Today I sent an email to our community and have been thinking about some of the great comments and responses that I’ve been getting.

Across the internet there are platforms to help people become entrepreneurs. They include Twitter for marketing, Facebook for community building, YouTube for entertainment, WordPress or Tumblr for publishing, and many others. OpenSky fits into this set.

Using each of these platforms and creating an experience that is meaningful requires commitment and creativity. Time is spent making videos, sharing tweets, composing blog posts. The more creative, persistent and networked the participant, the better the results. You get out what you put in.

OpenSky materially enhances the utility of the other platforms. OpenSky makes the time spent on WordPress more valuable. The more Twitter followers, the more effective the OpenSky shopping experiences. You get the idea.

And importantly, at OpenSky, we’re the only platform that send checks to our participants every month. So the time spent at OpenSky is creating direct economic benefit to active participants.

Today Shopkeepers are using the OpenSky platform to create one-of-a-kind experiences for their audiences. This means that fans can buy a good from someone they trust and get an experience that is only available from their trusted taste-maker. Here is an example of Amy Powers of InspireCo http://inspireco.blogspot.com/2010/02/special.html

I’m excited to see this and the OpenSky platform mature.

- john caplan

The US economy is facing tremendous dislocation. Work isn’t available. Hiring is at a standstill. Real change has come to America. It is the brutal and fierce change of an economy that is leaving many talented people without a viable way to create economic value for themselves and their families. I read President Obama’s State of the Union speech this morning. I voted for him and believe he has the potential to be a great leader. In his speech he talks about “creating jobs” and job programs. This is goodness and I hope it will lead to better roads, high speed rail and other essential improvements to the basic infrastructure of our country.

But I do not believe it will create the energy our economy needs to flourish.

What we need today are platforms that talented people can use to create opportunity for themselves. Twitter is platform for establishing real time influence. YouTube is a platform for entertaining the world. Our OpenSky platform, while certainly young, is potentially as powerful. OpenSky is the way for people to take what they know, what they care about, and with the force of their ingenuity and relentless hard work and hustle, build a long-term commerce business for themselves.

If you’re a supplier or inventor of an amazing product, OpenSky is the distribution that you need. Our platform connects you to hundreds of taste-makers and millions of consumers. Make a great item and work like hell to get OpenSky Shopkeepers to sell your goods.

If you have expertise and are building a brand around your knowledge and passion, OpenSky can help you turn that energy into income. This requires hard work, tremendous focus and a commitment to excellence that your audience and consumers demand.

There really aren’t any shortcuts or easy solutions. Here at OpenSky, we’re taking as much of the friction away as we can: can’t afford inventory, you don’t have to; don’t have access to great goods, we do; can’t find people to co-market with, meet our community.

OpenSky Shopkeepers are making money and Suppliers are finding new markets. They are establishing a new channel and building the foundations for their future success.

We are at the beginning of the road. There is a lot of work ahead. I am optimistic about our future.

- john caplan

We’ve decided to donate 100% of our profits for any sales made today through the end of Sunday to help the people of Haiti.

Together, we reach over three million people.  Together, we can really help.  Help Now. Please shop today!

Thank you.

OpenSky is making progress.  Talented Shopkeepers building their businesses and brands with OpenSky.  New and dynamic Suppliers.  A new user experience coming live tomorrow.  The introduction of our network of Buyers attending 20+ trade shows this month.  Great Shopkeeper management tools, our “Extranet.”  A community of people working together to re-align the retail landscape.

Shop Different is coming to life.  It is becoming what we imagined when we started.  The modern Main Street.

While we are changing the face of retail, everyone in the community is 100% committed to the founding values of OpenSky.

Shopkeepers are the best at what they do.  They know what their talking about.  They only share what they love and they operate with integrity.  We will be open and help others, work fairly and represent OpenSky honestly.  That is OpenSky and it will never change.  I promise you that.

- john caplan

It has been a remarkable first 6 months in the life of OpenSky. Here’s are a few of my highlights:

Meeting with Dave Epstein at the Amtrak Station @ Route 128 outside of Boston.    We didn’t have a website, a platform, an e-commerce solution, a tech team, or any vendors, but we met a great guy (Dave) who wanted to imagine a new way of building commerce with us. He said he needed OpenSky and wanted to work with us to develop the community. Big thank you to Alex for introducing us to Dave.

The conference call in June with all of our Summer 2009 interns dialing-in and listening as we went over the original OpenSky ppt.  The questions asked were outstanding and I still think that group helped us create OpenSky more than anything.

Our first NYC Shopkeeper meetup and seeing Kenny, Shannon & Alison, Marta and Michael Ruhlman brainstorming about ways to make shopping human.  We ate the worst meal ever, but no one seemed to care.

Our first product: The day Dave sold 10 Bee Houses in 24 hours and I think I may have cried at my desk.  When my bee house was delivered to our office, I ran around with it over my head, like it was the Stanley Cup.  We now use it to recognize amazing contributions by people on our team.  It’s sitting on Adam Saks’ desk for the monster vendor outreach effort he’s done in the last 30 days.

The posts that Shopkeepers did to introduce their enthusiasm for partnering with OpenSky.  Like this one from Ruhlman:

http://blog.ruhlman.com/2009/11/open-sky-a-new-ecommerce-idea-and-company.html

The meeting I had with Dr. Ruth (yes, the real Dr. Ruth) when she said she wanted to be a Shopkeeper.  She’s so smart, so funny and incredibly real.

The day Matt Meeker, co-founder of MeetUp, came in to meet with me about a job he was considering at another company and I didn’t let him leave our office.  Today he’s running OpenSky UX with his partner Chris Keane and they have a 2010 roadmap that is brilliant.

Agnieszka Gasparska and the brilliant Kiss Me I’m Polish design sessions in her store front on the lower east side.

Adam’s Holiday 2009 promotion, orchestrated brilliantly across 50 Shopkeepers, dozens of verticals and thousands of consumers.

Andy’s questions.  Jolyn’s faith in teams and work ethic. Greg and Josh’s brilliant Shopkeeper talent scouting program and Barry’s relentless pursuit of fulfillment efficiency.  Andy’s questions about his questions.  Everyone doing fulfillment ops when our sales grew 10x in 24 hours.  Brett moving from GSI Commerce into our office and sleeping under his desk 4 days a week. Bulat, Matt and Steve becoming the world’s experts in Magento.

Our bi-weekly Shopkeeper Town Hall conference calls.  Especially the Open-mike call.  Brilliant Shopkeeper questions, tremendous collaboration, common goals.

The Extranet.  Shopkeeper Gateway. Live!

Welcome Wednesday & Live Friday.

A trip I had to LA, listening to big shot talent agents pitch me that only their talent should be allowed to leverage their twitter followers with OpenSky commerce.

Alan and I driving to work together every morning.

Mike’s distributed buyer network being born.  Bringing more opportunity to more people.

Moving into 18west18th Street and raising a bottle of champagne together to toast our future.

The day we said it out loud:  We will make relationship commerce available to everyone on the planet.

I can’t wait.  Bring it on 2010.  Bring it on.

- john caplan

Retail vacancy rates are the highest in twenty years. Almost 10% of all space in the United States is empty and climbing.

Weak and over-leveraged retailers have closed in breath-taking numbers. Gone are dozens of national chains and hundreds of local shops. From small towns in the Midwest to the urban centers of every city, shuttered stores scar the landscape.

I didn’t want to search for the number of retail jobs lost in the US, but it’s tremendous. There is nothing more heart-breaking than the people who can’t find a job, who are struggling to meet their obligations, who’ve lost their sense of hope.

We’re keenly aware of this at OpenSky. And out of the scorched earth of global recession, we’re creating a new retail paradigm to change how the world shops. The new paradigm starts with us re-thinking retail from the ground up: no inventory, merchandising done by people who have relationships with consumers, marketing based upon relationships (not ad buys) and customer service that is an interaction not a reaction.

Our community is already hundreds deep: knowledgeable people becoming Shopkeepers, Cool-hunters scouting the best manufacturers, vendors drop-shipping spectacular goods. A new community is being organized. A community of people taking the future into their own hands, working together to help themselves and their neighbors. We believe there is no other way to create the future than to first imagine it and build it one person at a time.

We don’t like the old rules. We see things differently. Conformists will be skeptical, say that we cannot invent a better way. They will be the champions of the status quo and when the time inevitably comes, we will welcome them with open arms.
- john caplan

I’m fired up about putting people first.

The retail status quo is coming to an end. Monolithic stores with no soul. Ivory tower merchants with zero interaction with consumers. Every store carrying the same item. And worst of all, relating to us as if we’re all identical.

But we’re all different. From punk rockers to new moms, we each crave different things. We need an experience that inspires us for our individuality. That embraces our passion.

The time has come for an experience that is as much about interactions as it is about transactions.

2010 is going to be the beginning of something different. Here’s to our future, to breaking the old rules, to creating a new day in commerce.

- john caplan

We’ve been having an terrific couple of weeks.  I’ve been thinking a lot about how OpenSky scales in 2010.

OpenSky was founded because vendors of amazing products can’t find great distribution while bloggers, authors, television personalities have great influence, but no platform to build a business that leverages that influence.

These are the two sides of the marketplace that we are creating.  It is in each of their interests to work together.  As they do, consumers benefit from a trusted (and entertaining) shopping experience.

Today, OpenSky has over 120 Shopkeepers and we’re shortly going to be automating the platform to add many more.

We also have hundreds of vendors (also, shortly to be automated, so that vendors globally can distribute with OpenSky).

The vendors enter OpenSky because of the Shopkeepers.  Shopkeepers enter because of our vendors, and their desire to serve their audiences and monetize their influence.

Just this week, special manufacturers of unique goods distributed in Michael Ruhlman’s shop, in KathEats shop all experienced huge sales volumes and great viral promotion.  This is the power a Shopkeeper brings when they share their full enthusiasm for a product that they use and love.

Our two-sided marketplace is being born.  It isn’t w/out complication or challenge, but it is coming together.  With the marketplace; Shopkeepers thrive, vendors thrive and OpenSky becomes the Modern Main Street.

- john caplan

Yesterday was an intense day at OpenSky. Let me share my experiences over the last 24 hours with you.

Everyone at OpenSky had high hopes for Cyber Monday, but the truth is we really weren’t sure what to expect. I went to bed Sunday night knowing that what happened next wasn’t up to me, or OpenSky staff, but our Shopkeepers.

I knew in my gut that if all the Shopkeepers promoted, OpenSky would be successful. But even I didn’t realize how powerful you all are.

I woke up to an email Adam sent at 5:18 a.m. (he never sleeps) telling me that we had hundreds of orders since midnight. It was then I knew we were in for an exciting day. When I got to the office at 6:15, I watched my computer mesmerized as the tweets and retweets kept coming and coming. While only a small group of Shopkeepers had started their planned promotions (or even were awake), the power of their blog posts, emails, tweets and retweets reached millions of consumers very quickly.

At 8:28 a.m. est, we got our first customer call informing us that the site was slow. Minutes later, as the online community dived into Cyber Monday with gusto, our servers began to crash. We had known there would be a lot of traffic and were prepared for up to 10x our normal usage, but that wasn’t nearly enough. (Alan has worked with the tech team to quadruple our capacity).

So, what happened? Well, our incredible promotion – went viral (well before all of the Shopkeepers got the word out and Shopkeepers’ loyal audiences had a chance to participate).

This crashed our servers.

Though today didn’t turn out as I expected, we did have several successes:

1. Shopkeepers proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are trusted and powerful. When they get behind something, it’s like rocket fuel. This, more than anything, will ensure our collective future success. I don’t know a manufacturer in the world that wouldn’t want to launch an item with the distribution that our Shopkeepers can deliver.

2. We destroyed all of our previous sales records. We sold more items yesterday morning than we did in the entire month of November. Incredible.

3. We started to get the word out that OpenSky is a force to be reckoned with. Consumers want to buy amazing and special items from knowledgeable people they trust. This is really simple. They want to buy from real people. They want to be connected to their commerce. They want to experience a modern Main Street. This will serve OpenSky well in the months and years ahead.

My biggest concern was that some of our audience was frustrated because they were unable to shop. We intend to offer some make goods and other promotions to restore any damaged goodwill. Obviously, some Shopkeepers users’ were more affected than others, and we’re working on a case by case basis to solve every Shopkeeper and customer-specific issue.

OpenSky is new. But we aren’t naïve. We will do everything to create a better future for shoppers.

- john caplan

I’ve been thinking about the dynamics of the budding ecosystem that is becoming OpenSky. In every area, there is a vibrant spirit of collaboration. I am inspired.

We are the opposite of the big companies. And when they understand the threat we pose to the status quo, they will try and squelch us. They will say that their commodity goods are as compelling as our special goods. They will try to squeeze our margins and sell goods in an even more dehumanizing way. They will say that they’re real when they aren’t. They will say that anonymous reviews and mathematical algorithms are as effective as a curated Shopkeeper. They will say that manufacturers will never care enough about consumers to work differently. They will say that independent people can never build a global brand. But they will be wrong. Why? Because it is already happening. The future is already happening.

Today, five months after getting started you are creating a shopping experience with real people, for real people. We are approximately 100 dedicated and committed Shopkeepers (and everyday we welcome more). We have Michael Ruhlman and his thoughtful and articulate ideas, Chef John and his passion, Kath Eats and her authenticity, Tina Haupert and her humor….and that is only 4, a small subset of our cooking community. Together we’re unstoppable. Joining us are hundreds of manufacturers, both large and small. They are seeing that the future isn’t to be listed in the depths of a shopping search engine, but to create direct relationships with the people that influence consumers. To develop products that are distinct. To bring their brands to life with our Shopkeepers. And, as Shopkeepers promote, we’re reaching a half a million people a week (up 200% from last week) and we’re now are seeing what happens when consumers join the community, both buying goods and sharing their points-of-view. Working for the ecosystem, our tireless staff of 15, focused on keeping up with all of the collaboration.

Like all ecosystems, we are thriving because we each need and compliment one another.

The Shopkeepers want to drive the best experience for their audiences and make money, manufacturers want to sell and get “influencer endorsements” and relationships, consumers want the best products and services….what’s coming together is perfect goal alignment. Everyone thrives because everyone thrives. That’s both a good system and an open one.

- john caplan