Historical Timelines
Follow the leader.
From humble begins (yes, we were founded in a garage), CafePress has grown to become the leader in user-generated commerce. Here are some highlights of the journey so far:1999 |
|
| August | CafePress.com opens for business from a San Leandro, California garage; the company started with just four products — a t-shirt, two mugs and a mouse pad |
| August | Kill pop radio! First order ships — it's a white t-shirt with www.killpopradio.com emblazoned on the front |
| October | CafePress.com comes to life, incorporates. The company was founded following an aggressive outbound email campaign that targeted 100 new Web sites each day; a surprising 20 percent response rate started the viral momentum and within 15 days, CafePress.com was receiving up to five thank you emails per day... and the business was born |
| December | There must be angels; CafePress.com receives start up funding |
2000 |
|
| January | Company focuses on signing deals with large community Web sites; in January of 2000, deals were arranged with leading companies including NBC Internet, MP3.com and Advance Internet |
| March | CafePress.com secures Series A venture funding |
| April | Out of the garage and into an office; CafePress.com moves the company to Hayward, California |
| October | Politics heats up! "Sore Loserman" political merchandise boosts sales |
| December | What a year! By the end of 2000, CafePress.com signed agreements with United Media/Dilbert.com, Electronic Arts/Origin Systems, Women.com, and Salon.com |
2001 |
|
| January | CafePress.com growth spurt continues. Company relocates corporate headquarters to San Leandro, California |
| March | In the black! CafePress.com reaches profitability; this at a time when the fall of the tech sector wreaks havoc on the economy |
| July | CafePress.com wins coveted award; the people speak and declare CafePress.com the winner of the Webby People's Voice Award |
| September | Nationwide outpouring of patriotism in support of the September 11 attacks leads to grassroots uprising; sales profits from shopkeeper's across the country resulted in more than $30K being donated to the American Red Cross |
2002 |
|
| July | 300,000th CafePress.com shop opened |
| August | CafePress.com announces Premium Shops service |
2003 |
|
| February | Bursting at the seams. CafePress.com moves to larger offices in San Leandro |
| March | CafePress.com launches retail-ready audio and data CD experience |
| April | Grains of Sand is the first CD published through CafePress.com |
| April | 500,000th CafePress.com shop opens |
| November | Freedom from the print press! Now, anyone can become an author using the self-publishing print-on-demand service from CafePress.com; first book published is From Bat to Verse |
| December | The millionth member joins CafePress.com |
2004 |
|
| January | CafePress.com doubles in size; more than 150 employees now see green in their future |
| May | CafePress.com launches dynamic retail experience, providing consumers with even more shopping flexibility through the CafePress.com Marketplace |
| May | Steve Blank joins the CafePress.com Board of Directors; over the last 25 years, Blank has been part of, or co-founded eight Silicon Valley startups, including enterprise software company E.piphany |
| May | Philip Monego joins the CafePress.com Board of Directors; throughout the 30 years he has spent in the technology industry, Monego has served as a founder, chief executive, senior executive and investor in more than a dozen companies including Yahoo Inc. where he was the company's first chairman and CEO |
| June | CafePress.com announces Create & Buy service |
| July | Non-partisan CafePress.com announces Politics Portal featuring merchandise for everyone — whether you're left, right or center |
| July | CafePress.com moves to expanded production facility in Hayward, California |
| September | Revenues rise 30 percent within four months following the launch of the CafePress.com Marketplace, a dynamic online retail shopping experience |
| October | CafePress.com celebrates five years; company now offers an expanded product line of over 70 items |
| November | Another contentious election ends. "W is for Winners" t-shirts help the winners express their joy while "Sorry Everybody" reflects the pain of the losers |
2005 |
|
| January | CafePress.com receives Series B venture funding |
| January | Doug Leone, a partner at Silicon Valley based Sequoia Capital since 1988, joins the CafePress.com Board of Directors |
| May | CafePress.com wins Webby in the retail category |
| June | AlwaysOn names CafePress.com amongst the top 100 Top Private Companies for 2005 |
| August | CafePress.com opens a second production facility in Louisville, Kentucky |
| August | Bob Marino joins CafePress.com as Vice President of Operations |
| August | The Flying Spaghetti Monster makes a Big Bang as an Internet phenomenon. FSM gathers fans if not believers in a survival of the wittiest alternative to Darwin's Theory of Evolution and faith-based Intelligent Design. |
| August | CafePress.com moves its corporate headquarters from San Leandro to Foster City, California |
| November | CafePress begins offering Black T-Shirts answering the number one Shopkeeper request |
| December | CafePress ends the year with a record catalog count of 22 million unique products |
2006 |
|
| February | Proof that the T-Shirt economy closely follows the news is verified after the Dick Cheney shooting incident inspires hundreds of unique designs on thousands of products |
| May | CafePress and Babylon5scripts.com announce halfway point of 14 volume Publishing-On-Demand project with projected $1.5 million in gross sales |
| October | CafePress host its first user conference, CafePress Connect, in San Francisco |
2007 |
|
| January | CafePress catalog of individual products for sale surpasses 50 million |
| May | CafePressVoice, an advisory council of Shopkeepers is launched. |
| December | CafePress named as one of Internet Retailers "Hot 100 - Best Retail Web Sites." |
2008 |
|
| January | Catalog of available merchandise surpasses 150 million mark |
| February | As presidential elections heat up CafePress launched the CafePress Meter, a unique tool that tracks the sales of presidential candidates |
| March | CafePress launches a blog sure to entertain and delight |
| April | CafePress launches InfiniStitch Embroidery — a revolutionary new patent pending technology |
| May | CafePress Partners with Stand Up To Cancer and joins in the search for a cure to Cancer |
| June | CafePress partners with Rock The Vote to help in the mission to register new voters and host an online merchandise shop. |
| July | CafePress expands its canvass by acquiring ImageKind |
| August | Limited edition Shepard Fairey art available exclusively at CafePress through partnership with Rock The Vote |
| November | CafePress t-shirt sales predict 2008 presidential winner |
| November | CafePress launches official fan-designed "Twilight" merchandise through a partnership with Summit Entertainment |
| November | CafePress expands global reach to UK, Canada, and Australia |
2009 |
|
| January | CafePress and Rock The Vote unveil limited edition Rolling Stone Presidential Inauguration t-shirt |
| April | CafePress unveils organic apparel collection |
| May | CafePress unveils a new online design tool that makes it effortless for shoppers to express themselves by creating one-of-a-kind reusable SIGG bottles |
| May | CafePress and Operation Gratitude partner to support U.S. Military overseas |
| May | CafePress launches official fan-designed "American Idol" merchandise through a partnership with FremantleMedia Enterprises, North America |
| September | CafePress and VH1 Save The Music Foundation debut official 2009 "Divas" t-shirt |
| September | CafePress launches official fan-designed "Fame" merchandise through a partnership with MGM |
| October | CafePress launches official fan-designed "New Moon" merchandise through a partnership with Summit Entertainment |
To view and print PDF documents, you will need to install the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free through Adobe�s web site.
