Mom Invented

Kezi Levin's young son would not stop pulling his socks off his little feet. And when she had to bring him to a formal wedding, she knew she wanted something to keep him properly dressed throughout the evening. So she came up with the idea for Sock Ons, a stretchy over-sock garment that prevents babies from pulling off their footwear by gently catching around baby's heel when pulled from the toe.

Kezi, a graphic designer, didn't know how to sew, so she made a prototype by cutting up a pair of her tights and gluing them together. Then she spent 3 years designing, prototyping and doing all the other work to get her product to market, funding the business herself and launching in 2007.

Though experienced businesspeople advised Kezi to sell her invention to a producer and walk away, she decided to go it alone and keep control of her idea and her company. Sock Ons are now sold in most major UK retailers and are launching in the U.S. this year in One Step Ahead catalogs.

With five sons under 10 years old, this young British mom is busy managing her family and growing her business. Here's how she's doing it all...

Why did you start this company and when?

The idea first came when Mom Invented® ran a competition in the UK newspaper The Times -- it was calling for mothers of invention to enter their products. I had just had my fourth baby and my mother-in-law encouraged me to enter.

At the time, we had a family wedding mid-December and my baby had to go dressed in formal suit attire but he kept pulling off his socks. I was so desperate I was on the verge of putting him in tights, but his older brothers would have none of that. I knew there had to be a better solution, and after searching and finding nothing else available I used all my graphic design training to come up with a solution.

The Sock Ons idea came while I was trying to fall asleep that night: I got up, cut up my own tights and made a prototype -- and it worked. The product is now made of softly woven elastic material that "locks" babies' socks gently and firmly in place.

I was short-listed as a finalist in the Mom Invented® competition. I worked incredibly hard over the next few years filing patent applications, prototyping, branding, doing photo shoots, etc.

What were your initial goals?

My initial goal was to solve the annoying problem of lost socks and cold baby feet. As a mother of five little boys I knew that my family always comes first. I got married at the age of 19 and had three children in the following three years, so my career options were limited and I had to work from home. Sock Ons has allowed me to use all my creative and business abilities and still be around my children.

What is your background and how does it relate to your company?

Kezi Levin's Five Sons

I am the proud mother of five little boys, ages 10, 9, 7, 5 and 2.

I married straight out of high school and spent my first four years of married life in the company of London's hippest, studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, which is famous for pushing boundaries and counts Lucien Freud, Alexander McQueen and Mike Leigh amongst its alumni.

Pregnancy and baby care brought unusual challenges. I used to run out of the library with morning sickness and run home in between lectures to feed or bring the kids in. One valuable skill which I credit to that period is time management. I learned how to be time-efficient -- if I had a design brief, I knew my time was more limited, given all my other commitments, and there was no time for procrastination. Getting an assignment done would often mean completing it between midnight feeds.

With a hectic schedule came a new pursuit: I am constantly thinking of how to make life easier. I have always been a mad inventor and my mind spins around at 100 miles per hour. With Sock Ons, it was a case of necessity proving to be the mother of invention.

What process did you follow to develop a prototype?

I cut up my own tights and glued them together -- I cant even sew. I then went to a pattern cutting factory and had a pattern made. With my design skills, I was able to create the logo and branding.

How did you finance your business?

I worked as a graphic designer to finance my business. This definitely made it a much slower and longer process, but we maintain full control of the company.

It took about 3 years to get Sock Ons to market and 5 years for it to really start flying. We have sold over 100,000 Sock Ons to date and we believe that they are set to become a necessary item that no baby or sane parent can do without.

What has been your greatest success with your business?

Our greatest achievement to date was winning the baby industry's most prestigious award -- The Kind Und Jugend Award for innovation 2008. This launched us into the international market and has taken us far.

What keeps you going?

If someone tells me I can't, I will prove that I can!

Thanks for sharing your story, Kezi! You can learn more about Sock Ons on their website. If you have a great story to share about your product or business, we'd love to hear it!

Tagged as: baby products, bringing a product to market, business success, featured mom, kid-inspired, mom business owner, mom entrepreneur, mom inventor, product business, starting a business, succes story, UK mom inventor