Silly Bandz Creator Robert Croak Didn’t Just Get Lucky Once: Big Things Are Coming!

In 2003, Robert Croak launched Brainchild Products, an Ohio-based organization that gave birth to the mammoth Silly Bandz craze. These colorful, fun-shaped rubber bands were an instant hit and eventually became a fashion phenomenon of the ‘00s.

It’s kind of funny, though, that people dubbed Croak’s enormous success as pure luck. “That guy got lucky,” they said when it took him two decades to be able to reach the stars.

Croak’s entrepreneurial quest began when he was put in charge of his granny’s restaurant at 23 years of age. This was back in the ‘90s. Croak was so successful in the venture that he was able to launch a couple more restaurants while simultaneously kick-starting a concert promotion and custom apparel business. However, with too much on his plate, nothing was taking off.

Croak’s mother even asked him once to just get a job, to which he responded: “Mom, people like me don't just get jobs. I'd been working for myself for so many years, it'd be odd to punch a clock.”

Nevertheless, Croak persevered. He believed something was going to work eventually. It finally hit him when he attended a trade show in China where he saw shaped rubber bands at the event venue, made by a Japanese designer. He took the idea and improved it, making the bands thicker, bigger, and more detailed. Thus, the Silly Bandz craze was born.

It would be an understatement to say that he got really busy after that. In 2008, Croak was selling over a million packs of Silly Bandz per week. He had people from Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and all over the US visiting his headquarters to order abundant packs of Silly Bandz for their stores. They had to stop by in person because Croak’s phone was always tied up with orders flowing in.

Needless to say, the pressure was high in terms of phone calls and shipments. Croak hired people through Facebook to ease the workload. His warehouse was so packed he had to set up tables outside for his staff to pack orders on. Every day was a struggle to keep up, but it was a happy challenge because it meant success. Croak had to move into a loft near his office where he lived with three of his managers.

Amidst the insanity of it all, Croak certainly wasn’t complaining. His business soared so high he even reached the national news. For Croak, every problem he faced was wonderful.

“Silly Bandz put me in a category of wealth that most people have never imagined, but I've been cautious,” Croak shared. “You hear stories of people who hit the lottery and go broke a year later. I want to take this wealth and create more success,” he added.

The ‘00s craze began deteriorating in 2010, but Croak had anticipated this. When it was finally over, it didn’t hurt him in the least. Instead, it just fired him up to create new products under his brand. Croak is now taking new chances, and who knows? He might hit fame and fortune for the second time around.