PopSockets founder David Barnett talks building a viral business

David Barnett has learned a lot since he first launched PopSockets over a decade ago.

The story goes that the former philosophy professor was looking for an easier way to hold headphones and went on to create one of the most talked about phone accessories of all time. It’s a device that can be gripped to the back of a phone and used as a kickstand or handle, better known as popsockets.

Barnett spoke to Equity this week about his journey from a garage to starting the company, why he decided to never seek traditional venture capital funding, and the lessons he learned as he expanded his business.

“I was a philosophy professor, so I didn’t have any manufacturing experience,” he recalls, adding that he also lacked business, tax, accounting, and finance experience. “We burned through a lot of money with zero income,” he continued, adding that in the early days, “we had one manufacturing defect after another.”

Still, he manages to make it through and ends up at a local toy store. There, he would often stop by to observe how customers interacted with his brand. “Sales were pretty slow,” he said. He adjusted the pop socket a little and then everything started working fine. “That’s when I thought, ‘Okay, this could be used in retail.'”

From there, he talked about the hits and misses of his foray into retail (including a dispute with Amazon that caused him to temporarily remove a product from his website). He talked about further adapting the product, protecting intellectual property, and when he knew it was time to step down as CEO and hand over the reins to someone else.

“The biggest lesson I learned is that it’s all human,” he said, adding that he looks for this trait in his successor. “I think that’s the most important skill you can have as a leader.”