Kelly McKenna and Liz Powers of Artlifting with artwork Microsoft purchased for its new space.
A new startup, ArtLifting, wants to become an ecommerce success while also helping homeless people get back on their feet.
Liz Powers, a serial entrepreneur and homeless advocate in Boston for nine years, decided to turn her annual art sale for homeless artists into a website in 2013.
The company sells art created by homeless and disabled people. There are about 800 pieces of art from 51 artists on the site—everything from abstract art to portraits and landscapes--from Austin, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Florida, Washington, DC and New Jersey. Buyers can also search for artists in their own area, which has been a popular so that people have a stronger connection to the artists.
"Customers always asked 'When is the next show?'" Powers says. "We realized one day a year in Boston wasn't enough. Why not support artists year-round across the country? There are countless talented homeless and disabled artists who need a marketplace to share their work with the community."
The startup has raised $1.1 million in seed financing from Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes, Joanne Wilson, Eric Ries, and Tumml, with participation from KEC Ventures, Stage 1 Ventures and BOSS Syndicate.
ArtLifting finds its artists through local art teachers working in homeless shelters. The teachers prescreen to find potential candidates for the website--then Artlifting selects the most promising. The pieces sell to the public for about $75 to $300 unframed—with an additional cost for framed art.
The company prints on-demand, not keeping inventory, which keeps costs low. It takes 45% of every transaction, with 55% going to the artist. In the art world, the artists typically get 50%, says Kelly McKenna, ArtLifting's chief operating officer. Artlifting is a B Corp., a for-profit company designation certifying social and environmental standards.
But how big of a business can this become? “Huge,” McKenna says, pointing to other sites such as Art.com or Artsy. In addition to selling artwork such as prints, Artlifting is offering other consumer products such as phone cases and greeting cards with the same art on it.
Becoming a broader ecommerce company, rather than just selling art, will depend on the startup becoming a popular “social good” brand among consumers—like Toms shoes or Warby Parker eyeglasses. “Because of our social mission, we hope and think we can cater to a different population that those like Art.com can’t,” McKenna says.
Unlike a company like Toms, ArtLifting gives consumers satisfaction knowing a particular person who they are impacting—as a result, reading the stories of each artist are an important part of the buying experience.
One area of growth for ArtLifting is corporate sales. This art is different from typical office decorations—it makes an impact, is good to talk about, and provides positive public relations.
While growing as a business, ArtLifting’s goal is to help its artists. Five people have gotten housing after selling through the site. One artist who has found unexpected sales through the site is Eric Lewis Basher, who paints at Hospitality House in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. He recently sold two pieces to Microsoft.
“I am thrilled at the potential this means for me,” Basher says. “If anyone at that level likes my work then the world opens up. I know that I am unique though and if the right people see my stuff then I should be able to achieve a better living. I dream of earning enough to replace my teeth because right now everything tastes like enamel and my teeth are falling out and disability won't help.”
The benefits for the artists are not just financial. While some may eventually support themselves through their art, that’s not necessarily the goal. Although the money from sales is important, the big benefit is to self-esteem.
“It’s the confidence boost,” McKenna says. “Most of the (artists) never thought anyone would want to buy their stuff. To have that validation is totally life changing. It gives them confidence do things like fill out a housing application.”
Powers and her founding team, which includes cofounder and brother Spencer Powers, McKenna and chief art curator Stephanie Wright, originally started in 2013 building ArtLifitng part-time. Powers, who was previously founder of the Lift Bike Project in Massachusetts, was working at the time at Harvard. She was joined by McKenna, who was in business school at Harvard, and Wright, who previously worked at Christie’s in San Francisco. This summer the four started working on the company full-time and the site started to grow.
In June the company joined Tumml—the San Francisco urban technology incubator—which has helped the company with things like building out its technology and meeting new investors and clients. Now the company is looking to expand into more cities, while getting more artists on the site, many of whom never thought they would ever sell their work.
