Card Gnome Inc.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: COMPANY

INITIAL LIGHT BULB A few years ago, Joel Wishkovsky and Chad McGimpsey worked together at General Electric. "We always talked about startup ideas," says Wishkovsky. "He was based in Philadelphia and I traveled the whole time."

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In March 2010 the pair decided to leave their corporate gigs, as well as the Northeast, quitting GE and relocating to Colorado in one fell swoop.

"We quit without knowing what we were going to do," says Wishkovsky. They liked the concept of crowdsourcing, and worked on a website that allowed people to make custom artwork. "It was kind of a failure," Wishkovsky says. The foray led them to greeting cards. When they realized the market had yet to move online--and artists' problems with self-publishing--Card Gnome was born.

IN A NUTSHELL Card Gnome aims to be the "Netflix of greeting cards," says Wishkovsky. The company has a roster of more than 200 artists and "one of the largest catalogs of greeting cards in the world," spanning 300 holidays--including Flag Day. Card Gnome's sales are evenly split between winter holidays, birthdays and other occasions.

Customers pay $4.99 per card or buy packages of 10 or more for volume discounts, and can personalize the cards as they order online. Card Gnome prints cards on-demand at a California-based partner, which Wishkovsky says is revolutionary for the industry. "Typically you have to print first. That model breaks down if the cards don't sell."

Artists receive a 5 percent commission (a minimum of 10 cents per card), which is better than the fiat fee of $500 to $1,000--the industry's status quo. "It ends up being almost...