Founding Sock

I'm Rick Johanson, Co-founder and CEO of Sock . In early 2022, someone close to me experienced a big financial set-back after some poor investment decisions in crypto. Like many novice crypto investors, they were motivated by promises of high returns but had little understanding of the market volatility or where to find credible information. Stories like these are all too familiar, and they're what inspired Chris Titterton , Bryan Levine and me to create Sock.?

We believe the crypto market has massive potential for growth and will continue to co-exist alongside traditional finance. Our goal is to help every investor access it more easily and safely

“Sock represents a new paradigm of financial services that abstracts away the complexity of crypto”

While centralized exchanges tend to have the simplest user experience, there are significant risks in how they may manage the custody of your money. In contrast, decentralized wallets are too complicated for the average investor to use, lack an inherent perspective, and don’t take into account a user's financial goals or provide the tools to achieve them. Sock represents a new paradigm of financial services that abstracts away the complexity of crypto and delivers a familiar experience akin to traditional finance that today's investors have come to expect.?

We started Sock based on the premise that the investing strategies that yield the best results tend to be steady and consistent over time. As early investors in the crypto markets, we’ve seen several bull and bear markets come and go, and have watched the frenzy of speculation come in waves. The reality is that timing the market is nearly impossible. Like in Warren Buffet’s famous bet against hedge funds, investing is a long game where the winners tend to be steady and focused broadly on the overall markets, and the losers tend to day-trade or jump on speculative hype trains.

Sock’s user-friendly mobile app will empower investors to build long-term wealth in crypto through automated recurring investments and earning interest while enabling our customers to maintain custody of their finances. From the start, we wanted to honor the ethos of blockchain and crypto by never touching, lending out, or reinvesting customer funds. Our app is entirely “non-custodial”, ensuring that your assets are secure and only accessible to you. With blockchain technology, we eliminate intermediaries like banks and exchanges, passing more value directly to you.?

The industry has experienced several bull and bear markets since 2015 when the Ethereum network launched, and while we are still in the early adopter stages of the market, we expect to see the ecosystem continue to scale. We believe that steady and consistent investing has the highest likelihood of creating returns (not financial advice, do your own research). We’ve built an incredibly simple app that enables everyone to build wealth responsibly with this tried and true strategy.

"The only app on the market that makes it simple to safely invest in crypto and always maintain control of your money"

Whether you are an experienced investor or just beginning, Sock is the only app on the market that makes it simple to safely invest in crypto and always maintain control of your money.

Regularly talking with customers has given us insight into their pain points, informing which features we prioritize first. Sock’s news and insights feed was designed based on real user preferences and feedback, providing the information they need to invest responsibly. Our customers will always be the center of everything we do as a company. Additionally, we’re building an expressive brand that conveys our intentions, fosters connection with our users, and stands alone in this space.?You can learn more about all of this in a great article written by Bryan Levine, our Co-founder and Head of Product.

The name Sock has a deeper meaning that reflects our commitment to helping people invest responsibly. The term “sock it away” or using sock drawers as a convention to store money became popular during times of economic uncertainty when people were hesitant to trust traditional financial institutions with their savings. We’ve embraced this idea by providing customers with a safe, reliable platform for growing long term wealth.

We’re incredibly proud of the work this talented team of engineers, designers, and marketers has built so far, and the hard work they’ve put into this product is hopefully very apparent. Thank you to Chris Boyle , Brian Turley , Gavin Newcomer , Spencer Yoder , and Aaron Faulkner for their efforts, and to our investors who’ve cheered us on throughout this journey, Haven Ventures , Designer Fund , Spacecadet , Sunflower Fund , Expansion Venture Capital , Olive Capital , and our amazing Angels.?

Rick, Bryan, and Chris

P.S. We'd be honored if you signed up for launch waitlist. We can't wait for you to see it.