Founded in Germany by graduate student Lukasz Gadowski, Spreadshirt is an online platform for apparel merchandising that allows internet site operators to create their own online shops for free and sell customized products. Spreadshirt lets anyone from companies to individuals to bands to sports teams integrate these online shops with their own websites. These shop partners can then earn self-determined commissions on each sale through Spreadshop. Requirements for using Spreadshop are minimal: you only need an internet connection and design/logo graphic files for products. Aside from this, Spreadshirt does the rest for its over 300,000 shop partners by handling the production, shipping, payment processing, customer service, and providing other online merchandising tools. For people who just want to create (and order) personalized shirts with a design and text of their choice, Spreadshirt also has the “Spreadshirt Designer” shop available on their website. Since its origination in Germany, the company has expanded its market to the rest of Europe and the US as well. It has received acclaim globally, winning the Hewlett Packard Innovation Award in 2004 and being named in Business Week’s Europe Top 500 Growth Companies.