What happened after the idea for My Angry Socks was born in early 2021?

March 2021
After my separation, I first needed some time to settle in and create structure in my life for a few months. But in the back of my mind, a vision and idea began to take shape. In the evenings when I went to bed, I thought about different layouts, designs and what angry messages I wanted to convey. It helped me through everyday life and I started to consider this project as my new hobby that gave me a lot of energy.

Summer 2021
It became a form of mental rehabilitation to focus on My Angry Socks and I started to seriously consider making this a reality. I googled, searched and researched for a few months to see if there was anything similar but couldn't find anything that resembled the idea I had in my head.

Autumn 2021
In order to make what was inside my head a reality, I needed start-up capital, start a company, seek trademark protection, develop a collection, build a webshop, find a supplier, design a logo, find an accounting firm, and more.

I soon realized that this would be a really exciting challenge. After my regular work and when the kids were asleep for the evening, basically all my free time was devoted to this project.
Sure, sometimes I downed the occasional beer at the pub too, I won't say anything about that. You're only human after all.

Winter 2021
There are a lot of pieces that need to fall into place. I had a long list that needed to be checked off before I could take the next step. At this point, I hadn't mentioned it to anyone else. It was and is my secret and I'm careful to keep the project and my regular job separate.

December 2021
I spoke to my bank, secured financing and decided to actively take the next step. I also bought the rightthe heat of myunhappysocks for to enable the next step.

January 2022
I started a limited company and started working on trademarking My Unhappy Socks. The trademark process was estimated to take 4-5 weeks. In the meantime, I contacted a large sock supplier that produces good quality socks for many major well-known brands in the Nordic region. I came up with 50-60 different angry messages written down on a list. After a few weeks, I had selected 8 of them to start with.
I got the company approved and registered the company details with the Swedish Tax Agency.

February 2022
After a few weeks, I received a rejection from the Swedish Patent and Registration Office for my application to trademark My Unhappy Socks. It was too close to another brand. At first I was pretty devastated and thought I would just drop the project.

However, within me, another name began to take shape. A name that felt even more right and something that was even more my own.

My Angry Socks started to take shape in earnest. I submitted a new application to the Swedish Patent and Registration Office. I also purchased and registered the domain name myangrysocks.com/se.
I had received the first sock samples from my supplier and evaluated them. We agreed on some adjustments. In the evenings and weekends I had started coding and building a foundation for the webshop. With the help of Youtube and testing my way, the shop began to have a good foundation to stand on.

At the end of March, I received a new decision from the Swedish Patent and Registration Office. They denied the right to trademark My Angry Socks. This despite the fact that I had checked whether it was available, which I received a yes from the authority.

It turned out that there was an 11-year-old trademark protection that was made in the European equivalent of the Swedish Patent and Registration Office. This means that the Swedish authority cannot approve my application. I was down for a few hours. At the same time, it felt like something was not right.

My feeling turned out to be right. A trademark protection expires after 10 years if you do not choose to renew it.

My Angry Socks had expired and not been renewed, but the European authority had not done its job and removed the protection in the system.

I therefore called the EU office in Spain and informed them of this. A day later the block was lifted. The name My Angry Socks was available again. I now called my contact at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office to inform them of this. That call led to me submitting a request for reconsideration.

March 2022
On March 2nd I received a new decision. I now own the rights to My Angry Socks for the next 10 years. I was filled with positive energy again and work on the website took on new momentum.
During March I worked on the website and negotiated prices with my supplier. I created a logo and slogan. My slogan ended up being “Just say it”.

I received the first eight physical copies of the socks and was able to seriously test their quality. I was extremely happy with the quality but not really happy with my own design.
I made several adjustments to the socks and now had to wait 2-3 weeks before I would receive new samples. I continued working on the website in the meantime.

I signed an agreement with an accounting firm to get help with the accounting.

April–June 2022
During the spring, I put the finishing touches on the website and did everything I could to prepare for the launch. I made sure that my socks really represented what I wanted to convey – quality, attitude and a touch of humor. During this time, I received the final samples from my supplier, and I was finally completely satisfied.

My basement, which is about 30 square meters, became my warehouse.

June 2022 – Launch
The big day came, and in June I finally launched My Angry Socks! It was a feeling of pure joy and pride to show off something I built from the ground up – a project that went from an idea in the back of my head to a reality.

I am now living my dream and hobby, and it gives me immense energy to create something that people can relate to and have fun with. This is just the beginning; I am already looking forward to expanding the collection, building on the brand, and reaching more people who want to express themselves through their socks.

My first customer was named Victor. I called him and congratulated him on becoming my first customer. I always send him a copy when I get a new sock these days.

Questions? Let us know!

Do you have any questions, ideas or just want to say hello? Please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you and will be happy to help with anything you are wondering about.

Nicklas

Founder and owner of My Angry Socks