John’s Crazy Socks Spreads Happiness Through Socks
by Startacus Admin
John’s Crazy Socks, the startup on a mission to spread happiness through socks, whilst donating 5% of its profits to the Special Olympics.
It has long been an accepted fact that if someone wants to show a little personality, a little spark of life, a little craziness, then no matter what their 
attire, the way to do it is with socks! From simply mismatched to thoroughly outlandish - blue and red or Mickey Mouse as Luke Skywalker - socks are a simple but satisfying way to rebel against your stuffy work clothes just a little bit (and get away with it), or to simply adorn yourself with stuff and whatnot that you like.
John Cronin, now 21, knew that he wanted to go into business with his dad after high school, and his dad is of the mindset that he is there to encourage and support his son. So, with Mark’s customer service, innovation, and the tech experience and expertise he had gained through his varied career, and John’s love of crazy socks and their ability to help people be themselves, and his desire to spread happiness (the company’s mission, by the by), they set up John’s Crazy Socks. Within their first year, John’s Crazy Socks brought in more than $1.5m in revenue.
Despite being a fairly small father and son business, they are keeping up with the likes of Amazon in a world in which the aforementioned (which we can’t name more than once for fear of it appearing in our attic) is spelling the end for small businesses everywhere. They do this in part by offering same-day shipping and personalised touches - writing simple, but meaningful by their very presence, notes of thanks to each customer is perhaps even more a guarantee of a return customer than the candy they add in!
We have said plenty of times that being open with, and inclusive of, your customers is a great way to ensure a connection with them and make them feel good about forking out...that is, giving your their custom. John and Mark do this with their frequent Facebook videos, which keep customers/followers up to date, give glimpses into their lives, and show off their incredibly close and loving relationship, and which get thousands of views each.
John and Mark believe they have to go beyond simply conducting their business, and are committed to giving back. John, who has Down Syndrome, is a Special Olympics athlete, and so it makes sense that it is to the Special Olympics that the business donates 5% of its profits.
John's Crazy Socks have also created a series of Awareness and Charity socks, donating money from each pair sold to causes like Down Syndrome and Autism awareness, and breast cancer research. The company is small, with only 15 permanent staff members, but 10 of those have some form of learning disability. They know that the people they are hiring can find it harder than most to find work, and they are a huge benefit to a company where happiness IS the business (also socks, though)!
As the company website says, they are “Proving What's Possible: We're a business started by a man with Down syndrome. We hire people with disabilities. We do all we can for our customers. We believe that doing the right thing is the best business.”
We agree.
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Published on: 5th March 2018
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