Italic

For every venture e-com brand, 1,000+ bootstrapped ones do multiples of its revenue

Jeremy Cai argues most venture-backed e-commerce companies inflate how big they actually are, and that quietly bootstrapped brands often dwarf them in revenue.

“but I do think most venture-backed e-com businesses play themselves up to be bigger businesses than the actual business like is. Yeah. There's many more bootstrap— there's like You know, for every italic out there, there's like 1,000+ bootstrapped e-com brands that are doing like multiples of what we're doing.”

Italic paid ~$115K for its domain and has raised ~$15M

Jeremy Cai reveals Italic paid about $115K for italic.com (and ~$80K for Fountain.com) and has raised roughly $15M for the company.

“We've raised about $15M now.”

Italic's consignment trick: pay factories double, hold no inventory

Shaan explains how Italic stays capital-efficient by offering factories $40/unit-sold instead of a $20 wholesale price, in exchange for the factory making the goods at its own risk. Italic avoids huge purchase orders and inventory risk while giving entrepreneurial factories more upside.

“So why don't we do this? Instead of $20, how about you get $40 per unit sold? And manufacturer's like, what? And he's like, yeah, you get $40, but I'm not going to buy the inventory. You make it and you take the risk with us and, uh, you get double.”

Steal thisOffer suppliers a higher per-unit-sold price in exchange for them carrying inventory risk, so you stay asset-light.

Italic sells a $295 designer card holder for $35 unbranded

Shaan reads Italic's example: an unbranded leather zip card holder that retails for $295 at the designer brand sells for $35 on Italic—10x cheaper for the same product without the label.

“Yeah, it's like me saying like the Dallas Cowboys. Um, and anyway, that Italic, it's $35, right? So it's 10 times cheaper than the, the normal retail price for the same product without the without the label.”