No Strings Attached…A Brief History of The Threadless Co.

Threadless.com, a thriving T-shirt business was born right here in Chicago.
Jake Nickell, 27, Jacob DeHart, 26, and Jeffrey Kalmikoff, 28, are the masterminds behind this catchy art focused fashion business. The three young men had no background in design and no business school education, but their borrowed idea of hosting on-line T-shirt design contests has earned them millions.The Threadless concept, from soliciting designs, to creating a crazed community, now over 400,000 strong, calls for users to get fashionably involved by submitting their digitally created designs to be included in weekly themed contests.The community votes, and winners get their shirt printed. Designers whose entry wins a contest receive $2,000 in cash and a $500 gift certificate to Threadless.com, and get another $500 if the shirt is reprinted.Threadless has paid out more than $1 million a year to winning designers and continues to attract more members interested in contributing to the company, and supporting the Threadless community by purchasing their favorite pieces priced at roughly $12 to $25.