What do you get when you combine a Houston-based rapper, an entrepreneur from Stockton, some Instagram savvy, and a few beers? In the case of Rob Owens, a multi-million dollar Bluetooth speaker company dubbed Bumpboxx repping the NFL, MLB, Coca-Cola, and a slew of musical artists with a parade of celebrities promoting the venture pro bono.
“The product came out of a joke,” Stockton Native Rob Owens admits. One night he and his partner Glenn Takeda were throwing back some drinks after a long week when Rob stood up, stumbled a little, and bumped over the coffee table between them. In the process, a small Bluetooth speaker—one Rob had become known for selling to mom and pop shops—fell, prompting Rob to point at the small table and say, “Do you remember when speakers were the size of this table?” His partner nodded. “Yeah, boomboxes,” he said. “Tomorrow we make one,” Rob replied. But little did he know that in three years he would be exclusively making nostalgic, Bluetooth speakers that resemble old school boomboxes and pagers.
The first prototype sounded great, but it was ugly, Rob says. So, they made a few more variations. Once he liked the look, Rob posted a photo to Instagram—a photo that Bay Area rap legend E-40 just happened to repost. Then, he messaged Rob that he had 700 direct messages asking where people could buy the speaker. Problem was, Rob didn’t have any to sell.
Rob, however, is no stranger to the fly-by-the-sea-of-your-pants hustle required to turn out a last minute product when demand is hot. He’d already done it once with a scooter company around 2001 that basically gave consumers an alternative to the Razor Scooter for $99 shipped—a venture he pulled together after late night inspiration struck and he realized he could make them for about $22 in an overseas factory. Never mind he didn’t have a warehouse and was living in a duplex.
Rob took to IndieGoGo to raise the needed funds to do a run of Bumpboxxes. From invention to shipping out the first orders was 120 days. “We went to market super-fast,” Rob says. “If we ever had to dream something for our life, we couldn’t have dreamt it.”
A partnership with Houston-based rapper Trae Tha Truth only accelerated the project. Together, they started sending the boomboxes out to celebrities and, without payment, about eight of ten celebrities who received one posted about it. From there the partnerships started rolling in. The first with Monster Energy who used the branded speakers to increase fourth quarter sales. Then, hip hop artists started flooding in, including a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and later one with the dance group Jabbawockeez. Each collab ends up with a limited release box specially designed with the client in mind. (There are also plain colored and graffiti-style boxes always for sale).
While the company originally planned to focus on partnerships that bolstered its hip-hop/break dancing image, Rob and his team found ways to expand, including getting into the country music scene with professional bull riders, sports including the U.S. Bobsled Team, and even trying to strike a deal to become the official sound of Peloton.
Before the holidays, Rob expects to drop a Tom Brady box as well as a Patrick Mahomes one, in partnership with the NFL Players Association. Next year, deals with the NFL, MLS, and MLB will be ready for market. In fact, the Gronkowski family already manages Bumpboxx’s Amazon storefront. The project Rob is perhaps most excited for, however, involves Coca-Cola and the 2021 Summer Olympics—but he has to stay mum on the details.
Year over year, Bumpboxx grows about 100 percent, however, 2020 saw a 335 percent increase before fourth quarter even began. Even before COVID they were up 140-150 percent, but after those stimulus checks rolled in and people realized just how much time they’d be spending at home and outdoors, sales jumped again. “We’ve taken virtually an $80,000 investment and turned it into $30-40 million company,” Rob says.
The speakers don’t only look cool though. “We’re known for being very loud and in your face.” Most people are using the boxes outdoors to project sound. At SXSW, the band P.O.D. put on an unplugged concert using twelve Bumpboxxes—and nothing else—to prove just how loud they are. The Flare8, Freestyle, and Uprock models come with wireless microphones, too, for karaoke use. And each battery lasts 12-22 hours, depending on the model and how loud it’s cranked.
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