"We only print stuff that sells."

Estimated Users: Unknown

Before there was Groupon there was Threadless. Maybe Chicago should get more props for being a hotbed of social business? Anyway, Threadless is one of the simplest, coolest, most brilliant ideas I have ever seen. So much so that I can't believe more companies aren't look for way to implement their business model.

The concept is simple. They sell printed t-shirts (and now a buch of other stuff too) but they only make and offer for sale the shirts that customers say they want to buy. Another cool part of the concept is that designers submit their t-shirt ideas to the Threadless community for vote (and hopeful production) which makes the company's R&D cost and risk substantially lower than other companies. It seems to be working as Threadless is pulling in over $30 million a year.

Social is everything at Threadless

Beyond the user generated design and customer driven production Threadless is all in with social business for marketing and customer service. They have over 1.7 million Twitter followers, 391,000 Facebook fans, produce Threadless TV (a web show), publish a blog called Threadspotting, host MeetUps and much more. 

Check out this quick video to get a sense for how Threadless works.