👋 Welcome back! 

From my desk: Little bit of a different article today. Daniel Furlong, the co-founder of Varsity Ventures, will be joining you by co-authoring our first former student-led startup success story. Let’s get into it…

🎬 Behind the scenes

• Founded by Phil Yu and James Chang in 2012 out of an NYU dorm room after both becoming top cubers

• Is a bootstrapped company that stands out by offering proprietary products and maintenance services

• Is one the largest cube distribution companies in America

📖 Story Time

While being well versed in the cubing atmosphere in 2012, Phil Yu decided to start this business with James Chang to become a middleman for consumers and retailers.

Despite Phil pursuing what he felt was an unhelpful music business degree, it gave him the freedom to focus on cubing and carve out his niche.

After having their dorm room constantly filled with packages of orders needing to be distributed, Phil and his partner moved the company from his partner’s garage to a small office and now into a large warehouse. 

One of the major ways Phil differentiates his company is through his proprietary products and his marketing strategy.

While the Cubicle doesn’t manufacture their cubes or puzzles and acts just as the distributor; they do have proprietary products such as their cube lubrication.

Through development with a passionate cuber who also had a background in chemistry, Phil and his partner were able to create a proprietary product to enhance the cubing experience for its customers. 

In addition to the products, Phil has also become somewhat of a media personality himself. The Cubicle is active on various media platforms and engages with a passionate community.

🤖 One Stop Shop for Enthusiasts 

If you aren’t familiar with the speed-cubing industry already, allow me to briefly explain…

The World Cube Association regularly hosts tournaments attracting over 210,000 participants in the last decade, all aiming to solve their cube the quickest. 

With various formats, cubes, and strategies at play, the quality and maintenance of their cube is critical. 

That's where The Cubicle steps in offering a vast array of cubes, expert customer service from industry experts, and various maintenance services to fuel the cubing community.

Additionally, being in the industry for so long gave them the edge to create their own cube lubrication to ensure peak performance in competition.

📈 Catalysts 

The Cubicle is like Patagonia for the Rubik's Cube industry.

After reading Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chuinard (founder of Patagonia..great book btw) there are many similarities between these two companies which include…

1. Mission Driven Business: These products are created for cube enthusiasts by cube enthusiasts providing an additional layer of understanding of details and challenges faced by participants.

2. Quality and Durability: Offering maintenance services for cubers is something that is unique in this industry and attracts many passionate customers. 

3. Community Engagement: With a following of over 400,000 members, being active in this community through content and sponsorships keeps The Cubicle relevant and engaged with their customers.

🛒 The Market

Taking a look at competitors in the industry, there's a bunch of smaller companies trying to grab some market share with a few key players…

• Rubiks (focuses more on strategy & education)

• Spin Master (large toy manufacturer, acquired Rubik's Brand Ltd for $50 million)

• Amazon (lots of smaller players in the market)

📈 Path Moving Forward

Looking ahead, this company has no plans to go public, a stance that might be influenced by the well-known maxim…

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” – Bert Lance

💡 Former Studentpreneur Insight

Speaking with a former studentpreneur gives us amazing insights into the lessons they learned along the way.

“It's important to know that you're not Superman…even though you think you can do everything, you shouldn’t try to…delegating work was challenging because we're so used to doing it ourselves”

“Understanding your strengths and weaknesses and the core value that you provide, and learning how to delegate work is important.” 

These quotes stuck out to me because they apply to everyone. 

Whether you're starting a company or creating a presentation, understanding everyone’s strengths and weaknesses ensures maximum efficiency and effectiveness. 

📸 Media

They have over half a million followers across multiple social media platforms…

• Youtube 

• Instagram 

• Facebook

• TikTok