1 here right now· 709 visitors so far· $0 raised
Your brand, on my vest.
Your logo travels with me on the canonical founder vest: the Patagonia Better Sweater® vest.
Auction closed
Tap any of the 8 spots for sale to place a bid. The two gold ones are gifts.
I'm financing the canonical founder vest by selling the one thing everyone reads on it: the patches.
Demo days, coworking spaces, coffee lines, every video call… get your brand into the room.
Patagonia stopped putting corporate logos on vests.I'm putting yours on mine.
Auction closed — 0 of 11 patch spots taken
The auction, live.
Every spot shows its current top bid.
Opening bids add up to $90 — the vest · Front patches are Medium (3 × 2 in) · Back panels are Large (5 × 3 in) · Outbid by $1 under $20, $5 $20 – $99, $10 $100 – $499, $25 $500 and up.
| Spot | Size | Held by | Current bid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Left upper chest· 11 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $6 0 bids | |
| 2Right upper chest· 15 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $6 0 bids | |
| 3Left chest — where the logo goes· 9 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $16 0 bids | |
| 4Right chest· 3 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $10 0 bids | |
| 5Left rib | M3 × 2 in | Gift not for sale | Inspired by | |
| 6Right rib | M3 × 2 in |  brandmymac.com@VynseDev | Gift not for sale | Inspired by |
| 7Left pocket· 3 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $5 0 bids | |
| 8Right pocket· 3 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $5 0 bids | |
| 9Left hem· 1 look | M3 × 2 in | Open | $3 0 bids | |
| 10Right hem· 3 looks | M3 × 2 in | Open | $3 0 bids | |
| 11Back — top· 1 look | L5 × 3 in | Open | $14 0 bids | |
| 12Back — center | L5 × 3 in | Open | $14 0 bids | |
| 13Back — bottom | L5 × 3 in | Open | $8 0 bids |
How it works
- 1
Pick your spot
11 spots for sale, front and back. Opening bids add up to exactly the price of the vest; the auction takes it from there. (Two more are gifts — see below.)
- 2
Win the bid
The top bid when the timer hits zero wins. Your saved card is charged then — and only then — and I order the patch.
- 3
Your patch rides along
I have your logo embroidered and sewn on, and everywhere the vest goes, your brand goes.
Two patches aren't for sale.
This site is a copy of a copy. The people I copied get the rib patches — embroidered, sewn on, free. No bids, no outbidding, no asking.
Built the pay-to-rank board that started the wave on Aug 19. Everything since — including this vest — is a riff on it.
Patch 5 · Left rib · gift, not for sale
Sold sticker spots on a MacBook he didn't own yet and let the auction buy it. This site is that idea, on a vest.
Patch 6 · Right rib · gift, not for sale
What the money buys.
The exact vest, at the price Patagonia is charging this week. The patches and the tailor are on me — anything raised past the goal pays for them, and after that, for the coffee I drink while wearing it.
- Fabric
- 10-oz 100% recycled polyester sweater-knit fleece
- Fit
- Regular fit, full-zip, stand-up collar
- Pockets
- Two zippered welted handwarmer pockets, zippered chest pocket
- Made in
- A Fair Trade Certified™ sewn factory
- Colorway
- Grayling Brown (GRBN) — the one nobody else at the meetup will have
- Patch spots
- 13 embroidered — 11 for sale, 2 gifted to the sites that started this — sewn on by a real embroiderer, not ironed
Questions & Answers
Is this real?
Yes. I'm buying the Patagonia Men's Better Sweater® Fleece Vest in Grayling Brown, having your patches embroidered and sewn on, and wearing it. Bids are backed by a real card on file with Stripe; winners are charged when the auction closes, everyone else pays nothing.
What do I actually get?
A quality embroidered patch of your logo on the spot you won, your logo and link on this page for as long as it exists, and me wearing the vest wherever founders gather for at least a year. Photos on request — and I will tag you.
How does payment work?
You save a card when you bid — Stripe verifies it, nothing is charged. If you're outbid, you pay nothing, ever. If you're still on top when the auction closes, that card is charged your bid. If it declines, you get a link to pay another way.
What if someone outbids me?
You get an email the moment it happens, with a one-click link to bid again. The next bid has to beat theirs by the increment for that price: $1 under $20, $5 up to $99, $10 up to $499, $25 above that. Nothing was charged, so there's nothing to refund.
How did you pick the opening prices?
They add up to $90 — the vest. Each spot's opening bid is weighted by how often it ends up in a photo: the left chest — where the logo goes — is the most expensive, the back panels are next, hems are cheapest. If every spot sells at its opening bid, the vest is paid for; the patches and the sewing are my problem, not the goal's. Vincent's MacBook lid opened at €125–400 per sticker and still cleared 278% of goal, so the market will take it from here.
Why do outbid.lol and brandmymac.com get patches for free?
Because they started this. Jonathan Wilke's outbid.lol kicked off the whole pay-to-rank wave on Aug 19; a week later Vincent's brandmymac.com turned it into an auction for sticker spots on a laptop he didn't own yet. This vest is that idea with thread instead of vinyl. The two rib patches are theirs, sewn on, free, and not for sale — I'm not going to charge the people I copied.
Can any brand join?
Any real product, company, or person with a URL. I'll veto anything I wouldn't want stitched to my chest — scams, hate, crypto rugs — and nothing is ever charged.
Didn't Patagonia ban logo vests?
Yes, in two steps. In 2019 they stopped making co-branded vests for finance firms and anyone else not aligned with their mission (CBS News). In 2021 they dropped corporate logos on garments altogether, because a permanent logo shortens a garment's life (Fast Company). Patches are sewn on and can come off, which is my whole legal theory. Also I am not a finance firm.
Why a vest?
Because it's the canonical founder vest, and the canonical founder vest with thirteen sponsor patches on it is a story people tell. Also I'm cold.
Can I do this with my own vest / car / forehead?
Working on it. Leave your email below and you'll get one message when it opens.
Launch your own vest auction
Your vest, your spots, your launch post. The auction, cards on file, charging winners, emails and the embroidered patches are handled for you. You post the tweet and have them sewn on — iron-on and fleece don't mix.
Your X handle is how we size the first batch — vests with an audience go first. One email when it opens, nothing else.
Hey, I'm Lee 👋
Founder, building in public. I'm funding the canonical founder vest by renting out its surface area, one embroidered patch at a time. The format is borrowed from outbid.lol, BrandMyTesla and brandmymac.com. Questions, or want a spot? Find me on X @leeshadle.