How A 22-Year-Old Built A Fashion Empire Using Mystery Boxes

An interview with EdJ Vintage Founder Ed McCormack

Esteban: Let’s start with the beginning, Ed. You founded EdJ Vintage at 17, and now it’s a multiple 7-figure business. Can you walk me through how it all began?

Ed: Sure. I was really into fashion and would spend hours hunting through charity shops to find vintage pieces, like old Nike and Champion. I’d wear these items for a few months and then resell them. I quickly realized I could make a profit from flipping clothes. Soon, I was making around £500 a month. But that model was exhausting; I had to list, wash, photograph, and describe each item individually, and I was selling hundreds of items a week. It wasn’t scalable, and I knew I had to change things if I wanted to grow.

Esteban: How did your parents feel about you doing this?

Ed: They were supportive but skeptical. My parents actually gave me an ultimatum—they told me I had one year to prove that this was viable. If I could reach a target of £40,000 in revenue within 12 months, they would allow me to skip university and focus on the business. By the 11th month, I’d only hit £6,000. That’s when I came up with the Vintage Mystery Box idea, where instead of selling each piece individually, I’d package multiple items together based on the customer’s size and style. It simplified everything. I put the idea on TikTok, and it went viral. In one month, we went from £10,000 to £110,000, and I finally reached that goal my parents set.

Esteban: So the Mystery Box concept was a real turning point for you. Why do you think it worked so well?

Ed: It eliminated the bottlenecks of my previous model. I didn’t need to list every item separately anymore. I could bulk-wash the clothes, pack items by size, and create one product description for the box instead of dozens for individual items. The mystery factor worked perfectly on TikTok because people loved unboxing videos. Each month after that, we repeated the formula, boosted our marketing, and hit record sales. By the end of the first year, we’d hit high six figures, and in the second year, we hit seven figures.

Esteban: TikTok was a huge part of that growth, right?

Ed: Absolutely. The Mystery Box model was incredibly TikTok-friendly because people were curious about what was inside. I’d film myself packaging or unboxing a box, and that suspense drove engagement. It didn’t take long for the videos to go viral. That first viral video led to six figures in sales in one month. We kept refining the content, learning what worked, and repeating it. But as we grew, I knew we needed more consistency, so we started looking at paid ads.

Esteban: Paid ads? How did they change things?

Ed: Paid ads were crucial for stability. Viral posts could bring in tons of orders, but it wasn’t consistent. Relying solely on organic growth meant that some months would be slower, which made it hard to plan. Introducing paid ads gave us predictable revenue, which allowed us to plan demand and manage growth more effectively. It impacted profitability initially because ads are a big cost, and it was a learning curve for us. For the first six months, we were just breaking even, but over time, combining paid ads with organic reach brought steady growth. Paid ads gave us control over our demand, which changed everything.

Esteban: So it sounds like paid ads became a key part of your marketing strategy.

Ed: Yes, exactly. Paid ads allowed us to keep a steady flow of orders instead of depending on viral moments. We were able to plan better, make operational decisions, and reinvest more strategically. We still create content for organic growth, but with paid ads, we don’t have to worry about the volatility of organic reach. Now we can plan exactly how many boxes we want to sell each month based on our ad budget.

Esteban: Scaling that quickly must have come with challenges. How did you manage that?

Ed: It was intense. At first, I was packing orders in my bedroom, then moved to my parents’ garage with friends helping me. We didn’t promise fast delivery times, which gave us time to scale gradually. We set a 10- to 15-day delivery window, so we could use the cash flow from sales to buy more stock, pay for logistics, and reinvest in operational improvements. From there, we grew into a warehouse, hired staff, and focused on reinvesting profits into better infrastructure.

Esteban: Profitability must have been a challenge as you scaled.

Ed: Yes, especially with paid ads. Moving into a warehouse and hiring staff added costs, and paid ads impacted margins. For the first six months after starting ads, we were almost just breaking even. But as we got better at managing ad spend and balancing it with organic reach, the business became more predictable and stable. It was all about combining organic and paid efforts to maximize reach while keeping the numbers in check.

Esteban: Can you tell me about your team now? What roles do they handle?

Ed: My sister is the general manager and oversees the day-to-day operations. She basically runs everything, I could not have done any of this without her. My younger brother runs our social media, handling TikTok and Instagram content. We also have a warehouse manager who curates the boxes, picking items that fit our style. Then, we have about eight warehouse staff who sort, wash, and prepare items. I focus on strategy and growth—building out our long-term plans and making decisions on advertising and operations.

Esteban: What were some of the biggest lessons you learned along the way?

Ed: Always be prepared for explosive growth if you’re putting content out there that could go viral. You need to be able to fulfill orders without disappointing customers. Also to surround yourself with trustworthy people. My dad has been a big influence, especially when it comes to planning. He only plans six months ahead, which keeps us flexible and responsive to changes.

Esteban: How has increased competition impacted your business?

Ed: Competition has definitely affected marketing costs. But we’re established as a leader in Vintage Mystery Boxes, which gives us an edge. We buy in bulk from wholesalers, so our cost per unit is lower, allowing us to price competitively. That value-for-price advantage is key for us, and we focus on maintaining high standards while innovating to stay ahead.

Esteban: What about your marketing approach? It seems like you’ve put a lot of thought into it.

Ed: I’ve studied TikTok’s algorithm closely. I make adjustments to video length, sound, and captions to optimize engagement. We had a stretch where every video got over a million views, and that consistency was massive. But TikTok is more saturated now, so it’s important not to rely solely on viral marketing. You have to stay relevant, keep an eye on new trends, and adapt to changes.

Esteban: Beyond hard work, what do you think has made you a successful entrepreneur?

Ed: I’d say my creative eye and my resilience. I can tell what will perform well on social media, and I’m always willing to tweak things for better results. I also don’t dwell on problems. If something goes wrong, I focus on finding a solution instead of getting stuck. That’s helped a lot, especially as we’ve grown.

Esteban: So what’s next for EdJ Vintage? Any big goals for the future?

Ed: I want to set up a warehouse in the U.S. A large portion of our customers are there, so shipping domestically would lower costs for them and improve conversion rates. Besides that, I’m focusing on building a strong management team so I can eventually step back from the daily operations and focus on long-term strategy.

Esteban: Thanks, Ed. I really appreciate you sharing all these insights and the journey of EdJ Vintage.

Ed: Thanks, Esteban. This was great fun!