What if launching a creative business with physical products was as easy as starting a blog or a newsletter? What if the millions of creators currently building their audiences had access to the infrastructure needed to bring their vision to life in 30 days or less? This is what we aim to deliver with the Pietra's Creator Initiative.

Silicon Valley has done a remarkable job over the years at lowering the barrier to starting a software business. Yet, in 2020, if you want to start a creative business that sells a physical product it takes many years of on-the-ground hustle and thousands of dollars in costs to bring an idea to market.

Are you a creative person who is passionate about jewelry and wants to launch a collection? Or a florist that wants to expand into fragrances and premium candles? Or a fashion influencer who wants to design a quality handbag? It's hard to know how to begin or who to ask, and when you finally figure out how to take one step forward, every subsequent step seems unnecessarily difficult. Sourcing materials, finding great manufacturing partners, negotiating pricing and minimum order quantity, building a kickass website to sell your product online — it's not easy, and it takes time. Too much time. And even worse, you may go through this entire process only to have to do it all over again with another supplier once your business starts to grow.

Pietra is here to change that. We want to handle all the hard, boring, and tedious parts of launching a business, so you can focus on what you're passionate about: being creative.

Today, we're announcing Pietra's Creators Initiative that makes following your passion and launching your creative business as easy as starting a blog.

Pietra's Creator Platform offers:

  • A way to connect with trusted suppliers and manufacturers. Many of our manufacturing partners produce goods for top luxury brands.
  • A way to design your product samples and custom packaging. Collaborate with Pietra's Design Team to turn your idea into real samples.
  • A way to sell directly to your audience. Set up a Pietra Shop in less than 15 minutes and start selling your products. When something sells, we'll take care of fulfilling and shipping your orders for you.
  • A better way to promote your products. You can even connect your Instagram account to your Pietra Shop and sell directly to your audience. Post on your Shop's Community Page to start discussions with your followers, post behind the scenes content, and get a chance to be featured on Pietra's homepage.

Launching a product AND running your business has never been easier. Once you've approved your samples, and posted them on your Pietra Shop, Pietra will take care of running your business. When a customer purchases from your Pietra Shop, we will handle the logistics involved with producing your items and shipping it to the customer. Just like Amazon's Cloud Services, as your business scales and you become more successful, Pietra offers additional services that makes scaling a hands-free, easy process. Whether you're an influencer who's looking to monetize your audience, or a passionate hobbyist looking to launch your first business — Pietra has you covered.

It's time to bring your vision to life. Launch your creative business for as little as $49/mo for 3 products. That means that for the cost of running a website, Pietra will help you launch your business, and then keep it running for you.

Pretty cool, right? Now what are you waiting for? Take that idea you're passionate about and start building your empire.

You can also view this blog post on Medium.com.