We The People, a Retail Space for Crowdfunded Products, Chooses St. Louis for First U.S. Store Location

2 Min Read

270

Visitors

Pop up shop becomes brick and mortar store.

We The People (WTP), the world’s only multichannel crowdfunding retail chain and creator support community, today announced its first U.S.-based brick-and-mortar store exclusively selling crowdfunded products will open in St. Louis, Missouri on March 1, 2019. This grand opening is WTP’s next step in expanding into the U.S. market, providing creators with an easier and more efficient way to distribute crowdfunded products to a large, worldwide audience. The first U.S. store will open in the West County Center, unit 2187 (Level 2 near Nordstrom).

“We’re proud to expand WTP’s reach into the U.S. by opening our first brick-and-mortar store in St. Louis, and to connect our creators with enthusiastic consumers in this unique setting,” said Jay Kang, CEO of WTP. “WTP St. Louis will be the first of many U.S. stores, allowing WTP to meet creators where they are and share our proven blueprint for bringing crowdfunded products to market with entrepreneurs in St. Louis and across the U.S.”

<2>Retail Space for Crowdfunded Products

To date, WTP has brought more than 200 brands and more than a thousand products to the public via its brick-and-mortar and online stores. The WTP St. Louis store will feature innovative products from exciting creators including Donut & Bagel by Mogics, Heng Balance Lamp by Allocacoc or Bobby Bags by XD Design.

WTP has built its reputation helping entrepreneurs through education, live-funding, a roadmap to achieve sustainability, and information on how to avoid the pitfalls of launching a crowdfunded product. WTP stores only feature products from creators who have used crowdfunding to build their products and their businesses. Using their online platform, brick-and-mortar space and partners’ network to help creators manufacture and launch their products globally, WTP has designed a proven model to create revenue opportunities for these crowdfunded entrepreneurs and their products.

<2>Give Back

Since opening a pop-up store at the West County Center in November 2018, WTP has strengthened its relationship with the St. Louis community. This has included offering local creators space in the pop-up store to show their products as well as hosting a “For Creators, By Creators” (FCBC) event as a FCBC Junior event. Along with the event in St. Louis, WTP has hosted “For Creators By Creators” events in Las Vegas and Boston, and is planning future events in other U.S. cities as a way to reach out to entrepreneurs, educate them and offer insight on best practices.

In celebration of the opening of the St. Louis store, WTP will donate a portion of the proceeds from its first month’s sales to KIPP St. Louis High School’s entrepreneur program. They can use these funds to help them build their own products that can potentially be crowdfunded in the future. WTP will also bring the young entrepreneurs to the store for a tour and Q&A session with Ryan Sim and Nison Chan, two of the store’s founders.

“We are excited for our students to get an up-close look at the process for creating a product and bringing it to consumers, thanks to WTP’s generous support,” said Tanesia Simmons, Co-School Leader, KIPP St. Louis High School. “The information and education that WTP will provide our students will help prepare them to be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”