I founded my custom LEGO figure company, BrickHopMafia, by hand-painting figures and selling them to collectors online.

However, I realized the opportunity cost of time. I started calling manufacturers across the country, asking if they had surplus printing capacity for my designs. After dozens of calls, I found a business partner across the country who helped me scale production and improve quality.

So, I went from painting individual orders to coordinating manufacturing teams, managing the entire process from design to shipping logistics. To distribute, I worked with prolific brands to sell novelty products to their fanbases. I've worked on custom figures of personalities like Kobe Bryant, Charli XCX, or Tyler The Creator.

The growth has been pretty crazy:

• 3,000+ figures designed and distributed across all releases

• 500+ units moved per individual release

• 5-figure revenue generated per drop

• 200k+ fan brands as collaboration partners

  
  

After all expenses, I walked away with about $20k in profit from the venture. More importantly, it put me in the thick of business operations, where I learned supply chain management, how to form strong partnerships, and product design, all by doing, and I'm excited to bring my skills to whatever's next.