Luca Schnetzler Turns Pudgy Penguins around
Luca Schnetzler, at 26, is the CEO and founder of Pudgy Penguins. But the path leading up to this position was not easy. The project was originally established in July 2021 but faced high drama when its former founder was suspected of planning to leave after taking all the money.
Schnetzler later came to the rescue, bringing an entrepreneurial background to the project. Since his early teens, he had been building internet businesses and snapped up the project with 8,888 Pudgys for $2.5 million in April 2022.
The decision to buy the project was intuitive, according to Schnetzler. “I saw this thing that I was hugely invested in before I bought it that I thought had all of the potential,” he said.
His vision turned the project from one of despair to one of hope. The floor price of Pudgy Penguins has risen from around 1 ETH to 6.32 ETH since Schnetzler took over as CEO. His leadership and vision for the project drew followers in a NFT bear market. The Penguins bucked the trend of cratering floor prices.
Schnetzler believed that it was not a risky decision to buy the project. He noted, “We bought something that netted almost $10 million in six months for $2.5 million, and royalties were making it half a million dollars per month. It was a pretty good business on its face.”
Spreading the cuteness on social media
Schnetzler achieved constant momentum and growth for Pudgy Penguins, seen in the brand’s expanding reach across social media outlets. On Instagram, Pudgy Penguins has just passed 1 million followers while the brand’s GIF strategy was highly effective.
According to Schnetzler, “The Pudgy Penguins GIFs and stickers on GIPHY have reached 10B views. With 10B views and millions more each day, our GIFs allow us to cement the Pudgy Penguins IP in internet culture, becoming a brand people interact with every day.”
Despite his own success, Schnetzler seems saddened that his project is not a standard to other PFP projects. He said, “Some people really sing my praises, and it’s actually pretty sad because I do think we do some things really well, don’t get me wrong, but I mean, this should have been the bar all along.”
Pudgy Penguins hits Walmart
In September 2023, Pudgy Penguins made history by announcing an exclusive collaboration with Walmart. The retail giant started stocking Pudgy Penguin physical toys in over 2,000 stores. This groundbreaking deal signals a new era of collaboration between NFT brands and retail giants.
Building a legacy brand with no playbook
Schnetzler also claimed that he aspires to build a legacy brand, comparing it to Hello Kitty, Star Wars, and Pokemon. He acknowledged it would be hard and didn’t have an exact roadmap, but still wants to make Pudgy Penguins a brand that lasts. Everyone is excited to see what’s next for Pudgy Penguins.
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