PopSockets LLC Founder & CEO David Barnett Named Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 Consumer Products and Retail Award Winner

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EY announced that Founder and CEO David Barnett of PopSockets, maker of the viral PopSockets collapsible phone grip, received the National Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 Award in the Consumer Products and Retail category. Now in its 32^nd year, this prestigious award recognizes dynamic entrepreneurs who are forging a better future through products, services and jobs that keep our worldwide economy and communities moving forward. David Barnett was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at EY's Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs on November 11.

"I'm honored by this award, which I owe to my team who made it possible for us to grow 71,424% the last three years while building a brand for the future."  PopSockets is based in Boulder, Colorado, and the last entrepreneur to represent Colorado on the national stage and be named a US winner was Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, who won the 2012 Media, Entertainment and Communications category.

EY has celebrated entrepreneurial excellence by honoring those innovators and prominent leaders who have contributed and inspired others with their vision, leadership and achievement since 1986. Their companies have succeeded, invigorating their industries and benefitting their communities, while also encouraging others to follow their lead. In 2018, the 231 award winners represented 187 entrepreneurial companies, employing more than 213,000 people with a job growth of 46 percent. They generated revenue of more than $66 billion, with revenue growth increasing more than 56 percent.

About PopSockets
David Barnett is the founder and CEO of PopSockets. He was a philosophy major at Emory, a physics major at University of Colorado Boulder, received his PhD in philosophy from NYU, and from 2005-2015 was a philosophy professor at University of Colorado Boulder. His research specialized in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, before he reached enlightenment, stopped doing philosophy, and became an entrepreneur.

In 2010, Barnett was looking for a way to stop his earbud cord from getting tangled, and he achieved this by gluing two buttons to the back of his phone and wrapping the earbud cord around the buttons. As ugly as the buttons were, they worked. In the course of improving on the idea, he developed hundreds of prototypes, making the buttons expand and collapse via an accordion mechanism so they could function as both a stand and a grip. In 2012, Barnett launched a KickStarter campaign for an iPhone case that would have two PopSockets grips integrated into the case. In addition to getting successfully funded, the KickStarter campaign enabled Barnett to show the world his dancing prowess. Two years later, in 2014, Barnett launched the business out of his garage in Boulder, Colorado, and has subsequently sold nearly 100 million PopSockets grips globally.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through consumer products category, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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SOURCE PopSockets