Ryan Walther, co-founder of the gag box and gift company Prank-O, he was passionate about comedy from an early age. “It goes back to when I was in third grade and I saw David Letterman doing ‘Velcro Man,'” he says Entrepreneur. “At that moment I said, ‘I want to do this.’” Walther didn’t “become the next king of late night,” but he did work for a satirical news outlet Onion for over 20 years.
It was there that Walther met his co-founder Arik Nordby. Nordby would bring fake gift boxes to The Onion, which at all times sold out quickly. Walther saw potential in the product, and when a little research revealed that there have been loads of gift-giving occasions in the U.S. – and that no one company was the brand of selection for comedy gifts – the wheels continued to turn.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Prank-O. Arik Nordby, left; Ryan Walther, right.
“I thought gift-giving had become obligatory and mundane,” Walther says. “Shouldn’t parties be full of laughter? So at that point, I was trying to create a brand that would be fun for gift giving and parties.”
“[With] in everything we do, we want to make sure people laugh.”
Walther and Nordby founded Prank-O — “a twenty first century gift company that delivers laughter and thrills” — in July 2013. The first set of boxes included a Crib Dribbler, “type of like a gerbil feeder [for] a baby cot”, a Wake & Bake Dream Griddle alarm clock, a family blanket that can accommodate up to eight people or even an SUV, and scented Sizzl Bacon dryer sheets.
“[With] in every little thing we do, we would like to make sure people laugh,” Walther says. Essentially, Prank-O gives consumers “the keys to the automobile,” it adds: “Whoever shows up at the party with one of the comedy boxes”[is] he will be the hero where they will deliver a pack of jokes and the whole room will laugh and scatter him around and it will be great fun.
One of the first hurdles the company faced was explaining to potential retailers that there was no product in the box. But once they got in on the joke, the “lightbulb” went off and “they loved it,” Walther says. Prank-O featured Urban Outfitters as its first account for the 2013 holiday season; Target, Kohl’s, Walmart and many others followed suit.
“We came out in our RynArik uniforms and presented various joke packs that were advertised as RynArik products.”
In August 2018, producer z Shark Tank called Walther about appearing on the show. Walther initially rejected the idea, much to the surprise of his co-founder – and manufacturer –. When the manufacturer called back and asked why he declined, Walther said he was “not interested in selling the company in seven minutes.” The manufacturer explained that there was a due diligence period in which either party could back out of the deal without penalty, and Walther was on board so long as Prank-O was able to stay “on brand” and prank the Sharks.
The producers liked this concept. “We came up with a skit in which our company was RynArik Technologies, technological solutions for the future, today,” Walther recalls. “So we came out in our RynArik uniforms and presented various joke packs that were positioned as RynArik products. I was wearing a joke pack that we had brought to life: a magnetic plate that stuck to your head so the kids could eat their meals while sitting on your shoulders.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Prank-O. Ryan Walther, left; Arik Nordby, right.
The sharks “were confused,” Walther says, and then “they were definitely amused.” When the duo revealed themselves as co-founders of Prank-O, a blank gift box company, Mark Cuban was impressed. Prank-O did As of 2013, sales were $10 million and was on track to raise nearly $3 million in 2018. Although Walther and Nordby initially asked for $640,000 for an 8% stake, Cuban negotiated $640,000 for a 25% stake. The transaction was not finalized after due diligence.
“The studio is underwater – no one can really know – and there are sharks circling above you,” Walther jokes. “It makes it a little more intense.”
“I am the baron of empty boxes. Not many people in this world sell empty boxes.”
The Onion is social commentary on the news and Prank-O is social commentary on consumers, Walther says. To stay relevant and relevant, Prank-O is continuously innovating to sustain with the “ever-changing times of products and technology.” He adds that the idea is to put a “fresh” parody on top of what is recent on the market.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Prank-O
Currently, Prank-O boasts a nearly six-figure email list with an open rate of up to 60%. However, marketing and distribution remain the two most significant challenges facing the company. Many people are simply not aware of the product, Walther says, and distribution in the gifting space could be difficult due to the strong market presence of Hallmark and American Greetings. He notes that selling through Amazon in addition to brick-and-mortar stores has been helpful.
Looking ahead, Prank-O plans to “bring the Prank-O verse and its heroes and inventors to life” in an as-yet-undisclosed media project, and next yr the company will launch Prank-O Labs, “which essentially brings brands to life around April Fools’ Day” – “a great a day to make people laugh.”
“I am the baron of the empty box,” says Walther. “Not many people in this world sell empty boxes. We’ve done quite well building a following and continuing to come up with new styles that make people laugh and get press, which certainly helps. General awareness is certainly growing year after year.”