Teespring (Spring by Amaze)
Company History
Teespring History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island, United States
When was Teespring founded?
Teespring was founded in 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island, United States by Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton, making it 15 years old.
- Founded
- 2011
- Founding place
- Providence, Rhode Island, United States
- Founders
- Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton
- Headquarters today
- Costa Mesa, California, United States (parent Amaze Holdings); Teespring was originally based in San Francisco
- Milestones documented
- 10 (2011–2026)
- Current CEO
- Aaron Day
- Acquisitions
- 1
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Teespring founded |
| 2013 | Y Combinator |
| 2014 | Venture rounds |
| 2015 | Acquired Fabrily |
| 2018 | YouTube merch shelf |
| 2018 | Chris Lamontagne becomes CEO |
| 2021 | Rebrand to Spring |
| 2023 | Warehouse closure |
| 2025 | Public via Fresh Vine Wine |
| 2026 | Q2 2026 update |
- Where was Teespring founded?
- Teespring was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, United States in 2011. en.wikipedia.org
- Who founded Teespring?
- Teespring was founded by Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton.
- When did Teespring start?
- Teespring was founded in 2011.
- How old is Teespring?
- Teespring is 15 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Teespring began at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton wanted to sell T-shirts in support of a local bar that was closing, but printing them meant paying for inventory upfront. They built a simple site where buyers pre-ordered shirts, and the order only went to print once enough people committed. That pre-order model became Teespring in 2011.
Founders
Walker Williams
Walker Williams co-founded Teespring in 2011. While studying at Brown University, his favorite local dive bar was shut down. Wanting to sell commemorative t-shirts but having absolutely no capital to buy inventory, he built a simple website to collect pre-orders first. Realizing the massive potential of this 'crowdfunded apparel' model, he built Teespring to completely remove the inventory risk from custom merchandise. Walker Williams was born in 1988.
Evan Stites-Clayton
Evan Stites-Clayton co-founded Teespring in 2011. As the absolutely critical technical architect, he built out the highly complex, custom logistics backend that seamlessly routed millions of viral, crowdsourced t-shirt orders directly to a massively fragmented network of third-party screen printers across the country. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Teespring founded
Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton launched a pre-order model for custom T-shirts.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgVenture rounds
Raised a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $35 million Series B led by Khosla Ventures.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAcquired Fabrily
Teespring (Spring by Amaze) acquired Fabrily. Acquired London-based custom apparel platform Fabrily to expand in Europe.
Source: techcrunch.comYouTube merch shelf
Became a launch partner for YouTube's merchandise shelf beneath creator videos.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChris Lamontagne becomes CEO
Chris Lamontagne became CEO of Teespring (Spring by Amaze) in 2018. Repositioned Teespring around creator merchandise.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgRebrand to Spring
Teespring rebranded as Spring to reflect products beyond T-shirts.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgWarehouse closure
Spring closed its production warehouse and laid off staff, according to Business Insider.
Source: businessinsider.comPublic via Fresh Vine Wine
Fresh Vine Wine completed its acquisition of Amaze Software (Spring, Teespring Marketplace) in March 2025 and renamed itself Amaze Holdings (AMZE).
Source: finance.yahoo.comQ2 2026 update
Amaze reported Q2 revenue of about $0.6 million (+32% QoQ) and a narrower net loss of about $4.4 million.
Source: finance.yahoo.comMajor Acquisitions
Fabrily
2015Acquired London-based custom apparel platform Fabrily to expand in Europe.
Keep researching Teespring
Teespring Company History FAQ
When, where, and by whom was Teespring originally founded?
Teespring was founded in 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island, by Brown University seniors Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton.
What inspired the original idea for Teespring at Brown University?
In 2011, a beloved local Providence dive bar, "Fish Company" (Fish Co.), was facing sudden closure. Williams and Stites-Clayton wanted to sell commemorative T-shirts to support the bar but lacked $1,000 for upfront inventory. They built a simple crowdfunding page where shirts would only be printed if at least 200 orders were pre-committed.
How did the "Fish Co." campaign lead to a venture-backed tech company?
The campaign hit its 200-shirt goal within hours and sold thousands of dollars in merchandise. Realizing that student groups, non-profits, and independent communities faced the same inventory risk, the founders officially launched Teespring as a no-inventory custom apparel platform.
What was Teespring's experience in Y Combinator?
Teespring was accepted into the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator program in the Winter 2013 (W13) batch, refining its viral crowdfunding mechanics and attracting tier-one Silicon Valley venture capital.
How much venture capital did Teespring raise during its hypergrowth phase?
Teespring raised over $55 million in venture funding, including a Series A round led by Lars Dalgaard at Andreessen Horowitz and a $35 million Series B round led by Keith Rabois at Khosla Ventures.
What role did Facebook advertising play in Teespring's early growth?
Between 2013 and 2016, performance marketers utilized micro-targeted Facebook ads to sell custom apparel to niche hobbies, professions, and family names, propelling Teespring to millions of dollars in monthly gross merchandise volume.
Why did Teespring pivot toward digital content creators and influencers?
As Facebook advertising costs escalated and copyright enforcement tightened around user-generated designs, Teespring pivoted to partnering with established YouTube creators, Twitch streamers, and Instagram influencers with authentic built-in audiences.
What was Teespring's milestone integration with YouTube in 2018?
In June 2018, YouTube announced an official partnership with Teespring to launch the "YouTube Merch Shelf," allowing eligible creators to showcase branded apparel directly beneath their video players.
Why did Teespring rebrand to "Spring" in 2021?
In early 2021, the company rebranded from Teespring to "Spring" (spri.ng) to reflect its expansion beyond basic T-shirts into an expansive creator commerce ecosystem encompassing over 120 physical and digital product categories.
How was Spring acquired by Amaze Software?
In 2022–2023, creator tech company Amaze Software acquired Spring and the Teespring Marketplace, merging its creator storefront builder and link-in-bio tools with Spring's global print-on-demand fulfillment network.
How did Amaze Holdings become a publicly traded company on NYSE American?
In March 2025, public entity Fresh Vine Wine acquired Amaze Software and subsequently rebranded the corporate entity as Amaze Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: AMZE), with Aaron Day continuing as Chief Executive Officer.
What was the restructuring of Spring's manufacturing footprint in 2023?
In early 2023, Spring transitioned from owning and operating its capital-intensive 175,000 sq ft printing facility in Hebron, Kentucky, toward a 100% asset-light third-party fulfillment partner network across North America and Europe.
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