It’s been a few months since we wrote about Startup Schwag, a service that sends users startup-branded tshirts and stickers every month.
You’ll either think this is lame (not target market) or so cool you’ve wet your pants (target market) and act accordingly. The first attempt at the model by Valleyschwag didn’t scale and folded. Startup Schwag isn’t relying on the companies to produce the stuff, though (that’s where Valleyschwag ran into trouble when they got too big), they do it themselves with the company’s permission.
The first mailing included a TechCrunch Tshirt, and one made its way to Lisa Brewster, who writes the blog Sophistechate. She posted the picture above to her blog a couple of days ago. Golf clap for Lisa, our new unofficial mascot. Another woman models the reddit tshirt here.
Founder Roddy Richards says the service is doing well and has 400 subscribers now paying $15 per month each.
Richards has also founded a startup called PriceAdvance. It was rejected by Y Combinator, but Richards used the money YC gave him to apply (travel expenses) to incorporate the company and get it going. It launched December 11 and is doing well, he says.