand substantially to allow it to scale up. ValleySchwag failed, he says, because too many subscribers wanted a limited supply of schwag, and it became a real burden on startups to get enough actual stuff to fulfill that demand.
Startup Schwag won’t be looking to startups to send them stuff to pass on to subscribers. Instead, Richards says they’ll be licensing logo rights from hot startups and creating the schwag themselves, at exactly the amount to fulfill demand.
That means tech geeks who think a Digg or Twitter tshirt is cooler than a Nike logo will have a way of getting exactly what they want. Startups will pay nothing for the stuff, although they will be expected to license their logo to Startup Schwag for free. Something tells me that PR hungry companies will be more than willing to do exactly that.
The first shipments will go out in early to mid October. Sign up now - Richards says that first shipment will contain a TechCrunch tshirt, to kick things off.
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I don’t know about this, I think a main appeal of ValleySchwag was the “officialness” of the gear. People could make Digg and Twitter shirts of cafepress, but it wouldn’t be the same.
We print on the same tshirt blanks using the original art & process (no el cheapo thermal / translucent cotton a-la CafePress =) ) - it’s like the startup ordered another 100 shirts from a screen printer and dropped them in the mail, without ordering another 100 shirts, or mailing anything themselves.
The site is a cool idea, but at $15/month, limited to one tshirt per month, wouldn’t that be the same as paying $15 for a tshirt every month? At least to start, it doesn’t seem very nice. I suppose once customers start piling in, and the one tshirt per month rule is abolished, it would be a great site.
At any rate, best of luck with the site Roddy.
seriously, if any startups want to order t-shirts or hats i have a friend who can produce high quality designs. He produces T’s and Hats for all the popular brand names and his prices and quality blow all others out-the-door, which is exactly why the big companies use him.
Startups: you do not need to spend lots of money to create t’s and hats but you do need quality. Let me know.
Or they can work with Startup Schwag and not pay any money:)
I think it’s a great idea.
Digg logo = way cooler than nike logo. Same with Firefox/Thunderbird.
humm…seems like a good idea… i may have to sign up
it makes sense, the business model works for the middleman - startupswhag.
but are there enough hardcore geeks out there that will want to wear no-name A, B and C’s shirt?
i’m not one to wear a free promo shirt, maybe around the house - but not outside, where it will help the company get exposure
Andrew said:
“Startups: you do not need to spend lots of money to create t’s and hats but you do need quality. Let me know.”
Hey, I would be interested in that. How do we contact you?
I doubt they’re be getting any Digg shirts. They’re already licensed through Jinx and run $17.95-19.95.
http://www.jinx.com/digg/
too much money
Andrew
Kill your spamming. What a cheap shot.
I wish him all the luck. As one of the crazies behind Valleyschwag I can vouch for the demand for this stuff, and the potential good sense of pursuing a licensing strategy.
As for Valleyschwag, we phased it out precisely because we weren’t interested in being in the t-shirt business. We started Valleyschwag as a gag, and it was a nice surprise that so many folks enjoyed the packages. For us the project was a big Valentine to the early adopters and geeks that Web entrepreneurs like us rely on for early support. We spent liberally to do things like wrap the packages in burlap and print limited edition posters. We found that a very real community formed around it, giving it the vibrancy that made it fun to scramble each month to put together the funny little grab bags. We did it as a way to celebrate the Web’s Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of the bust, and the hopefulness we all had that we were creating something meaningful with all these new Web projects.
We actually paid for or subsidized a lot of the schwag we sent. But we didn’t want to just send shirts–we had a goal of at least one shirt, a few hard items (pens, keychains, etc) and several soft items like stickers. And sometimes we’d hit the mother lode and send rare laptop bags, laser pointers, cookies (!), condoms, card games, etc. That was not a sustainable model given the economics, and though we experimented with a Valleyschwag store (which we gave to some friends to run), in the end we weren’t interested in running a t-shirt shop. We’re Web apps people, and that’s where we wanted to spend our time.
If Startup Schwag can amass an audience they should be able to systematize operations to be reasonably profitable. I sure hope Roddy loves manufacturing and shipping! Perhaps he knows the Threadless people, also based in Chicago, which could make a nice partnership. At the end of the day, though, I think the real win for him is to create a vibrant community that comes together around these funny cultural objects.
(And Roddy, ping me if you want more inside information about how things went down at Valleyschwag. I’m happy to share)
Any bra or thong for sexy women in the pack? lol
Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought it was:
“SWAG” for “Stuff We All Get” and “schwag” for marijuana. I don’t attend many conferences though.
that is too much per month and whats the tshirt quality gonna be.
Here’s the problem.
Sure, I would allow a company to use my logo but…
I do not want crap quality T’s, Hats, bra’s, etc with logo on it. No, I am not being picky, but crap is crap and crap would shed poor light on company. Shirt co’s usually provide proofs but this doesn’t sound like a venture willing to proof. I went to site but dont see lic agreement.
How do they decide which startup gets on the tshirts and other shwag?
Is there a voting process or is this guy a dictator?
That’s the only thing that would keep me from signing up to this service.
@Ted: Startup tshirt art (staying away from pure logo spam/turning people into billboards) will be printed exclusively on shirts. Chochkis/other branded merchandise will be sourced from startups directly. Receiving a package comprised entirely of Company X gear would be wrong =) “Here’s your Company X Hobbykit! Go nuts!” No thanks. We’re sensitive to quality control/branding concerns and happy to proof if a design is selected, which brings me to:
@Chris: Have to start somewhere but I’d love to provide those who want to participate (and subsequently ruin the surprise =) ) with a means to choose. It’s in the plans for v2. If you’d like to help screen designs in the meantime, drop me a line.
I was just looking for a replacement for Thor and crew today! I miss valleyshwag big time.
Fortuitous timing!
Im in. Ill file this one away with the Woot bags of Crap purchases that always get people excited. Ill give it a month and see how it goes, 20 bucks for a dorky Tshirt is a little pricey but if it gets a few laughs then it will be all worthwhile.
Thanks for the heads up, I wonder how many people you sent that way today, they need an affiliate program.
This is the first I’ve heard of this idea. I actually like it. lol
Also don’t forget, the companies need cool logos…
ok - im confused - mike says tc will be on the first shirt - does that mean for example the first month is a tc tshirt, second month is digg, third month is dogster, etc? or is there more in the bag of schwag? and is the tshirt multiple companies on one shirt?
do the startups get to proof the shirt? what does the startup get out of this? in mike’s example, does tc get a cut of the earnings that startupschwag brings in for the month? how does ss decide who gets x month?
lots of questions from the east coast!
Subscribed! I’m interested to see what I get!
Very cool,
ValleySchwag was a lot of fun while it lasted. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and maybe a bit of hair loss :p
I’m glad to see someone picking up where we left off. I wish you the best of luck and hope you have an easier time procuring all that schwag than we did.
We miss all of our VS peoples. I hope this service fills that empty place in your hearts.
Seeing that our new startup was born from lessons learned at VS, I’m creating a support site for Startup Schwag to make sure everyone has the same level of customer support, and care that (I hope) they had with us.
http://getsatisfaction.com/startupschwag
I’m diggin this idea, it’s awesome. The licensing angle is phenominal too. Hope they make a killing.
Smart, but hardly the same thing. Come on, the whole idea was to get the stuff directly from the startup, not copies of the things.
I like the idea but I gotta tell ya, it is really no surprise about TC being the first. If ya want coverage on TC, just be willing to somehow grease the palms of Arrington. Fox has a comment on their news, which is’ we report it, you decide’. On TC, it should be, ” gimme some skin, and you’ll be crunched ” It seems as if someone can pay to bash someone else, or someone can pay to be put upon a pedestal. Hey Dude, it’s VC world. right?
i actually heard someone was doing this last week. They haven’t launched yet but same concept but they guarantee high quality t’s that top brand names use for same money. I think they are launching in a couple of months. I believe they are loading up on shirts so they have shipments in order.
supa cool!
if you/they’re interested, I have the uberdomain for this idea
http://schw.ag
i heart schwag!
I would suggest putting up 4 to 5 startups and just doing an online poll to see which one gets it next. It’s not very complicated.
Nick Denton is a tosser.
Oh wait…
Wow! Now you can use your own money to advertise for other companies!
Love the idea, definitely going to consider a subscription. You should consider a lower cost subscription for those that may only want stickers or pens (or like items) and not t-shirts.