Nurturing A Marketplace For DIY Geeks

Broodr is a website that connects buyers and sellers of unique and creative DIY product concepts. Much like Etsy, they feature products that are hard to find and made by passionate, deeply invested people. We met up with Broodr’s founder, Jason Blanck, to get a deeper understanding of their business roots and general strategy.

Tell us about your background and your role within Broodr. Who else is part of the core team?

The background of Broodr actually started the way most startups do: I came up with the idea while in grad school, living in my parents basement. I’m the founder, primarily executing the business side of things and working with the sellers. John Ganotis is my CTO and co-founder, leading the development of the Broodr product. And we’ve also got a few freelancers-slash-part-timers-slash-volunteers who help out with all sorts of other things like business development, social, community development and general mayhem.

What problem does your website solve for? Which communities does it serve?

In a nutshell, Broodr helps makers, inventors, DIYers and other creators sell their products to their ideal buyer. It’s a tight-knit community of people with similar interests in gadgetry and geekiness — and we want to provide them with a unique way to buy and sell things they love.

You’ve described it as “ETSY for geeks.” Tell us more.

Etsy’s model of giving people a virtual store is familiar to most. With Broodr, we’re catering to a buyer and seller audience that’s into gadgetry, tech toys and stuff that’s a little more Star Wars than, say, vintage jewelry. Our users are real people who are passionate about design, tech, gadgets, and the unique.

Tell us about your blog and the types of things you guys write about there.

The Broodr blog is designed to help tell the stories and inspirations behind all the items on the site, even more so than the actual product pages. Each product has a meaning behind it, and it’s our job to help convey that. We also blog about relevant topics, events, and themes going on in the geek, gadgets and tech worlds.

Where do you go for inspiration? Feel free to mention blogs, writers, TV shows, locations…etc.

Some of our favorite inspiration spots are Core77, Make Magazine, Uncrate, How It’s Made, and of course, the Broodr community — everyday we are getting cool new items on the site that inspire us.

Thanks Jason!

Broodr