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New online space marries Etsy and Mr. Porter

Startup hopes to bridge disconnect between how men's-focused American artisans sell their goods and how guys shop.

On September 17, 2014, co-founder & CEO of Goods of Record, Sathish Naadimuthu displays some of the Made in America premium men's goods, accessories, and clothing that his company markets and sells. The company also tells the stories behind their good’s creators - through short film, photography, and editorial.

Chanda Jones / Staff Photographer
On September 17, 2014, co-founder & CEO of Goods of Record, Sathish Naadimuthu displays some of the Made in America premium men's goods, accessories, and clothing that his company markets and sells. The company also tells the stories behind their good’s creators - through short film, photography, and editorial. Chanda Jones / Staff PhotographerRead more

SATHISH NAADIMUTHU, 28, of Center City, a North Jersey native and Wharton School MBA candidate, is co-founder and CEO of Goods of Record. The Philly startup, launched in August, promotes and sells American-made men's clothing and accessories online.

Q: How'd you come up with the idea?

A: Prior to coming to Wharton, I worked for a company that owns JackThreads, a men's-focused website. I wanted to start and grow a business in fashion and style. At the beginning of this year, I met one of my co-founders and we brainstormed about [difficulties] in the e-commerce space.

Q: Startup money?

A: Right now we're bootstrapping and using personal savings. We're considering fundraising but haven't decided what route we want to take yet.

Q: Value proposition?

A: A community of makers in America is making men's-focused goods at home. There's a big disconnect between how they sell goods online and how guys shop on well-curated-and-designed sites. Etsy and eBay are largely huge catalogs of poorly photographed and described items. We want to be the content/marketing guys for artisans so they focus on making goods.

Q: The biz model?

A: We're moving to a commission model. Depending on the maker, we take a percentage of their revenue off the top in order to pay for content, marketing and other services. We want to be the place where customers transact business so makers don't have to worry with that. They'll be responsible for inventory and fulfilling orders.

Q: Your customers?

A: It's a guy 25 to 40, a professional, somebody with disposable income who lives in an urban or suburban area. He's interested in experimenting with new products, spending a little more and focused on quality.

Q: How do you find the artisans you feature?

A: We go to brick-and-mortar stores and see products. Word of mouth, people in the Wharton community who know makers. We look at online marketplaces.

Q: Competitors?

A: We're sort of in a new space that marries Etsy and premium men's-focused sites like Mr. Porter. The key differentiator is we tell the stories of the makers and their products, through film, photography and editorial.

Q: How big a biz is this?

A: We have revenue but it's going back into the business.

Q: What's next?

A: We'll soon add a blacksmith, and a company that sells cocktail bitters, and an Apple accessories-focused company, and have eight makers. I see us showcasing dozens of makers with accessories/clothing products that run the gamut of everything a guy could want, and us telling their stories, selling their goods.

On Twitter: @MHinkelman

Online: ph.ly/YourBusiness