Two Down Syndrome Entrepreneurs Collaborate on Joint Project
A pair of entrepreneurs, who happen to have Down syndrome, have each created a successful business; now, they are teaming up for a joint project. John Cronin, who co-founded John’s Crazy Socks, is collaborating with Collette Divitto, who started Collettey’s Cookies. The duo introduced four products pairing socks and cookies:
- A Box of Socks and Cookies
- A Mother's Day Bag Of Socks With Cookies
- A Mother’s Day Box of Socks, Coffee Mug and Cookies
- A Mother’s Day Box of Socks, Coffee Mug and Cookies for the Sassy Mom
“The moment I heard about Collette’s business, I knew I wanted to do some business with her,” said John Cronin. “We’re on a mission to spread happiness and pairing Collettey’s Cookies with our socks lets us spread more happiness.”
Collette Divitto said, “It is a natural partnership. We both sell online, and we are both showing what is possible when you give someone an opportunity to succeed.”
Collette started her cookie company after spending three years seeking work and finding employers wanted her as a volunteer but refused to pay her a wage. Unable to find meaningful and paying work, she created her own business. She had studied culinary arts in high school and took that knowledge and love for baking to form her own company. Based in Boston, Collette bakes her cookies in commercial kitchens and sells them to customers around the world.
John started his business with his dad during his last year of high school. Like Collette, John wanted meaningful work and like Collette, he turned to something he loved: wearing crazy socks. The father-son duo opened John’s Crazy Socks in December 2016. In their first year of business, they shipped over 42,000 orders to 44 countries and earned $1.7 million in revenue. They have moved to their own office/warehouse and now employ 35 people, 15 of whom have a differing ability.
The three packages pairing socks and cookies are just the start. Collette said, “We are already thinking of what else we can do together.” John has ordered cookies to share with his staff and he will soon send Collettey’s Cookies to key partners as thank you gifts.
And what do these entrepreneurs plan to do next? Collette said, “I am building a new website and introducing new cookies.” At John’s Crazy Socks, John and his team are introducing custom socks and developing the John’s Crazy Socks Network, which will feature internet shows hosted by or featuring people with intellectual disabilities. As John likes to say, “I have Down syndrome, but Down syndrome never holds me back.”
About Collettey’s Cookies
Collette, a young woman with Down Syndrome, has been creating her own recipe for cookies for fun! But after rejection over and over again when applying for a job and being told she had great skills but was not "a good fit" she was determined to own her own business, Collette, was and is very determined despite any disability, to show people how able she and many others like herself are. Collette is creating a global movement and is known by many throughout the world. Her response to all this new unintentional fame is, "why are people so surprised". She speaks to audiences of hundreds to thousands across the country and has decided she needs to use her platform to create change and to help the non disabled population see abilities and start including people with disabilities more and more. It pains Collette to know 82% of people with a disability that are capable of work cannot find jobs....she knows that firsthand. Her mission is to open production facilities across the country and employ thousands of (dis)abled people!
Follow my journey
Instagram,Facebook,Twitter and check out mywebsite to see where I am speaking next and how you can order some delicious cookies!
About John’s Crazy Socks
John’s Crazy Socks was co-founded by the father son team of Mark and John Cronin. John says, “we have a mission to spread happiness.” They opened their online store on December 19, 2016 and have managed to grow the company rapidly.
Mark X. Cronin says, “We offer over 1,900 different socks that people can love: beautiful, colorful, fun and crazy socks that let people express their passions and personalities. We deliver the socks through fast and personal service and every package includes some candy and a thank you note from John.” Giving back is important at John’s Crazy Socks so the company donates five percent of earnings to the Special Olympics and raises money for its charity partners through Awareness and Charity Socks.
John’s Crazy Socks has garnered media attention from the BBC, Fox Business News, ABC News, Money Magazine, The Mighty and Fox-5NY among other media outlets.
To learn more about John’s Crazy Socks, please visit our website or Facebook age. You can also contact us at service@johnscrazysocks.com or call 631-760-5625.
