Meet Stephen Sockol of Kindsound

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Sockol.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been a hard worker, my first job was at 9 pulling sailboats and windsurfers up and down the beach for a family friend’s business. As I moved through my later child hood I got involved with my high school theatre department, working on the technical end of the production. At 17 I landed my first paying sound gig working for a local small audio rental company based just outside of Worcester. This gave me the. opportunity to mix on many sound systems in the area including Harpers Ferry, Sit n Bull Pub, Plantation Club, and Sharky’s night clubs. I was also tasked with setting up sound systems for high profile wedding bands. By age 20 I had started KINDSOUND, a mobile sound system rental company. This enabled me to pay for school at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology where I received my AD in Electrical Engineering. In the summer of 2000, while attending school and running Kindsound, I was also hopping in a van to tour as a sound engineer for two Boston based bands: Addison Groove Project and Uncle Sammy. We toured up and down the east coast for a month. I stayed on with Addison Groove Project as their sound engineer for 3 years (weekend gigs all over the northeast during the school year) and we toured nationwide when school was out. This gave me the opportunity to network with musicians all over the country. I started to meet many friends that to this day I attribute my success in business to. In 2002 I moved to Burlington Vt to run sound at the new Higher Ground night club in South Burlington. In 2004 I ran into my friend Matisyahu who had opened a few shows for Addison Groove Project. Matisyahu asked me to go on tour with him saying he thought is new record Live at Stubbs was about to get a push from his record label. So I hopped in a plane and we did our first show together at the Gorge for a music festival. From there Matisyahu’s career started to take off. This gave me the opportunity to dial in my skills as a FOH engineer, I was given the opportunity to mix all size venues from small size venues to 70,000 person festivals, to Madison Square Garden, and everything in-between. We also went on a 3 year tour to over 40 countries and toured the USA multiple times. In 2008 I decided to leave the live production world behind (although to this day I like to fill in for local production companies when they need me). I landed a job at Bose in the Pro Audio Division. Working at Bose gave me the opportunity to learn the business side of audio video industry. It opened my eyes for my future endeavor, which I like to call KINDSOUND 2.0. Before I left Bose I worked in product development. This was a great experience but I wanted to do more so I was able to find a way to use the skills I had picked up on the road and at Bose and apply them as an AV integrator. You ask what an AV integrator does? Well, to answer that we do a little bit of everything to get a project done.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course it is not been a smooth road, Like all new job’s or projects each one presents itself with its own unique set of challenges. Being a small business competing with large competitors has been a huge challenge. But sometimes companies like to go with the smaller firm to get a more personalized experience.

Other challenges I face every day is juggling my time between production work to keep the lights on and meaningful challenges to keep me engaged and learning something new from the experience. One challenge we are facing today is keeping the business to business model with the overwhelming demand for freelance solutions. At Kindsound you a hiring a company committed to you company as opposed to the freelance 1 and done mentality I see out in the field.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kindsound – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Currently Kindsound offers nationwide AV services and sales, we contract out our services for a wide variety of clients. We offer technology services featuring audio and video installs for department stores, retail stores, restaurants, bars, office spaces, conference rooms, function halls and everything in-between. We specialize in high end Audio with excellent chops in Video-walls and Crestron control systems. Kindsound travels nationwide for their clients and have successfully had over 4000 installations and service calls. If you like to eat out or shop locally around Boston and its surroundings you probably have stood under a speaker or looked at a TV that we have installed.

Kindsound is always working to stay up on the ever changing landscape of tech. Kindsound is starting a product development division focusing on making products to better the world we live in threw sound.

Kindsound is known for always getting the job done right. When Kindsound signs a contract we commit to the end, until our client is walking away feeling like they have the right system for them.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Kindsound is excited to be bidding a project for the most technical advanced growing facility in the bay state to date. Kindsound is working with Commonwealth Alternative Cares a medical marijuana provisional permit holding non-profit since 2015. Commonwealth Alternative Cares has plans to open by the end of 2017. Kindsound is biding to facilitate tech solutions for their cultivation location and there three dispensary locations located in Taughton, Brockton, and Cambridge. Kindsound is excited to expand grow and scale depending on the need and market conditions. Kindsound will be starting to roll out some really cool products that I have been working on in my spare time. Stay Tuned!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Kindsound.com
• Phone: 508 272 9619
• Email: service@kindsound.com

Image Credit:
Kindsound

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