PurchaseBlack.com was previously described by founder Brian Williams as an Etsy for African-American-made items.
It’s about to become a lot more exclusive than the Brooklyn-based crafts platform.
“I found there was a pattern that I wanted to take advantage of,” said Williams, who launched his bootstrapped website on Black Friday, November 29, 2013.
“African-American customers hold black businesses to a very high standard,” he said.
So, he decided to pivot the platform, which currently sells thousands of products from “a couple hundred stores,” he said.
A newly rebranded “Black Gold Market” will launch on July 13, and will feature only five or six “exceptional, hand-chosen black businesses.” The number might grow from there, but at a conservative pace.
“Each month, I will add up to four businesses and as few as zero, if I don’t see anything that meets our standards,” said Williams.
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