Threadless Case

In what other industries or areas would Threadless’ community-driven product development model work well? And not so well?

Threadless’ community-driven product development model would work well in essentially any industry where consumer-generated products are valued. It would also have to be in an industry where simple products are sold. Highly complex products such as electronic devices, computers, etc. would not be candidates. Perhaps, the art industry would be able to utilize this methodology. Artists could use it for paintings, crafts, drawings, pottery, jewelry, etc. In addition, the music industry might also be a candidate. Singers/music artists/etc. could upload their music, have it critiqued, voted on, and sold.

However, this type of model is very limited in its applicability. This model mostly works for products (not services) that are provided by typically one person. People on their own, generally have limited resources and therefore aren’t able to offer many products or designs for products that are complex (i.e. usually this limits people to the arts.)