Launching The Story Company

Last week I was a part of the launch of a really exciting new venture called The Story Company.  The Story Company is focused on poverty elimination in developing countries through the design and sale of high-quality goods made by up and coming entrepreneurs.

Here’s how it works:

• The Story Company designs merchandise that we hope will be attractive in Western markets.
• We source the production of merchandise with entrepreneurs who can deliver consistently, and with high quality.  We focus on entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their communities through job training and creation.
• The Story Company buys from those merchants direct and markets it through our e-commerce platform.  We share the story of the producer through their own words and pictures.

It’s been a bumpy road getting to launch.  The challenges associated with finding and procuring high-quality merchandise through these developing countries are many.  We certainly have a long ways to go.

Over the next few weeks, we will be launching the sale of a new product once every week or so.  You can watch the story of the producers for each product and get a sense for how people’s lives can be changed as a part of what we are doing.

Our charter is simple: help create the tide that floats more boats.

I hope that you will take the time to go to the site, see what we are all about, and if you are so inclined sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch with what we are doing.  If you have feedback or thoughts on how we can improve, we would love to hear that to.  You can leave a message for us on Facebook or Twitter.