Jumping Ship to Sell Mismatched Socks

Laurie Frankel

Little MissMatched socks, with names ranging from "Fabulous" to "Zany."

Will Lipman

Jonah Staw left a corporate marketing job to work full time at Little MissMatched.

While the eventual fate of his new venture is in question, Jonah Staw does have a short-term projection: If it survives its initial challenges, the operation may be worth $100 million dollars in three years.

The company, Little MissMatched, was conceived by Jonah Staw and three business-savvy friends, who saw a marketing opportunity in the age-old problem of the lost sock. The well-connected foursome tapped a few investors, parents included, and set out to challenge the very notion of a "pair."

The target market is girls ages 8 to 12. With names like Zany and Fabulous, the colorful odd-sock combinations are meant to allow wearers to say something about themselves.

So far, the gimmick is working: MissMatched socks are sold in 650 stores nationwide, and plans are being made to move into scarves, mittens, flip-flops -- even a Little MissMatched book. That's good news to Staw, who tells NPR's Ketzel Levine that he left a lucrative job as a corporate director for his current venture.