PopSockets

In 2010, David Barnett (a former philosopher professor) came up with the idea for a collapsible phone grip to keep his headphones untangled. This small idea turned into a huge deal especially in 2018. People were going crazy over PopSockets. A PopSocket is basically a little collapsible button that can stick to the back of your phone. Barnett started a Kickstarter campaign in 2012, and after several product iterations, the Boulder, Colorado-based business started selling its now ubiquitous smartphone accessory in 2014. Ever since, the company has hired more than 100 employees and has sold over 40 million units worldwide, designed with different patterns, shapes, and colors.

It blows my mind that such a simple idea can be transformed into such a successful product. Barnett just thought about a way to have his headphones not be tangled, and he goes on to make millions of dollars from a simple thought. In 2018, PopSockets was ranked the second fastest-growing business (According to Inc. 5000). The three-year growth for this company was 71,424%, which is just crazy to me. Not to mention, the 2017 revenue was $168.8 million dollars. This just goes to show how specific sales tactics can make a huge difference. PopSockets started out as an idea, and through talking with people, seeing if there was a need for something like this, and inspiration, Barnett was able to create a product that was innovative, new and desired by the people. If people can go crazy about something so simple, than it is extremely possible to create a business of just about everything. Who would have ever imagined that sticking a little button to the back of your cell phone could become so popular? It is just mind-blowing to me that something so small could become such a popular product. Hopefully, I will be able to achieve the same status one day with an awesome, creative business idea that I can come up with.

Source: https://www.inc.com/guadalupe-gonzalez/2018-inc5000-top-companies.html