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.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.

The impact of standards, ethics and conduct on business success and profits - Work.Life has some interesting insights...

The lowdown on Space32 - the startup that wants to help hybrid-working businesses find the working space and solution that's right for them.

Global Tech for Good initiative seeks innovative startups and scaleups that are creating positive social impact and enhancing people's lives through tech.

The lowdown on Bidnamic, the startup that's combining advance machine learning with human expertise to help retailers to maximise revenue and profitability from Google Shopping.

Innovative Czech fintech startup 4Trans raises investment to expand first of its type AI driven factoring services across Europe.

Edinburgh-based life science company Cytomos secures funding to support further development of its innovative cell analysis tech.

Ethical Equity and Streets Consulting join forces to deliver Founder Workshop to help close the inequality gap in startup to scaleup funding.

Fancy being featured in this year’s SmallBiz100, which showcases the best of Britain’s vibrant small business community? There's just a couple of days left to do just that!

Screenloop secures major investment to support further development of its AI-driven recruitment platform that helps companies build the best teams and removes unconscious bias.
Published on: 5th March 2018
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.







- Assistive technology innovators and partners awarded £1.7m project funding 1st Jul 2022 WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.
- How the pandemic affected each industry 27th Jun 2022 New research from School of Marketing reveals the impact that Covid-19 has had on key business sectors in the UK.
- The Finalists of DBACE 2022 are revealed 21st Jun 2022 The lowdown on the innovative young visionaries that are in the running for this year's Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs.
- OKAPI: Orbits raises €5.5m for Breakthrough Space Traffic Management Software 13th Jun 2022 Innovative German SaaS startup OKAPI:Orbits secures investment to support its mission of securing efficient and safe operations in space.