Ricky da Luz has tapped into the highly popular NFT space with the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of NFT-inspired toys. The 18-year-old has raked in over $700,000 in toy revenue. Ricky revealed that his first Bored Ape toy was commissioned for about $400 in January.
The teenager has now emerged as the founder of IsmToys. He runs the company with his dad Tony da Luz and a team of six staff. Ricky, a passionate toy designer, made his dream a reality by saving about $10,000 in mowing lawns. He used the money to initially make free toys which he gave it away to people in the Bored Ape community.
Ricky says they are tripling down on helping Web2 companies enter the Web3 space, and converting their audience into Web3 people. They actually link the toys to actual NFTs. The digital assets act as an authentication for the toys. So far, IsmToys has cleared over $700,000 in toy revenue which comes from a combination of commissioned, one-of-a-kind creations. It sells for an average of $700, while various other toys range from $50 to $200. Ricky said 99% of IsmToys’ transactions are done in Ethereum.
IsmToys has received commissions, since January, for more than 300 one-of-a-kind toys. The startup’s prospects has been bolstered by the NFT.NYC conference. Ricky and his team have over 200 orders on deck for the next month alone. The toymaker also mints NFTs that act as an authenticator for people to receive the coinciding physical toy. Ricky revealed that they have minted a series of 888 “Golemz”. It was bought for $300,000 in just 96 seconds.
Last month, they minted 400 BAYC chess sets and accompanying NFTs priced at $400 each. It was sold out in less than 24 hours. Ricky feels indebted to the BAYC community. He says that without them IsmToys wouldn’t exist.
