A former bank data-centre employee sold his printing equipment, moved his business fully online and now coaches more than 800 aspiring sellers

 

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Wilmington, Delaware – TheNewswire - October 26, 2026 - Printify, a leading print-on-demand platform, has released a merchant success story profiling Canadian entrepreneur Jay De Souza, a former graphic designer and bank data-centre employee who left a toxic workplace to build multiple Etsy and Amazon stores that have generated more than $2.5 million in sales. The profile, published on the Printify blog, follows De Souza from selling handmade t-shirts at school to running a location-independent business and coaching hundreds of new sellers.

 

From Managing 150 Designers to a Bank Data Centre

According to the profile, De Souza studied graphic design and left college early after landing a design job. He went on to work at one of Canada's largest publishers, where within 18 months he was managing a team of nearly 150 designers. When layoffs hit the publisher, he took a job in a bank's data centre, a workplace he describes as extremely toxic. He eventually left to freelance, starting with logos and business cards before a friend with printing equipment asked him to design custom t-shirts for his print shop.

 

Rather than charge a flat $15 design fee, he proposed a $3 royalty per shirt sold, a decision the profile identifies as the start of his shift from service work to product sales.

De Souza opened an Etsy shop and, in early 2020, a local printer contact introduced him to the print-on-demand model. At the time, his wife was running her own Etsy business selling custom hair extensions, and pandemic supply chain issues ruined her inventory. The couple reassessed, sold their remaining printing equipment and looked for a provider that could fulfil orders without them handling stock, packaging or shipping.

 

Why He Moved Everything to Printify

The profile notes that De Souza values having plenty of backup options among print on demand companies, and that working with Printify gives him access to worldwide print resources under one roof, making it straightforward to switch suppliers if one runs into problems. Printify's network includes local partners for sellers running a print-on-demand business in Canada, where production close to the customer can reduce delivery times and customs charges.

 

The results followed. Alongside the $2.5 million sales milestone across his Etsy and Amazon stores, the profile cites one niche store of around 200 items that made $4,100 in the first half of a single June. De Souza runs the Jay's Way YouTube channel, has taught more than 800 students through a 30-day Etsy challenge and other courses that have earned him $100,000, and is the admin of the Etsy Print on Demand Facebook group, which at the time of publication had nearly 17,000 members with around 300 joining each week. Much of that teaching centres on using Printify's free Etsy integration, which imports orders automatically and routes them to production.

 

"Jay's story is the asset-light model in action: no inventory, no equipment, no lease, and a business that moves with him. That is what print on demand should make possible for independent sellers," said Davis Sarmins, Director of Growth Marketing at Printify.

 

Advice for New Sellers

De Souza's central message for newcomers is that selecting a niche is incredibly important. He argues that a store aimed at everyone will likely end up selling to no one, while a focused niche earns repeat buyers, including gift purchases from people who share the same hobby. He warns against being an imposter in a niche, pointing to brands that support a cause for only a single month, and says the biggest mistake new Etsy sellers make is copying top sellers, an approach he believes fails without a large advertising budget.

 

The profile closes with De Souza's plans to relocate to land he purchased in Belize, renting out his home and driving through the United States to get there, a move he says is possible because a print-on-demand business has no brick-and-mortar components and therefore no anchors.

 

About Printify

Printify is a leading print-on-demand platform that connects ecommerce merchants with a global network of Print Partners. With the industry's largest Catalog, free AI design tools, and seamless integrations with major ecommerce platforms, Printify enables sellers to scale custom product businesses without upfront costs.

  

Media Contact Details

Company Name- Printify

Contact Person- Maria Kennedy

E-mail id- maria.onzain@fyul.com

Website - https://printify.com/

City - Wilmington

State - Delaware

Country- United States