Huntington Firm Selected for Highly Competitive International Business Accelerator Program

John’s Crazy Socks has been selected to participate in MassChallenge 2017 accelerator program. Over 1,500 start-ups from around the world applied for the program and only 8 percent were selected.

John’s Crazy Socks was co-founded by John Cronin, a 21-year-old man with Down syndrome, and his father, Mark X. Cronin. Both men are Huntington residents. John said, “I’m so excited to join the Mass Challenge. We worked very hard to get here.”

John said, “I’m so excited to join the Mass Challenge. I love showing that I have Down syndrome and can make my business a success.”

MassChallenge is one of the strongest business development programs in the world. John’s Crazy Socks will participate in MassChallenge’s Boston accelerator program. To be selected, the company had to submit a written application. Based on that application, John’s Crazy Socks was selected as one of 300 start-ups to present to judges as part of round two. John opened the presentation by explaining the mission of his business – “spreading happiness through socks” – and told the story of how he came up with the idea for selling crazy socks and worked with his father to open it. Where others might have been nervous given the stiff competition, John’s confidence made him fearless in making his pitch to the judges.

John’s Crazy Socks opened in December 2016 and less than six months later, it has shipped over 16,000 orders of socks and earned over $500,000 in revenue. They began by offering 31 different styles of socks and now offer over 1,200 different styles. Every order includes a thank you note from John and some candy as a way of keeping the relationship with customers personal. The company began operations in Huntington Village and has moved to large quarters in Melville.

As a company co-founded by a man with Down syndrome, John’s Crazy Socks has developed socks to raise awareness about people with Down syndrome, Autism, Williams syndrome and other special needs. Their Awareness Socks both increase visibility of these populations and raise money for charity partners such as the National Down Syndrome Society and the Williams Syndrome Association. In addition, John’s Crazy Socks donates five percent of its earnings to the Special Olympics. After all, John is a Special Olympics athlete. The company has raised over $20,000 for its charity partners in less than six months.

Acceptance into the highly competitive MassChallenge program validates the work that John has done. He may have Down syndrome, but in this business accelerator, John and his father, Mark X. Cronin, will work side-by-side with other start-ups to access MassChallenge's global network, world-class mentoring from industry experts, tailored programming, free co-working space, and unrivalled access to corporate partners. The accelerator culminates on November 2nd at the MassChallenge Boston Awards Ceremony, where selected startups will pitch for the opportunity to win a portion of over $2 million in no-equity awards.

While finishing his last year in the Huntington School system, John works in his business every day. He helped design the Down Syndrome Awareness Socks and Shark Socks for the Special Olympics. He is the face of the business, so he records videos for social media and thank you videos for customers. He makes public appearances speaking about his business and what people with Down syndrome can achieve. John has been interviewed on U.S. and international television news and radio programs. He has been featured in Money Magazine, ABC News and The Mighty among other media outlets.

John also performs other more mundane tasks as well. Asked about his work, John says, “I write personal notes for some customers. I also put the cards together that go in the orders. Sometimes, I help put stickers and labels on socks.”

Mark X. Cronin, John’s father and co-founder, said, “We’ve grown rapidly since opening in December 2016 and Mass Challenge will help us develop the skills and relationships to both manage our growth and continue to fuel it. It is clear that we owe much of our success to John’s creativity and presence. He inspires the whole company every day. Every day, John demonstrates what is possible and we expect our participation in MassChallenge to help us stretch our limitations.”

About MassChallenge

MassChallenge is the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. No equity and not-for-profit, we are obsessed with helping entrepreneurs across any industry. We also reward the highest-impact startups through a competition to win a portion of several million dollars in equity-free cash awards. Through our global network of accelerators in Boston, the UK, Israel, Switzerland, and Mexico, and unrivaled access to our corporate partners, we can have a massive impact - driving growth and creating value the world over. To date, 1,211 MassChallenge alumni have raised over $2 billion in funding, generated approximately $900 million in revenue, and created over 65,000 total jobs. For more information, please visit masschallenge.org.