What Wild Tiger Tees does

Wild Tiger Tees is a Columbus, Ohio-based social enterprise founded in 2018 that designs and produces custom screen-printed apparel and drinkware. The company operates a direct-to-consumer custom printing business, accepting quote-based orders via website contact forms and direct email, serving businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals across Columbus and beyond. Its core offering is custom screen printing for t-shirts and mugs, with in-house design services included as part of the order process; typical turnaround is 2-3 weeks from artwork approval, and pricing varies by quantity, design complexity, and garment type.

The business is operationally embedded inside the Star House, a drop-in day center for homeless youth ages 14-24 in Columbus, Ohio. Wild Tiger Tees employs program participants experiencing homelessness, teaching them both hard skills (screen printing setup, press operation, quality control, design fundamentals) and soft skills (communication, reliability, teamwork). The company is co-founded and run by six individuals covering project management, operations, design, process/quality, technology, and community functions; no venture capital, private equity, or institutional funding has been disclosed.

In 2023, Wild Tiger Tees paused its t-shirt printing program to regroup and explore new directions, while continuing custom mug production and establishing a partnership with Stauf's Coffee Roastery. The company has since launched the Sustainable Innovation Lab, an initiative focused on building new community-driven social enterprise models. It remains an active operating entity but is in a transitional phase, with the post-2023 revenue base concentrated in mug printing and a limited set of commercial relationships.

Name

Wild Tiger Tees

Legal name

Wild Tiger Tees

Website

https://wildtigertees.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wild Tiger Tees is a Columbus, Ohio-based social enterprise founded in 2018 that provides custom screen printing for t-shirts and mugs to businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals. The company employs and mentors homeless youth ages 14-24 through its work program operating inside the Star House drop-in center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel and Merchandise Printing

NAICS

Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (3152), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Team & Promotional Apparel Cut & Sew (Screenprint/Embroidery-Ready) (IMAOAEAK)

Keywords

• Custom screen printing
• Apparel printing services
• Custom mug printing
• Garment decoration
• Printed merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Screen Printing Orders: Revenue generated from custom screen printing orders for t-shirts and mugs. Customers include businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals. As of 2023, t-shirt printing was paused; the company continues printing custom mugs. Pricing varies based on quantity, design complexity, and garment type.
2. Design Services: The company offers design services for customers who don't have artwork ready, creating custom designs for their orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Wild Tiger Tees designs and produces custom screen-printed apparel and mugs for businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals in Columbus and beyond. The company operates as a social enterprise out of the Star House drop-in center, employing youth experiencing homelessness and teaching them screen printing skills while fulfilling custom orders with a typical 2-3 week turnaround from artwork approval.

Product overview

Wild Tiger Tees is a social enterprise offering custom screen printing services as its primary product. The core offerings include custom screen printing for t-shirts and mugs, with design services included as part of the order process. The company operates primarily as a custom printing service for businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals. In 2023, the company paused t-shirt printing to explore new directions while continuing mug printing through partnerships like Stauf's Coffee. The Sustainable Innovation Lab represents a new direction for exploring community-driven social enterprise models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Screen Printing Services Custom screen printing services for t-shirts and mugs, handling design and production from artwork approval through delivery, with a typical 2-3 week turnaround. Offered to businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals across Columbus and beyond, with pricing varying by quantity, design complexity, and garment type.
• Custom T-Shirt Printing Custom screen printing for t-shirts; previously available to businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals based on quantity, design complexity, and garment type. The product was paused in 2023 as part of the company's restructuring.
• Custom Mug Printing Custom screen printing for mugs offered to businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals; this product continues to be active after the 2023 pause of t-shirt printing and supports partnerships such as the Stauf's Coffee Roastery branded mug program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Every purchase funds the work program at the Star House

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stauf's Coffee RoasterycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Ongoing partnership for custom mug printing. Wild Tiger Tees produces custom mugs featuring Stauf's branding. This partnership represents one of WTT's active commercial printing relationships following the pause on t-shirt printing in 2023.
• Star HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Star House is a drop-in day center for homeless youth ages 14-24 in Columbus, Ohio. It provides a safe, welcoming space where young people can access meals, hygiene resources, case management, and community. Wild Tiger Tees runs its work program from inside the Star House, using the space to employ youth and run screen printing operations. This is WTT's home base and the foundation of their social enterprise model.
• Sustainable Innovation LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn initiative focused on building sustainable, community-driven programming. Wild Tiger Tees is exploring new social enterprise models through this lab, working to define the next chapter of the organization.
• Petals That InspireminorOthersA sister organization founded on the same spirit of community, creativity, and social impact. Petals That Inspire works to bring joy, opportunity, and connection to those who need it most. Both organizations share founders and a common mission orientation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bonfire: Bonfire is a custom apparel platform focused on fundraising and community campaigns, enabling nonprofits, schools, and groups to design and sell custom t-shirts. It overlaps directly with WTT's nonprofit and school customer segments and use cases (fundraising, event shirts).
• Printful: Printful operates a print-on-demand and screen printing/embroidery service for custom apparel, serving creators, brands, and businesses. It represents a scaled, technology-enabled peer in the custom apparel decoration category that competes on turnaround and configurability.
• CustomInk: CustomInk is one of the largest custom apparel printing platforms in the US, offering screen printing and embroidery on t-shirts and apparel for groups, events, schools, and businesses. It is the most direct comparable to WTT's custom t-shirt printing offering, with the key difference being CustomInk's national scale and e-commerce configurator vs. WTT's local, mission-driven, quote-based model.
• Teespring (Spring): Teespring (now Spring) is a custom apparel platform that enables creators and organizations to design and sell t-shirts with no upfront costs. It overlaps with WTT's school, nonprofit, and individual customer use cases.
• Spreadshirt: Spreadshirt is a custom apparel and accessory printing platform with an emphasis on creator and small-business sellers. It competes with WTT in the custom printed apparel space for individuals and small organizations.
• CafePress: CafePress operates a custom merchandise marketplace including printed t-shirts, mugs, and apparel. It is a direct peer in custom on-demand printing for mugs and shirts targeted at individuals and small organizations.

Others

• TOMS: TOMS is a purpose-driven consumer brand built around a social impact model. While not a printing peer, it is thematically relevant as a comparable social enterprise operating a commercial business to fund a social mission, similar to WTT's earn-while-you-learn screen printing model.

Broad incumbents

• Vistaprint: Vistaprint is a broad custom printing incumbent covering apparel, signage, mugs, and promotional products. Its custom mug and promotional merchandise offerings directly overlap with WTT's mug printing and custom merchandise business.
• Sticker Mule: Sticker Mule is a custom printing company specializing in stickers, labels, and apparel printing, serving businesses and creators. It represents a scaled, modern competitor in custom on-demand printing adjacent to WTT's core offering.

Emerging players

• Designhill: Designhill is a design and custom printing marketplace combining graphic design services with print-on-demand apparel and merchandise. It overlaps with WTT's bundled design + custom printing service model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wildtigertees
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wild-tiger-tees

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wild Tiger Tees