Funko was born in 1998, when the friends Mike Becker, Rob Schartz and Sean Wilkinson decided to create their own business while they were in an Everett Washington bar. The origin of the company name is a pun of the terms Fun and Company.
The initial concept was similar to the current one, a bobblehead toy called "wacky woobler". These toys are characterized by moving their heads.
Computer Bob was the first design they created, although it wasn´s as successful as they expected. Some time later, Mike Becker was impressed on a trip he made to Universal Studios, specifically in the sparkys store, because he found a lot of PEZ candy dispensers for sale. Shortly, after closing an agreement with those responsible for the Bob's Big Boy hamburger brand, the creators of Funko designed a toy based on the restaurant's icon.
Mike Becker went back to the Sparkys store at Universal Studios and told the manager that he was going to give him the toys and he had to put them up for sale, at the end, the seller had nothing to lose. The next day, his toys were sold out. And that's how Funko's hit began.
After this hit, Funko began to obtain licenses for different commercial brands, to which they added their own creations. Betty Bob and Freddy Funko were the first. Then came Austin Powers, who thanks to the success of the film, generated more prestige for Funko.
The toys were made in Mike's parking lot and he, with the support of his parents, packed more than 100,000 boxes. Mike received many calls to buy his toys, and to try to create a professional image he posed as a clerk and then supposedly pass the call to another department. In 2002, Funko proposed its first special event, with 70 people invited to a breakfast where they could get a limited edition figure. An idea that, again, they didn´t know if it would work. But it did. By 2005, due to stress, Mike decided to sell the company to his friend, Brian Marotti, who is still the director. It had very few sales for 3 years, until one day Warner Bros offered them the possibility of using their license in exchange for doing something that kept the original essence, but at the same time was different. And this is how the Funko Pop! meet the light at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con.
It should be noted that Mike Becker continues helping the company with a clothing line and despite the success of the brand, he says he doesn´t regret having sold it.
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