Mom turns super hero capes biz into flyaway success

Boil down the description of the PowerCapes.com business to one word, and what comes to mind is "serendipitous".

The Livonia-based business got its start four years ago at a birthday party for Holly Bartman's son's fourth birthday. The special education teacher made her son and all of his guests superhero capes. The gift turned into such a hit at the party that one of the mothers suggested that Bartman sell them.

Bartman took the bait and began selling the superhero capes on eBay and Etsy, an e-commerce site for handmade or vintage items, art and supplies. Demand soon dictated that Bartman move from her home operation to a small studio at the old Winery building in Farmington Hills, where she deployed a few commercial sewing machines and hired her first employee.

Justin Draplin, owner of a social media and signage firm called CityDrip, happened to be next door. Soon he was designing a website for Bartman's superhero capes and wholesaling them. Now he is a managing partner of PowerCapes.com, a company that employs eight people (mostly mothers on a part-time basis) and has a goal of reaching $1 million in revenue this year.

"The next thing I know I am in the superhero cape business," Draplin says. "I never thought I would be in this business or that it would take off. We have been growing exponentially month over month."

PowerCapes.com plans to buy its own building this year to accommodate its growth. Draplin expects its staff to hit 12-15 people by the end of the year as it continues to sell simple, non-branded capes made for budding superheroes. It's also looking to expand its product offering to tutus.

Source: Justin Draplin, managing partner of PowerCapes.com
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Mom turns super hero capes biz into flyaway success

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