Oppermacher's new Kickstarter campaign

Oppermacher has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a business building venture.

Kickstarter is an emerging tech company that provides tools to raise funds for creative projects via crowdfunding. Its projects cover a wide array of creative initiatives, including video games, films, music, and apparel. Backers pledge money toward a project’s goal, and while they receive no equity in the project, they are typically rewarded for their contributions.

Oppermacher’s Kickstarter campaign aims to raise $4,000 to provide shirts for 140 custom T-shirts for youth soccer players in the company’s hometown of Iola. The Sport Wick shirts feature the word “COMPETE” in black letters on an orange shirt.

Local brand building is a key component of the campaign. The “OM” in COMPETE is designed in the style of Oppermacher’s logo, which will also be featured on the shirt’s back neck.



“We are really excited to see what a Kickstarter campaign can do for our little shirt company,” said Oppermacher’s Scott Tappa. “Kickstarter is getting a lot of press for the cool creative projects it has helped make possible, and we’ve seen some great apparel projects whose success we hope to emulate.”

The centerpiece of Oppermacher’s Kickstarter campaign is a four-minute video featuring Iola youth athletes Will Tappa and Brock Opperman talking about the shirts they have worn playing sports recently, and the thought process behind the COMPETE shirts.

“Under Armour is a real inspiration to us, and that company’s founder, Kevin Plank, got his apparel business of the ground with grassroots effort -- giving his clothes to his friends to wear,” said Tappa. “We’re hoping to do something similar on a much, much smaller scale.”

Oppermacher’s Kickstarter campaign can be found at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/721608094/compete-youth-athletic-shirts-by-oppermacher.