When you buy socks, you normally get them in pairs. But with Throx, you get three for every set you buy. Founder Edwin Heaven’s novel idea is solving a simple issue as the average person loses 15 socks every year! He pitched the idea on Shark Tank but wasn’t able to get a deal. Fast forward to 2024 and Throx is worth an estimated $2 million.
Edwin Heaven’s Background
Edwin Heaven is a creative mind from San Francisco. Not much is known about his educational background because he grew up in a movie theater. As a kid, he spent a lot of time watching comedy classics and cartoons.
Growing up he was inspired to become an artist. He started as an author, mostly known for writing the critically acclaimed book “The World’s Most Handsome Man.” Heaven was hired as a screenwriter for Stan Lee’s Howard the Duck.
Eventually, he became a film director, with his most notable work being “The Organist.” Outside of film and writing, Edwin worked in the branding department of eGroups, a startup that Yahoo acquired for $500 million.
Founding Throx
Like many people, one of Edwin’s most frustrating problems was losing a sock. One day, he finally wanted to do something about it and had an idea about how you should sell socks in pairs of three.
In 2003, he manufactured the first batch of his socks and cleverly named it Throx. He packaged them in threes and sold them for the price of one. He did a lot of online and direct sales at the beginning.
It became popular with young people, but profits weren’t as strong as the founder had hoped. Six years after opening its doors, Throx made $38,000 in revenue in 2009 and was struggling to find momentum.
Shark Tank Appearance
In 2009, he appeared on season one of Shark Tank, seeking $50,000 for a 25% equity stake. Edwin showed up in a suit and made a quirky introduction.
The Sharks were smirking at the idea and didn’t take him seriously. With only $38,000 in sales for 2009, they weren’t selling enough units to get them excited. Also, the product couldn’t get a patent so the idea could be easily ripped out.
The Sharks believed the novelty items would struggle to get repeat orders and the larger players in the market could crush the business if it gained any market share. All the Sharks dropped out and Edwin went home empty-handed. Despite not getting a deal, it’s one of the most memorable pitches on Shark Tank.
After Shark Tank
Despite all the criticism, Edwin didn’t give up and continued running the business. Back then Shark Tank wasn’t a household name and didn’t pull in the same kind of viewing figures it does now. Initially the coverage from the show didn’t help the company.
As the episode is memorable for the founder’s quirkiness, it got a lot of syndication over the last decade which has helped drive sales. Although Throx never cracked retail, the socks are selling well on their website, Throx.com. It’s also available to buy on Amazon.com and the socks sell for $16 – $20 depending on the design.
Throx has just one 5-star rating on Amazon so it might not be a big seller on the platform. Throx makes an estimated $500,000 in annual revenue and is worth around $2 million. Edwin remains active in the film industry and still lives in San Francisco. The cure for the missing sock never really took off but it’s a small profitable venture.
