Techcrunch called Chalkfly the “Zappos of office supplies.” Founded July 2012, Chalkfly aims to be the No. 1 ecommerce company in the US by reinventing the office and school supply business, and have fun doing it.

StartUp The Conversation is an occasional series on Deadline Detroit that features local startups and small businesses. Deadline Detroit submits questions and businesses respond in writing.

What does your company do?
Chalkfly is reinventing the experience of purchasing office and school supplies. We offer 50,000 products, 24/7 customer services, free overnight shipping, and a 365-day return policy. Most importantly, Chalkfly gives 5 percent of  sales directly to teachers in your local community.

How?
At Chalkfly we're focused on making a difference in our community. Our goal is to help improved education in the communities that we serve. 


The Chalkfly staff

How will you know it’s working?
We measure ourselves on the impact we are having on communities as well as the culture that we create.

How will you make money?
We are focused on making a difference and creating an amazing experience for our customers. We just raised $750,000 in capital to grow the business, lead by Detroit Ventures Partners, Ludlow Ventures, Griffon Ventures, Start Garden and Bizdom. Right now we have five people working full time, and we hope to double the team in the next six months. We plan on doing north of $1 million in sales in 2013.

What change are you hoping the company brings about?

At Chalkfly we hope to improve education and create an amazing environment for our team members.

Why Michigan?
There is an entrepreneurial renaissance happening in Michigan. Leaders like Dan Gilbert and Josh Linkner have created an amazing environment for entrepreneurs to thrive. There is no better place to start a company and we are excited and appreciative of the opportunity to work, live and play in Detroit.

Who are the brains behind Chalkfly's creation?
Andrew and Ryan Landau both left their jobs in Chicago and Washington, D.C., respectively, to move back to Detroit to launch Chalkfly.  Before launching Chalkfly, Andrew worked at Google and Ryan work at IBM. Both Andrew and Ryan were excited about the opportunity to join the growing entrepreneurial community in Detroit.

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