WisePocket Turned 11-Year-Old’s Brilliant Idea Into A ‘Shark Tank’ Success
WisePocket started as a brilliant idea from an 11-year-old named Sofia Overton, and thanks to a big boost from a Shark Tank investor, it has attracted some viral interest and what appears to be significant growth.
As the founder explained on the company’s website, the idea for the product struck her as a pre-teen when she realized that active kids often wore clothes that did not have pockets — or, at least, not pockets deep enough to hold much. She came up with what she called a “wise pocket,” an opening at the top of a sock that was large enough to hold a cell phone or any other objects that a kid might need to keep with them.
The company sprouted from that idea, and was featured on a January episode of Shark Tank. Overton’s product and her tenacious spirit caught the attention of the sharks, leading to a $35,000 investment and plenty of viral buzz.
The investment had an immediate impact. A follow-up story from THV-11 noted that Overton had plans to expand her operation worldwide, shipping the popular socks all over the world. The funding was especially important given WisePocket’s production limitations before the Shark Tank appearance.
As the now-14-year-old founder told the potential investors, she was only able to manufacture 100 pairs a month, meaning her sales were only a fraction of what they could have been with greater capacity.
As Business 2 Community noted, Overton adopted a socially conscious model for WisePocket that allowed her to support a number of local charities with her product.
“As an added benefit to buying WisePocket socks, Sofi has included a social model that allows her to donate 1 pair of socks to children in need for every 1 pair of socks that are purchased,” the report noted. “She believes that if children have warm feet, they will be reminded of the warm hearts of their community that is caring for them and looking after them.”
The monetary boost and the social media buzz that WisePocket received after the Shark Tank appearance seem to have fueled some significant growth in the months that followed. In August, just ahead of the episode’s re-airing on ABC, the teenage founder took to social media to share a picture of a large batch of orders set to ship out. She explained that she had taken a bit of a break from social media to focus on the expanding operation.
