Brandstack
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Brandstack was a San Antonio, Texas-based online marketplace for buying and selling logos and domain names. Founded by Wes Wilson in March 2008 under the name Incspring (renamed Brandstack in June 2009), it let designers upload logo designs - sometimes paired with a domain name as a ready-made branding package - across more than 60 categories, and buyers could browse and purchase ready-made logos to brand their business. The company launched a sister site, Upstack.com, in February 2010 for custom design work. It temporarily closed in late 2011 and was then acquired by Australian crowdsourcing marketplace DesignCrowd, which relaunched it as BrandCrowd.
02 / Brandstack FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors supported by the current evidence
Brandstack's founder attributed the closure to sustained credit-card fraud affecting the marketplace.
Sustained credit-card fraud undermined the marketplace.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
Brandstack closed after its founder announced that the marketplace was heading to the deadpool.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Wes Wilson founded the company in March 2008 as Incspring; it was renamed Brandstack in June 2009.
- 02
The logo and domain marketplace grew to more than 60 design categories, and a sister site, Upstack.com, launched in February 2010 for custom design work.
- 03
Brandstack temporarily closed in late 2011.
- 04
On December 20, 2011, DesignCrowd announced it had acquired Brandstack, relaunched it as BrandCrowd, and repaid Brandstack designers who were owed payment for sold logos.
- 05
No reliable realized loss figure with clear subject, period and basis has been disclosed.