Following Thrilljoy's official debut and website launch at New York Comic Con, CEO Brian Mariotti spoke with The Direct about his hopes for the future of the company.
Formerly the CEO of Funko, Mariotti was at NYCC right when Thrilljoy's booth opened its doors, letting in its first few customers. There to greet fans was a giant figure of Bloo, Thrilljoy's mascot, there to greet fans too.
The energy was high, and everyone was excited to be the first to purchase this new line of collectible figures.
Thrilljoy CEO on Company's Exciting Future
Speaking with Russ Milheim and Gillian Blum of The Direct at New York Comic Con, Thrilljoy CEO Brian Mariotti teased what he hopes fans will be able to see from the company moving forward.
In transitioning away from Funko, Mariotti is excited to be "free to exercise no caution when it comes to what you want to make:
"20 years of Funko — I bought it in 2005 and it was like three employees, and when I left, it was like 1800 employees, and well over a billion in sales. We did a lot of things right, but there are things I wish I would have done different. And when you get to a large scale and you're successful, you can't make Chase pieces or 24-pieces or 48-pieces. There's a lot of spreadsheet analysis, and that kind of saps a bit of your creativity. And so being free to exercise no caution when it comes to what you want to make, and knowing that you will connect to a fan base."
He said that he feels he has a "responsibility to make badass products," and is glad to be moving away from "a lot of spreadsheet analysis," which he said "kind of saps a bit of your creativity:"
"It's just my responsibility to make badass products, and then hopefully that finds the audience. And so that has been invigorating. I tried retirement for six months. It didn't stick very well. And so here we are."
One thing Mariotti had always hoped to have work out at Funko, he explained, was a partnership with Nintendo — and he feels that he is "more likely to get it" to work out at Thrilljoy.
He explained that Nintendo "struggled with" the way Funko would depict characters "off-model," as the brand would do with its products. At Thrilljoy, though, Mariotti says they would be more willing "more willing to go on-model, but like, at a super elevated level:"
"We're more likely to get it here, not because of anything that ... we did wrong at Funko. I think we're more willing to go on-model, but like, at a super elevated level. ... Where Nintendo always struggled with us — they've always liked our products at Funko — was that the off-model thing was difficult for them.
The booth was full of figures of recognizable characters, ranging from Beetlejuice to Huckleberry Hound. Mariotti said that his goal is to work with "properties and licenses that fan bases are clamoring for that they haven't got:"
"The thrill is trying to find properties and licenses that fan bases are clamoring for that they haven't got ... As a fan of so many TV shows and movies and video games, like seeing something that's under developed and under monetized in terms of like, bringing things to the fans is always very cool."
He wants to bring the delight of collecting to fandoms outside of the big ones, and talked about "the thrill of the chase and the joy of collecting:"
"I think the joy part is, like, starting this again and seeing people be happy that they got the product they want and they actually like the product. So it's the thrill of the chase and the joy of collecting."
Mariotti added that fans can expect to see Thrilljoy at more events moving forward, like "San Diego Comic-Cons, Star Wars Celebrations, and Disney D23s."
Part of what he hopes will make Thrilljoy stand out is its commitment to that "chase" he mentioned earlier. He hopes to emphasize this by avoiding "mass numbers of anything" sold, focusing instead on "limited" offerings:
"I don't want to do mass numbers of anything. Limited, limited, limited, limited, limited, limited, limited, and chase, chase, chase."
Mariotti emphasized that this will apply for "big properties that have been done to death," which he seeks "to find unique ways to represent:"
"When we come to bigger licenses — now, there's obviously some licenses that aren't here that come to mind that we're working on, that we know are going to happen — trying to bring different ways of looking at those licenses. And, you know, there's big properties that have been done to death. We want to find unique ways to represent those properties in ways that are very, very different. I think that is the most important thing — the world doesn't need certain characters done over and over and over again."
When asked if one such license might be familiar Marvel characters, Mariotti did not confirm or deny — but teased that "really great licenses with really big partners that aren't here right now" are on the way:
"I'm telling you that we're gonna have really great licenses with really big partners that aren't here right now. They're gonna be done in a very unique way."
He explained that a priority for him is to not "look like we're formulaic," instead putting energy into selling "crazy stuff" with licenses that will continue to surprise fans:
"I think it [Thrilljoy many years down the line] looks like fans that are excited about, 'Holy crap, they made this. I didn't think they'd have this license. I didn't think they'd make a kind of figure that looked like this at this price point in this variation.' Surprise and delight. I mean, I don't want to look like we're formulaic. Yeah, we're gonna have platforms like PIX! and Mega PIX!, but we're gonna do crazy stuff as well, and I just want to surprise people, and I want to be unique and different."
Mariotti also explained that Thrilljoy is going to rely on fan input. The company will be "giving away part of [its] stock to our fans," and there will be "a fan advisory board" which will help ensure Thrilljoy is delivering what people really want to see:
"And I think being a privately held company ... our fans are going to own part of our company. We're giving away part of our stock to our fans, and ... we're creating a fan advisory board, and they're going to help us drive what is hot, what isn't being done, and they're going to have a say in it. I don't think any other company's ever launched that way."
With that in mind, Thrilljoy is also taking steps to ensure that bots are not getting in the way of customers being able to purchase limited-edition items. Mariotti explained that they "spent a lot of money" trying to combat bots, and are trying to invest in things like "prototypes that are authenticated" and "wax seals:"
Part of that, too, is making "global editions" that are truly that — Mariotti said that "When you see 5000 pieces, that's all we're making:"
"We spent a lot of money on trying to absolutely ensure that we are eliminating bots to the level the best you possibly can. I think that is in our investment prototypes that are authenticated, you know, sticker editions with wax seals that are global — we're not going to remake them again — and they're not they're not territory editions. They're global editions. When you see 5000 pieces, that's all we're making."
For him, it comes down to "protecting the fan" and "their investment," which also could mean "putting limitations on what you can buy" at different locations and across different platforms. Ultimately, Mariotti said, it is about "[getting] as many people in on limited edition pieces" as possible:
"I think that kind of stuff about protecting the fan, protecting their investment in this stuff, battling bots, putting limitations on what you can buy at the booth, and at shows and online is always to get as many people in on limited edition pieces."
After officially launching at New York Comic Con, Thrilljoy is in full operation, and fans can buy products on the company's website.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
