Hey everyone.  My name is Klint - I'm a YouTuber and a bag collector.  I just worked with CTactical to produce and sell my third collaboration project.  This post isn't about that - it's about my radical agenda to reinvent how collaborations are leveraged by makers and influencers.

1. Reasonable prices - always in line with the brand's core offerings.
2. Content creator doesn't take a cut - this isn't a profit generator.
3. Innovation and creativity are the point - produce something new.
4. The project must do good and give back to charity - every time.

In this most recent case: we created and sold an Ultra Tote with EPX lining for $165; I didn't take a cut of money; the bag was something totally new for the maker; and the project gave back 10% to charity in Vietnam.  

I don't share this for kudos or fake internet points.  I share this to help build momentum around these core principles, and increase their adoption around the industry that we love.  

Creators, if you are reading this - collaborate for the good of makers, consumers, and industry.  The visibility and content that your channel or account gets from the project is plenty of compensation - and the joy you should feel from creating and giving back should be plenty of reward.  Your 'cut' can go to charity.  Don't build a profit model around this work - it will build unhealthy habits around creation and partnership.

Bag makers, if you are reading this - don't treat collaboration as a profit generating button to press a few times a year.  Treat collaboration as a chance to innovate and create energy and excitement in your brand.  Capsules that allow you to color outside the lines, test radical ideas, and be bold.  This is the space that could push you and the industry forward.  Don't be safe and don't waste these chances to try big things.  Additionally - who can you give profit back to in your community that will make a big difference?  Find a charitable partner.

Consumers, if you are reading this - ask that your favorite makers and creators be fully transparent about projects they are working on.  Ask what charitable partners they are considering.  Listen for details of how they worked together to produce the project.  Double check to make sure the price is reasonable and in line with other projects.  

sorry for the manifesto at 7:30am - I'm passionate about this idea - the idea that collaborative projects should be a space of innovation, giving back, and rewarding customers with fun, creative projects at reasonable prices.

I hope everyone else with a project in the pipeline considers these points and how you can bring them into your methodology if you aren't already.  I'll keep collaborating this way - I invite everyone else to join me.

On Collaboration Projects.