Karmaloop Hype

In 2000, Greg Selkoe, a young Bostonian with an undergraduate degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, launches an online streetwear store named Karmaloop.com amidst the dot.com bust but survives the crisis in epic fashion (pun intended). The Karmaloop hype is based upon the company striving to bring their consumers a plethora of the freshest, trendiest streetwear brands and styles. A decade and some change later, the company has grown tremendously. According to Alexa.com, Karmaloop has over 4.5 million unique visitors monthly and is ranked the 1,450th most visited website in the US.

Karmaloop.com has been featured in financial publication such as The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur and The New York Times.  Karmaloop.com recently inked a distribution deal with GSI Commerce; an Ebay subsidiary is a leading provider of ecommerce and interactive solutions, which enables Karmaloop to distribute their apparel and products more efficiently to their consumer base. This will allow Karmaloop to expand globally.

Karmaloop.com progression is remarkable, last month KarmaloopTV.com announced the launch of their new second-generation video platform. Essentially, a re-launch of KarmaloopTV.com, meant to chronicle the “verge” movement, which is a youth movement, comprised of multi-racial, tech savvy consumer.  According to MarketWatch.com, the launch of Karmaloop TV second generation multi video platform gives their audiences, “a high-definition street-level look at emerging "Verge" culture phenomena, delving into politics, fashion, music and lifestyle issues with exclusive interviews that showcase iconic artists, musicians, designers and brands and delivering behind-the-scenes access to events and parties.” Karmaloop TV has various channels that features original curated content from brands, record labels and celebs like Pharrell Williams.

I find it pleasantly ironic that Karmaloop CEO Greg Selkoe, graduated from Rollin Colleges in Winter Park, FL given that I am currently attending Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fl. It is somewhat of inspiring story if you ask me. Especially, given the fact that I have similar entrepreneurial dreams dabbling in street wear fashion, tech and new age media. Honestly, I have always been a fan Karmaloop.com. I have followed the Karmaloop hype watched their progression from an online retail store to somewhat of an online community. It is only fitting that they evolve as a retail store and cater to an ever so savvy, global socially aware consumer.