What It's About
Step by step, one couple climbs their way to sell the best socks in the world.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Elliott says that above all else, focus on the product. He says that advertising, building mailing lists and having Kickstarter campaigns can all wait. It’s all about getting the product in your hands and making sure that it’s amazing.
Fun Fact
The world’s oldest known socks are from 250 to 420 CE and were discovered near the Nile River, where an old Greek colony was once located. Just like Elliott and Kim’s socks, those ones were also made of wool!
Notes from Chris
Episode 1116
Kim and Elliott Beaty love the outdoors. In fact, they love it so much that a few years ago, they decided to move into an RV in order to travel across the country visiting their bucket list of hiking spots. When they first embarked on the adventure, Elliott was working as a software engineer and Kim as a Category Manager for an advertising firm. Although they didn’t mind their jobs, they also didn’t love them. They had a craving to work for themselves, even if it meant earning less money at first. Setting out to create something that was truly their own, the couple decided to brainstorm side hustle ideas. They thought back to what they knew best: hiking. And according to Elliott, the single most important piece of hiking gear is a good pair of socks. Both he and Kim were passionate about what made a hiking sock great. (You have to love something in life…) Not knowing where to look, Kim and Elliott started Googling. They ended up contacting eight manufacturers in the United States. Only one got back to them—and that company turned them down, saying their order size was too small. Unsure of what to do next, the couple kept searching, focusing more on overseas factories in Asia. Unfortunately, six months later, they still hadn’t found the right partner. The manufacturers they’d tried made mostly cotton socks, and didn’t really know how to make that magical hiking sock of their dreams. That’s when Kim and Elliott attended an Outdoor Retailer Show in Denver. They met the company that makes socks for Under Armour… and the team agreed to make their prototype! They went through about 15 test runs, each of which cost anywhere from $150-$300. Finally, after months of trying, they had created one hiking sock to rule them all. With their product perfected, the couple was ready to get their business off the ground— but they hit upon a series of disappointments. A planned Kickstarter campaign failed to gain momentum, and they began to see signs that the subscription box service might not be the right business model for them. Two steps forward, but at least one step back … or was it two? Elliott and Kim put themselves in their customer’s shoes, and ended up realizing that people were really loyal to their sock brands. So loyal that Elliott even saw them passionately arguing online about the best hiking socks. (Again, you have to love something in life…) Instead of doing a subscription box, the couple created an online store called Mammoth Wool where they posted their socks. The product went live on July of 2019. Although they only started selling socks in July of 2019, they are already bringing in over $1,000/month. Soon, they’ll release a winter sock and a no-show sock. After a number of adjustments, Elliott says they’re happy with how Mammoth Wool is progressing now. They’ve taken one small step for hikers, and a giant leap for their future.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Mammoth Wool: Get your own pair of socks at Kim and Elliot's website.
SEE ALSO:
- College Students Start Sock-Selling Social Enterprise: A group of college students learn to sell socks with a cause. In two years they sign up more than 100 educational institutions!
- IT Manager Stitches Seamless Sewing Side Hustle: Needing a way to reconnect with her creative side, this IT manager learns to thread her hustle into her life.
- Finance Professionals Go Gorillas for Bamboo Fiber Socks: Two NYC financial sector employees decide to make socks and rescue gorillas.
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Resources
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