No-Minimum Cohort Hoodies for Accelerators

Pre-seed and boutique accelerators run small cohorts. 8 founders, 12 founders, sometimes 14 to 16. Traditional custom apparel shops want minimums of 24 to 48 pieces before they will quote competitively. That breaks the per-founder economics. Here is how the no-minimum model fixes the small-cohort hoodie problem.

Why Minimums Hurt Small Accelerator Cohorts

Custom apparel shops price in volume tiers. The first tier (6 to 11 pieces) is the highest per-piece price. The second tier (12 to 23) drops it. The third tier (24 to 47) drops it again. Below 6 pieces, most shops will not run the job at all.

For a small accelerator cohort of 10 to 14 founders, this means either paying the highest per-piece price or over-ordering to hit the next tier. Over-ordering creates the inventory problem the accelerator was trying to avoid in the first place.

The no-minimum model eliminates the tier system entirely. 1 hoodie, 12 hoodies, 120 hoodies, all priced at the same per-piece base. The per-founder economics stay clean at every cohort size.

Use Cases Beyond the Initial Cohort Order

The no-minimum model also covers the recurring small-batch scenarios that come up throughout the accelerator cycle.

• Late-add founders. A founder who joins the cohort week 2 needs a hoodie just like everyone else. A 1-piece order ships in a week.
• Replacement orders. A founder who lost their hoodie or had it damaged can reorder a single piece without setup fees.
• Family member orders. Co-founders ordering matching hoodies for partners or family for the demo day photo. 2 to 4 pieces, no minimum.
• Sample orders. Place a 1-piece sample before sharing the link with the cohort. Catch any logo or sizing issues before the full cohort orders.
• Mentor first-time orders. A new mentor joining mid-program gets a polo without the program needing to re-run a bulk order.

Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.

Per-Piece Pricing at 1, 10, 50, and 200 Pieces

The pricing stays identical regardless of order quantity. Here is what a single product looks like across order sizes.

Order Quantity	Per-Hoodie Base (Free)	Per-Hoodie Base (VIP)	Per-Founder Retail at $15 Margin
1 hoodie	$45	$36 to $46	$51 to $61
10 hoodies	$45	$36 to $46	$51 to $61
50 hoodies	$45	$36 to $46	$51 to $61
200 hoodies	$45	$36 to $46	$51 to $61

There are no setup fees, no minimum unit fees, no minimum order value. The per-piece base is the per-piece base at any order size.

What About Bulk Discounts for Large Cohorts

The traditional model trades a higher single-piece price for a lower bulk price. Pro Shops inverts the model: the base price is consistently lower than the typical single-piece price at other shops, and the bulk price is the same. There are no volume discounts beyond what you already get at single-piece.

For large cohorts (60+ founders) where you would expect a bulk discount, the VIP plan base prices are competitive with the bulk-tier prices at traditional shops. Most large accelerators end up at the same or better per-piece economics on the VIP plan compared to the bulk-tier price elsewhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there any setup fee for small orders?

No setup fees on any order. The first hoodie costs the same per-piece as the hundredth.

What if our cohort grows mid-program?

Late-add founders order from the same shop link. Their hoodie ships in a week to their address. No need to re-run a bulk order to accommodate one new founder.

Can we sample a hoodie before sharing the link?

Yes. Place a single-piece test order to your own address before sharing the link with the cohort. The sample is real production, so you can confirm print quality and sizing before founders order.

Does no-minimum apply to all products?

Yes. Hoodies, tees, polos, hats, every product in the catalog ships at single-piece minimum.