Guest #7 | Sam Moses. Authenticity.
From Setbacks to Sock Empires.
Sam Moses, CEO of Socrates, shares how he turned a niche idea—custom Italian socks—into a thriving B2B brand. This episode is all about resilience in entrepreneurship, creative hustle, and building something real in a world of fast fads.
🎙️ DSD INTERVIEW #7 | Making B2B Custom Italian Socks – Sam Moses, CEO of Socrates: RESILIENCE.
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🧦 From Retail Floods to 7-Figure Socks | Sam Moses on Resilience, B2B Swag & Custom Italian Craft
Episode Description: Serial entrepreneur and founder of Socrates Custom, Sam Moses joins Deep Shallow Dive to share how a flood destroyed his retail empire—and sparked the rise of a global sock brand trusted by Netflix, FedEx, and tech giants worldwide. It’s an epic story of grit, e-commerce mastery, and Italian manufacturing at scale.
Can You Turn a Flood Into a Fortune?
In this entrepreneurial masterclass, Ray Doustdar sits down with Sam Moses, the founder of Socrates Custom, a global B2B custom sock company producing over $500,000/month in revenue. Sam takes us on the full journey—from his days in high-end neckwear retail in Toronto to rebuilding his life and business after three catastrophic floods shut down his stores.
Out of the wreckage came something unexpected: custom Italian-made socks. With 7-day turnaround times, all-inclusive pricing, and a world-class client list, Sam didn’t just rebuild—he revolutionized swag. From DHL to Dell, he now serves everyone from mom-and-pop shops to Fortune 500 giants, all while maintaining a premium product and unmatched customer experience.
This episode is packed with insight on manufacturing, logistics, branding, and the relentless mindset needed to rise from disaster to domination.
👤 Who Is Sam Moses?
Sam Moses is the CEO and founder of Socrates Custom, a premium B2B sock company based in the U.S. with exclusive manufacturing in Italy. A former retail founder, Sam transformed three retail floods into an online empire, pioneering fast-turn, high-quality promotional swag. With clients like Marvel, Coca-Cola, and American Express, Sam is proof that resilience, vision, and execution build real empires.
🔥 Key Topics in This Episode
How floods ended his retail dream—and started a global sock brand
The story behind Socrates Custom and its Italian roots
Why 7-day global turnaround for custom socks changed the game
How to break into the B2B promo space and get reorders
His secret to keeping prices competitive with China
What it takes to serve Google, FedEx, Dell & yoga startups equally well
Why he refused to cut corners—even in slow months
Building scalable systems with Webflow, Salesforce & UPS
🧠 What You'll Learn
Why Italian manufacturing isn’t just luxury—it’s leverage
How to convert small orders into 6-figure accounts
What promo agencies actually look for in a vendor
That fashion-first design makes swag wearable
How automation can save weeks of labor and increase loyalty
Why true growth is about service—not scale buzzwords
🗣️ Sam’s Most Powerful Quotes
“Every sale is H to H—human to human. Never forget that.”
“I don’t believe in rush fees. I believe in taking care of people.”
“The sock has to be good enough to wear on its own—even without the logo.”
“Focus on one thing. Do it incredibly well. That’s how you win.”
🧩 Top Themes Covered
Sam Moses Socrates socks interview
Deep Shallow Dive entrepreneur spotlight
ecommerce resilience flood recovery
custom Italian sock production
B2B swag and promo marketing
how to work with promo distributors
Shopify vs Webflow vs WordPress
seven-day product turnaround
AI in product outreach
Salesforce integration for shipping
UPS vs DHL logistics strategy
working with Fortune 500 swag buyers
socks vs t-shirts for promotional products
Italian vs Chinese manufacturing
Delta airlines trade show swag
post-COVID ecomm growth
real-time fulfillment from Italy
Socrates Custom design process
why fashion matters in promo gear
wool vs cotton sock manufacturing
sock knitting machine details
business from LinkedIn + Google Ads
high-volume low-error production
business without owning the factory
🧭 Final Takeaway: Build with Craft, Win with Care
Sam Moses proves that premium doesn’t mean slow, and scale doesn’t mean soulless. With a handcrafted Italian product, elite customer experience, and global reach, Socrates Custom is what happens when old-world quality meets modern hustle.
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