Threadless.com, a t-shirt site that solicits designs rated by its members, has amassed critical and popular acclaim by harnessing the power of building and nurturing communities. With more than $30 million in annual revenue, an installed and vested customer base and growing fanfare, it is safe to say Threadless.com has both created and conquered a new category.

So why put up a store, given their unassailable online presence? The company plans to hold design classes and bring their online community to a real world setting, where they can have group critiques of each other’s work.

So yes, a viral and virtual strategy can be powerful, even mighty, if it is done right.  But even the conquerors of the virtual world have found that it is less about bricks versus clicks and more about creating a sense of customer intimacy.  The secret ingredient is less about where and more about how.  The question for us is how are we going to create unmatched value in the real and virtual worlds?  

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic."

Peter Drucker

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