Funko

Funko started in 1998 when Mike Becker, working out of his garage in Snohomish, Washington, created a bobblehead of the Big Boy restaurant mascot. That first figure was a low-tech nostalgia play, but it laid the foundation for what would become a pop culture behemoth. Becker sold the company in 2010 to Brian Mariotti for $4.5 million, and Mariotti turned Funko into a global collectible powerhouse. The signature Pop! line launched in 2005, with its uniform design of oversized heads and black eyes, and now covers thousands of characters from movies, TV, comics, sports, music, and gaming.

Funko’s growth came from aggressive licensing. The company has deals with Warner Bros., Disney, Marvel, Sony, NBCUniversal, and Major League Baseball, among others. This lets it produce figures for nearly every major franchise, from Star Wars to Stranger Things. Beyond Pop! vinyl figures, Funko makes bobbleheads, plush dolls, action figures, apparel, board games, and home goods. It sells through major retailers like Walmart, Target, Hot Topic, and Amazon, plus its own direct-to-consumer site and a subscription service called Pop! in a Box.

The company has faced financial turbulence. Annual revenue hit $1.03 billion in 2022, down from $1.08 billion the year before, and it reported a net loss of $52 million. Market capitalization fell from a peak of over $2 billion in 2021 to roughly $250 million in early 2025. In 2023, Funko underwent a major restructuring, laying off about 20% of its workforce and temporarily closing its Everett headquarters. Current CEO Josh Simon, who took over in 2023, has focused on streamlining operations and launching new products like the customizable Pop! Yourself figures and digital collectibles through NFT partnerships.[edit]