ActivationSource reviewed 2026-09-25 · public disclosure
Build around the risk that prevents customers from starting
How Printify approached activation.
What they did
Printify’s origin story describes Berdigans buying inventory he could not be sure of selling. He created a platform in 2015 connecting sellers with printing providers so production could follow orders.
Reported outcome
The resulting model reduced the need for sellers to hold inventory; it does not eliminate all business risk.
An idea to test, from Afterlaunch
Reducing an upfront commitment may unlock customers who already want the outcome but cannot accept the initial risk.
Small experiment: Ask prospects which upfront cost stops them from starting and test a small pay-as-you-go alternative.
A company’s reported outcome doesn’t prove one tactic caused it. Treat this as a hypothesis.
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