Today marks the beginning of something we've been working toward for a long time. Lesuto is live, and with it, a new way to think about online commerce.

The Vision: Let's Succeed Together

"Lesuto" means "Let's Succeed Together." It's not a tagline we came up with in a brainstorming session -- it's the founding principle behind every feature, every decision, and every line of code in this platform.

We built Lesuto because we believe the current state of e-commerce is fundamentally broken. Not for the billion-dollar corporations -- they're doing fine. It's broken for the small-town candle maker who can't afford a Shopify subscription. It's broken for the stay-at-home parent who wants to earn income but can't take on the risk of inventory. It's broken for the entrepreneur in Manila who has ambition and internet access but no path to participate in the American economy.

The Problem With Traditional E-Commerce

Starting an online business today requires capital. You need to buy inventory, pay for a website, invest in advertising, handle shipping logistics, deal with payment processing, manage compliance and taxes -- and that's before you've made a single sale. The average cost to launch an e-commerce store ranges from $5,000 to $50,000, depending on the platform and product category.

This creates a world where only the well-funded can play. If you don't have money, you don't get to participate. And the platforms that claim to "democratize" commerce still charge monthly fees, transaction fees, listing fees, and advertising fees that eat into margins until only the largest sellers survive.

We looked at this landscape and asked: what if we started over? What if the platform itself was designed so that everyone earns when anyone sells?

How Lesuto Works

Lesuto operates on a three-way commission model that aligns the incentives of every participant:

• Suppliers list their products and set a commission rate. Their catalog appears on every merchant storefront that subscribes to them. They handle fulfillment and shipping.
• Merchants sign up for free, subscribe to the suppliers they believe in, and get an instant storefront populated with real products. They earn commission on every sale made through their store.
• Lesuto takes a small platform fee (approximately 10%, which includes credit card processing) to keep the infrastructure running and growing.

There is no inventory risk for merchants. No website to build from scratch. No upfront costs. You sign up, subscribe to suppliers whose products resonate with your audience, and start sharing your store. When someone buys, everyone earns.

The Global Opportunity

Here's where it gets powerful. Lesuto is borderless. A merchant in the Philippines can sell American-made furniture and earn hundreds of dollars per sale in commission -- sometimes more than a month of local wages from a single transaction. A college student in Nigeria can run a Lesuto storefront between classes. A retired teacher in India can supplement their pension.

The products are real, the shipping is handled by suppliers, and the payouts go directly to the merchant's Stripe account. No middlemen, no delays (beyond a standard return window hold), no barriers.

We built this for the 8 billion people on this planet who deserve a shot at economic participation, not just the few hundred million who happen to live in wealthy countries with access to capital.

What's Coming Next

Today's launch is just the beginning. Here's what we're building next:

• Lesuto Hub -- a social shopping experience where customers can follow stores, create boards (like Pinterest for products), and discover new merchants.
• Commerce SDK -- embed Lesuto products and checkout on any existing website in 30 minutes, no rebuild required.
• AI Taxonomy -- automatic product classification for listing on Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, and other major marketplaces.
• Livestreaming -- live commerce events directly on the Lesuto Hub, because social selling is the future.
• Lesuto Foundation -- our commitment to reinvesting platform revenue into communities and entrepreneurs in developing nations.

Join Us

If you've ever wanted to start selling online but didn't know where to begin -- or couldn't afford to begin -- Lesuto was built for you. If you're a supplier looking to reach thousands of new audiences without spending a dollar on advertising, Lesuto was built for you too.

We believe commerce should lift people up, not lock them out. Welcome to Lesuto. Let's succeed together.