Moose Limited success story

As 2012 ends and a new year begins, I took a moment to look back and reflect on our success.  MOOSE limited began as a side project from my garage, an experiment in selling independent hip-hop artist merch on the internet.  It was 2005 and, at the time, if you wanted a Living Legends t-shirt you had to go to a Living Legends show and purchase it at the venue.  But what about fans in remote cities or countries such as Australia?  These fans could hear and download the group’s music online, but they did not have access to the Group’s Merch.  And with that idea, a business was born.  

The site launched after a few of weeks of basic web design, purchasing products from different artists, and other administrative setup. During those early days, I remember thinking that if some day we could sell $100 per day that would be $3,000 per month in sales, which would be enough for me to make money.  That was it.  $100 per day.  This was my measure of success.  

I also remember researching fashion web sites during that time.  There was one site that towered over all the others.  It had all the up-and-coming brands that were in high demand. It had exclusive access to brands such as The Hundreds, GRN Apple Tree, 10 Deep, Mishka.  It’s name was Digital Gravel and it was the undisputed giant of street wear e-commerce.  Every brand wanted to be featured on it and every site selling similar products wanted to have the appeal of Digital Gravel.  It was, to me, the ultimate in e-commerce success.

Well, here I am today, in 2013, after growing MOOSE Limited at a rate of over of 50% each year, with increased momentum and sales in the millions, and I think about success.   MOOSE Limited has surpassed it’s $100 daily sales target long ago.  Moreover, we now view competitor sites that once seemed like towering empires as peers in a small community of street wear sellers.  But as I look at our current operations, the feelings are similar.  Our sales targets have grown, but there are always sales targets to reach.  And larger competitors are still there, they have different names but they are there.  The threats to our growth, both internal and external, always persist.  The feelings are similar.

And so what is the real measure of the success that MOOSE Limited has achieved?  It is a profitable venture, which to some is the main measure of success.  But there is something more that the company does.  It brings people together.  It brings 28 individuals together at our warehouse each day.  It brings together a small-town kid from Massachusetts who just wanted to make some music and have some fun, an English Literature student with a passion for Modernism, a part-time college student who wakes up at 5am each day to go Surfing, a model from Kansas, a former Neiman Marcus Associate, a bunch of sales reps from around the world, each one crazier than the other (you know who you are…), a former Pizza worker and internet gamer, a kid who drives 1.5 hours each day from Palmdale to be part of the team, and countless other individuals, all building a company together.  Most importantly, it brings together about 25,000 visitors each day, all of whom share a common interest in this fashion and see it as part of their identity.  These are our customers.  They don’t just place orders, they also take time to comment on products, share ideas for improvement, tell friends that MLTD is their favorite store, and send us holiday thank-yous and well wishes.  Our customers are loyal, a global network of individuals who share a passion for our brands and products.   They are part of our extended family.  And this, for me, is the true measure of our success.

Happy New Year! 

-Moose (Owner & Founder of MLTD) http://www.mltd.com/