April 17, 2017

Meet Stefan Lewinger of Sock Fancy in Cabbagetown

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefan Lewinger.

Stefan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My partner, Futhum Tewolde, and I launched Sock Fancy in 2013 as a simple solution to a growing frustration. Finding the perfect pair of comfortable, durable, and awesomely-designed socks was often too difficult, too expensive, and too inconvenient. My co-founder Futhum Tewolde and I met when we were seven. We were lifelong friends, and later became roommates when we both wound up in Atlanta around 2011. Futhum always showed off his socks around the house, but lamented the fact that he often had to settle for poorly made socks from big box stores or pay an arm and a leg for a decent pair from the small selections at specialty shops (if you could find one). With my background in ecommerce and digital marketing we saw a big opportunity to team up and create something really exciting. I built the first website within a few weeks, we placed our initial sock order, and started shipping off of our Ping Pong table from our house in the Virginia Highlands. Today, we’ve grown into a 5,000-sq. ft. warehouse/office in Cabbage town, shipped over 200,000 pairs of socks, and most importantly, helped fellow socks addicts in 80+ countries around the world to step up their ‘sock games.’

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road? Hardly. We’ve had so many bumps, bruises, and stumbles along the way I stopped counting. The most consistent challenge for us, however, is keeping up with growth and scaling properly. A good problem to have, but a tough one nonetheless. Each year we have more than doubled in size, and with that growth, we’ve had to get creative in order to keep up with demand. In large part, this has meant learning quickly the ends and outs of shipping things. We didn’t’ really anticipate the fact that would become almost as much of a logistics company as we were a sock company. Going from 4,000 packages a month to 40,000 a month has meant that we have had to consistently keep an eye on our shipping business – look for better rates, more efficient services, creative packaging, international freight brokers, and even automated labeling and sealing equipment.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sock Fancy – what should we know?
At its core, Sock Fancy is a sock subscription that delivers awesomely random socks to your doorstep for as little as $11 per month. Simply hop on to sockfancy.com, customize your subscription options, and we take care of the rest. We create hundreds of small-batches designs each year in-house to ensure that you always get something new and exciting. If you are in a gift giving mood, you can even purchase 3, 6, 9, or 12 month subscriptions in advance. We never charge for shipping and you can even swap out any pair you’re not completely in love with.

Socks are not only a great way to keep your wardrobe fresh, but the perfect instrument to express yourself. They provide an outlet to be playful, creative, and even a little funky with your style whether you’re in the boardroom or the bedroom. For many people, wearing crazy socks can even be subtle way to rebel against the uniformity and boredom of the workplace.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I am surrounded by a fantastic team at Sock Fancy. My co-founder, Futhum and I have made it a point to surround ourselves with talented and capable people, not only throughout the company, but in our daily lives as well. We brought on another partner, Aaron Latham, in 2015 who has helped us tremendously think more strategically and explore some other non-conventional creative opportunities.

Personally, my Dad has been a huge influence on me and my business. He has been a successful entrepreneur his whole life and I always look to him for advice and perspective when I’m in a rut or when I can’t quite get out of my own head.

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