Lebanese web startup ikimuk goes live

Similar to successful US-based Threadless, ikimuk lets users buy t-shirts featuring designs from leading artists.

How it works:

1. Favorite Designs Are Chosen

Users preorder the designs as part of bimonthly themed competitions.

2. Designs With the most Preorders Win

Winning designs get printed on high-quality t-shirts.

3. T-shirts Get Shipped Within a Week

ikimuk delivers the requested t-shirt sizes to their buyers.

“The response from the artist community so far has been phenomenal, with over 70 already on board from across the Arab World. It’s really cool, everyone wants to be part of it!” said Carl Halal, one of the 5 ikimuk cofounders.

The first competition was themed “Fruits vs. Vegetables”, and 8 designs were featured, ranging from quirky to geeky to downright funny.

According to Sevag Malkedjian, results have “exceeded our expectations”, with hundreds of T-shirts preordered, all within a week.

“I'll wear @IkimukTweets for life!”

-- from @patrikabs, designer

Artists whose designs win an ikimuk competition receive a large cash reward upfront as well as a percentage of each T-shirt sold, in addition to being featured on the website’s catalogue and on the hundreds, if not thousands, of shirts people wear every day.

ikimuk is one of 8 Startups that were selected for the 2012 Seeqnce Accelerator Program, a year-long program that invests in web & mobile startups in Lebanon. Each Startup received an investment of 76,500 USD. Demo Day is in March 2013.