Teespring
Teespring, rebranded as Spring in 2021, is an American social commerce platform founded in 2011 that enables creators to design, market, and sell custom merchandise such as apparel and accessories through a print-on-demand model, eliminating the need for upfront inventory or production costs.[1][2]
The company, established by Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton, initially gained traction by allowing users to launch crowdfunding-style campaigns for t-shirts and similar items, achieving rapid growth that attracted over $60 million in venture funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz.[3][4] By 2021, Spring reported supporting more than 450,000 creators vending products, positioning itself as a key player in the burgeoning creator economy amid the rise of social media influencers and direct-to-consumer sales.[5]
However, Teespring's ascent was marred by operational challenges and controversies, including a lax content review process that permitted the sale of offensive merchandise featuring racist or inflammatory designs, drawing public backlash and highlighting risks in user-generated e-commerce platforms.[3] The platform's heavy reliance on advertising through Facebook—where most sales originated—exposed it to vulnerabilities when algorithm changes and policy shifts disrupted traffic, contributing to financial strains, layoffs, and delayed creator payouts following the rebrand.[6][7] In 2023, amid ongoing difficulties, Spring was acquired by Amaze, a move intended to stabilize its position in the competitive print-on-demand market.[8]