“It was order after order of defective products,” he said. He had to replace the gel back on each one. The first shipment Barnett received in 2014 included 30,000 defective PopSockets. The first few years weren’t without trouble.

“They made fun of me until the second year of business when it was finally taking off.” “They thought it was a silly idea,” Barnett, 48, said. His friends and family weren’t all that supportive, he said. In 2014, Barnett left his job as a professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder and started working on his startup full time. Barnett, who said he currently owns 40 percent of the company, plans to list PopSockets on either the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ if he goes public. Morgan Stanley and UBS declined to comment, while Piper didn’t immediately respond. Nevertheless, Barnett said he’s had conversations with Morgan Stanley, UBS and Piper Jaffray about his IPO musings, and plans on approaching others before making a decision. As wireless earbuds become de rigueur, PopSockets may have to rely more heavily on its use as a decorative grip, phone-stand or selfie-helper. “The valuations in the public market, despite what many private equity groups will tell you, at least in our sector-they seem to be better than the valuations in the private market,” he said.īut there are obstacles to his plan: Brand recognition, the possibility of an economic downturn and the reality that every day, fewer headphones have any wires at all. So if you’re using your iPhone all the time as a camera, PopSockets are really useful.”īarnett, who said the company, now with 200 employees, plans a big expansion into Asia, is considering an initial public offering so he can provide equity options to employees and to enhance liquidity. “Why do you need a PopSocket? It’s for taking selfies with a really big iPhone. The PopSocket is a product that “lends itself well to influencer community,” said Conor Begley, founder of Tribe Dynamics, a brand marketing company. The company’s success has been directly related to its presence on social media.

The Boulder, Colorado-based company offers the ubiquitous little plastic doorknobs (the highlighted version on its website right now features the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots), as well as smaller versions (PopMinis), mounts, wallets and cases. Never heard of PopSockets? That’s OK, because you’ve probably seen its products on the back of a teenager’s phone.

Popsocket pocketable