Todays interview is with the Co-founder of Snorgtees , Matt Walls.

1) You are most famous as the founder of SnorgTees - tell us, how did you get started and when you did start, did you ever imagine it would become as successful as it has? (What were your original goals for Snorg tees?) 

SnorgTees is an idea we had while hanging out in our parent's basement. I had just graduated from college and was working in technology consulting at Accenture. But something kept pushing me towards entrepreneurship. This initially led to us starting a humor based website with a goal to build up a big enough audience to start selling advertising and t-shirts based on the content we created. We had a lot of fun with that, but the audience was not growing as fast as we hoped, and we kept having ideas for funny t-shirts we wanted to sell. This led to a decision to try selling t-shirts independently of our other site as their own brand, which prompted us to start Snorg. I started working on it in the spring on 2004, and we opened shop August 2004. In the early days, we dreamed it would be successful overnight, but when things first started we had a huge reality check, and at that point I don't know if I believed it could get this big. Our original goal was for this to be our job, to work for ourselves doing something we enjoy. For the first year we weren't sure if that would ever happen. But after a year and a half I took it full time, and from there we have never looked back.
 
2) What advice would you give a young entrepreneur trying to make money online selling t-shirts?

I'd say you might want to re-evaluate why you want to sell t-shirts, and if something else might be a better idea. It is a very competitive industry. And since we have started we've seen a lot of people start up and then fade away, often trying to unload their remaining inventory to us. I think this happens for two reasons:

1. It is not all fun and games. Most people think all we do is sit around and think up funny ideas, when in reality most of the time is spent on executing projects and managing the business, just like any business. You have to be prepared to operate an online retail shop. That means we have to do all the things that another online retailer would do, such as Barnes and Noble (customer service, order fulfillment, supply chain management, marketing, accounting, and tons of other administrative things), only in addition to that we also have to come up with our own product.

The 2nd reason I think people fail is it's harder to get noticed in the industry now than ever before. There are so many players already out there, it's difficult for a new one to become well known enough to make any money. I've seen a few run themselves into the ground because of this. But if you still have your heart set on selling t-shirts, I'm not giving away any secrets!

3) When advertising SnorgTees I have noticed you use a banner advertising the t-shirt "With a shirt like this, who needs pants". What was the marketing idea behind this? 

The quote was something we thought of a long time ago, and decided to finally put on a shirt. It was not intended for our marketing campaigns. But turns out it is a great advertisement.

4) Which T-shirt has been your best seller and why do you think this was?

I'm kind of a big deal is our all time best seller. I think it's #1 because it is funny to everybody from kids to grandparents.
 
5) I understand that you pay your customers $100 and give them a free t-shirt if they come up with a t-shirt idea you use, how do you think this has impacted on the success of SnorgTees .

It certainly encourages more people to send in ideas, which helps us keep coming out with new products our customer will love.

 
6) If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were first making a name for yourself, what advice would you give yourself?

Maybe to start working on this sooner? That's a tough one. I don't know if I'd really want to change the way things unfolded. Knowing what i know now, I could have done it faster...been more successful, but part of the fun is the journey, working till 2 am every day trying to figure things out.

7) Is there anyone that you look up to and model yourself on? (You can name more than one)

Sure, tons of people. I get inspiration from other young entrepreneurs, both web based businesses and traditional. And I am inspired by my parents work ethic and intelligence, which helped us to stay focused on moving forward.

8) Do you have any favourite business related or personal development related books that you can recommend to other entrepreneurs? 

Not really. I do a lot of quick reading online. There was one book that really influenced me to start this business though. Rich Dad Poor Dad. The book did not provide me with specifics, but it made me realize that to do what I wanted, I needed to get away from the "normal" mindset of having a "real" job, and that this would actually provide myself with a more secure future. It also made me realize that to get ahead, I could not just be average, but it also made me feel like I could do it. I think it's a great motivational book from that perspective.

9) What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Many people told me it was time to quit my job and do Snorg full time. I'm pretty conservative about spending money, and was nervous to make the leap. But it was great advice...it is the right time in my life to take a chance, and things have worked out nicely.

10) What advice would you give to a Young Entrepreneur setting up their first business?

Believe in yourself when others don't. Most people did not think it was a great idea for me to start this. But at the same time, be sure that people really want what you are making.

11) If the Internet had not existed - what do you think you would be doing?

I'd like to think I'd have started another business. Maybe mail order? Hard to say.
 

12) What do you like best about the Internet? 

The best part for us is that we can do business with people all over the world even though we only have one warehouse. We don't have to rely on other companies for this global reach, so we can focus on providing a great product and great customer service directly to our customers.

 
13) What do you like least about the Internet? 

It's so easy for the competition to see what you are up to. Though that works both ways...

14) Have you any plans (personal or business) that you can share with us about your future plans / goals / lifetime goals? 

I plan to keep having fun with this. I'd rather not discuss any specifics on our business's future ;)