PopSockets founder David Barnett talks about building a viral business

David Barnett learned a lot from the first PopSockets launch over a decade ago.

As the story goes, the former philosophy professor was looking for an easy way to hold his headphones and went on to create one of the most viral phone accessories of all time: A device that attaches to the back of the phone and can be used as a kickstand or handle — better known as PopSockets.

Barnett sat down with Equity this week to talk about his journey building this company out of his garage, why he decided never to take traditional venture capital funding, and some lessons he’s learned growing the business.

“I was a professor of philosophy, so I had no experience in manufacturing,” he recalled, adding that he had no experience in business, tax, accounting, and finance. “I burned a lot of money with no revenue,” he continued, adding that he had “wave after wave of manufacturing defects” during the early days.

Still, he managed and was able to drop by a local toy store where he often stopped by to see how customers interacted with his brand. “Sales have been pretty slow,” he said. He tweaked the Popsocket a bit, and then everything started to go away. “That was the point where I thought, ‘Ok, this could work in retail.’

From there, he talked about the hits and misses of entering retail (including a dispute he had with Amazon that briefly forced him to pull his product from the website). He talked about customizing the product even more, protecting intellectual property, and when he knew it was time to step down as CEO and let someone else take the reins.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it’s all about people,” he said, adding that he was looking for this trait in his successor. “I think that is the most important skill one can have as a leader.”