MVNU Alumnus Keeps Business Simple
COLUMBUS, Ohio — MVNU alumnus Michael Grenier (’13) was recently featured in a segment of WOSU’s “Broad and High” with his company, Keep It Simple Socks, a vibrant local sock business. With a plethora of designs and themes, customers can order one pair of socks or sign up for a monthly subscription and get new flashy footwear delivered to their doorstep with one click.
“We had the idea for Keep It Simple Socks in January of 2016 when a friend of mine, Zach Roys, made an off-hand joke about ‘keep it simple socks’ instead of the classic saying ‘keep it simple stupid,’” Grenier said. “Three months later, I was having dinner with a friend and brought up the sock company idea. After psyching ourselves out and brainstorming for about three hours, we decided to begin market research around the sock business. After bringing my roommate, Paul (Hopler), on board the next week, we filed and were approved for our limited liability company at the end of April.”
“It took many months of manufacturing, web design, market research, stocking supplies, pre-launch marketing, purchasing customs bonds, hiring shipping forwards, but we finally launched the website in November of 2016. We’ve been growing consistently ever since,” Grenier said.
Grenier’s company has taken off in the Columbus market and online. He recently stopped back at MVNU to discuss his growing company with marketing classes during the fall semester.
“My experience at MVNU helped prepare me for launching my own company in several ways,” Grenier said. “First, during my time at MVNU, I learned consistency and perseverance. College can be very difficult, and I learned to get through it by being consistent with going to classes, doing my homework, and putting effort in to my schoolwork.
“I also learned to persevere when classes were hard and the workload was piling up. I worked outside of school for three out of my four years, so it was definitely a challenge to balance 30-hour work weeks with 16-credit hour semesters. I would say being in those types of situations during college really helped prepare me for the difficulty in starting my own business,” Grenier said.
“To this day, I still keep in contact with many professors and administrators from MVNU. I'm very thankful to have that continued support-filled network.”
For more information on Keep It Simple Socks, visit keepitsimplesocks.com. To watch the WOSU feature on Grenier, visit http://www.pbs.org/video/keep-it-simple-socks-7adjd2.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and several convenient Graduate and Professional Studies locations throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,200 students from 32 states and 19 countries/U.S. territories.
###