It may sound like an odd thing to say but mural festivals around the world are playing a key role in powering the growth of one of Detroit's most promising startups.
1xRUN, a firm that sells artwork online, watched its revenue jump by 98 percent in 2014, and it's on track to grow by 35 percent this year. The startup has also hired seven people over the last year, expanding its staff at its Eastern Market headquarters (which it moved to from Royal Oak two years ago) to 24 people. The driving force behind that growth can be summed up with one word: frequency.
"It's the product and the frequency of product releases," says Jesse Cory, CEO of
1xRUN. "We release a new product five times a week."
1xRUN sells limited-edition prints and other pieces by contemporary artists online. This system creates scarcity for its artwork, yet its pieces are easily accessible and affordable. A couple of years ago it was selling two or three new releases each week. That number is now at five a week and still growing.
1xRUN has also carved out a niche for itself by timing some of its releases around mural festivals. The 4-year-old company partners with mural festivals around the world from places as close as the U.S. and as far away as Taiwan and Israel.
"We will release a series of prints around a mural festival," Cory says. "We will also run a popup at the mural festival to attract new customers."
That success over the last year has inspired Cory and his team to launch Detroit's own mural festival this summer. Murals in the Market is 9-day event that will bring in muralists from near and far to create murals in Eastern Market. Cory hopes Murals in the Market will help boost local tourism and the art community.
"It's pretty ambitious," Cory says. "We're flying in 25 artists and some international media. We're also pairing the international artists with local artists."
Source: Jesse Cory, CEO of 1xRUN
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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