Why “Kaboons” is the next Billion $ Franchise? I always wonder if the writer and publisher of the Harry Potter books, J.K Rowling knew that the “Harry Potter” brand would become a Billion $ enterprise.
Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Walt Disney started something with passion. But did they expect to become owners of one of the world’s biggest companies? Today it is different. Big investors and companies will invest billions if you have a good idea, like Jeffrey Katzenberg.
This recent news (short form video franchise Billion $ fundraising) is essential for the “Kaboons” Franchise development. Let me show you why. A brief history:
Some famous children’s TV Shows became Billion $ franchises.
Sponge Bob and Square Pants
Stephen Hillenburg created SpongeBob Square Pants and the animated Tv series. He loved the comedians Laurel and Hardy and Pee-wee Herman. The brand became so successful that SpongeBob SquarePants dolls were sold at a rate of 75.000 per week. It also became popular amongst women in Japan and other countries. In 2009 the Simmons Jewelry Co. released a $75.000 diamond as part of the SpongeBob collection.
Der Sending mit der Maus (the school of the nation in Germany, program with the mouse).
I remember my childhood very well, and a few TV programs stood out. For example, the German TV program: Der Sending mit der Maus. I can recollect another brilliant idea to have children learn through cartoon animation. The first TV broadcasting was 7th of March 1971. The TV show won 75 awards and was broadcasted in over 100 countries. In March 1999, the program’s internet site was launched, receiving over 4 million hits on the first day (OTT, short-form video franchise). The new Kaboons Cartoons lean themselves perfectly for this purpose.
The Fables Newspaper (de Fabeltjeskrant in Dutch)
The Fables Newspaper (de Fabeltjeskrant in Dutch) was about a wise owl who would read the news to the children before they went to sleep. They use many animals as characters for storytelling. The Fables Newspaper eventually would be broadcasted in many countries worldwide.
Teletubbies is another Billion $ franchise (It became a 1 Billion company by October 2000). The theme song single reached number 1 in the UK and remained in the top 75 for 32 weeks. The company released two educational video games during Christmas in 1997. The Teletubbies dolls were the top-selling Christmas toy in 1997.
Now, if we compare The Teletubbies, SpongeBob SquarePants, der Maus, and the Fabeltjeskrant Owl with Kaboons, we have a winner! The creator has a unique history of being a professor specializing in education. Kaboons are great characters. Children and adults with Kaboons learn language through idioms and humor.
I know “Kaboons” is the next big multi Billion $ hit.
I was a born serial entrepreneur. At the age of 4 years, my family lived in Enschede, The Netherlands. On a sunny day, a neighbor came to visit my mom and asked her, do you know where your son is? Sure, my mom answered he was playing outside in the garden. The neighbor said: no, he is not. My mother panicked, rushed into the park, and started yelling my name.
The neighbor then pointed the finger at the local market. Which could be seen from our house and said that’s where I just saw your son. My mother rushed to the market. There I stood on this little box holding oranges in my hands. I praised the fruit as the best healthy orange you could ever eat, and the customers loved it.
My father called me a little Kaboom.
The salesperson knew my family and spotted me wandering alone at the market after escaping from my mother’s garden. He asked me to repeat a sentence about the oranges and stand on this little box. I was an instant success, except for almost causing my mom a heart attack.
A guilder for every beer.
My mother came from a family of entrepreneurs. Her father had a butcher shop, and his business barely survived WW2; however, he persevered to provide for his family of 6 children. Many uncles of my mothers were all butchers and ran their businesses. I loved that side of my family.
On birthdays there were big BMWs and Mercedes cars from some uncles. And they gave me one guilder to get a beer each time they finished their beverages. The family gatherings were full of life and laughter!
Kasper “The Brain” Boon
My father came from a perfect family. His grandfather was a famous architect (who published a book about design and architecture). He was successful and wealthy. My father’s grandfather was also intelligent and artistic, studied astrology, and was far ahead of his time. He had an impressive collection of post stamps and coins he collected. My father could sometimes drive a Studebaker car while there were not even decent roads in the Netherlands then.
My mother graduated from the Dutch Athenaeum school. “Athenaeum” was A London club founded in 1824, initially for men of distinction in literature, art, and learning. She studied at an evening school when she was going to give birth to me. At least I know now my parents gave me excellent brains. But in my youth, I was rebellious and didn’t want to study, so I started using them a little late.
My father, the professor.
My father became a professor, doctor, engineer, and dean for the Open University of Maastricht in Holland. When my father was a student, he created a company called Medico which he later sold. He invented things and loved to help and mentor anybody with learning problems. He also liked to draw; the Kaboons Cartoons would soon come from his hands and brains.
My daughter Samantha Boon and the daughter of my brother Sidney Boon would not have passed their school exams. It was the hours that my father reserved for tutoring them to help them study.
The birth of Kaboons
When my father was reaching his pension age, he stopped working as a dean for the university two years before his pension at age 63. He started his own company. His new company develops courses and systems on how you can learn a language. He was passionate about education!
My mom and my aunt worked in this company, and eventually, it grew into a company with over 30 employees after he found the right business partner. While working at his new company, he had an idea of how to teach English expressions with the help of a deck of cards. He called them Kaboons© by Kasper Boon. The original name was kaboontje (which has the family name). But I convinced my father that the name Kaboons was better for international franchise purposes.
Billion $ Franchise
Now here is where it gets interesting, these “Kaboons” have the potential to become a Billion $ franchise. My father developed a card game with his cartoons for learning idioms. This became a huge success, and 60.000 units were sold in The Netherlands. I asked my father to make these cards in the English version. There are more significant markets if you can sell 60.000 units in Holland.
My vision is more global. I could see this product turning into the next Beavis and Butthead, Sponge Bob and Square Pants, Angry Birds, Program with the mouse… The selling of over 60.000 “Kaboons” units (card games) in The Netherlands alone proves this idea, and the image is a huge success. With the right approach and investments, a television show could be produced with short animated films.
Short animation programs of 15 to 20 seconds. The short films could be shown on TV every 15 minutes during children’s programming (I am thinking of the Cartoon Network, The Children Channel, CBeebies, The Kids TV Networks…). This way, the children can learn, it’s a challenge, and the brand becomes familiar. These “Kaboons” can also be used as daily political sketches of worldwide leaders. Even better, the right game producer would turn these “Kaboons” into the following “angry birds” but positively to learn and outsmart others. The Kaboons franchise is about to take off.
About my father:
At 14, my father, Kasper Boon, started as a student of the famous cartoonist Tom Smits (New Yorker). This must have been the artistic gene that spread in the family and made Joey Boon, my father’s grandchild, a modern-day “Rembrandt.”
After his study (physics), he enrolled at Twente University. In 1984 he moved to the Dutch Open University. He worked as Rector of that university from 1990 – 1992. From 1996 to 2005, he worked as a full professor at Maastricht University. He was Dean of the Department of General Sciences. At Baylor University (Texas, USA), he lectures on Innovation.
At CRH (Irish multinational, 90.000 employees), he was initially responsible for coordinating Innovation in the division of Building Accessories and the e-learning academy in that area. He wrote numerous books with the pen name Albert Sickler. Addison Wesley started many publishing houses in Europe based on his books. The focus has always been on education. He made simple language courses (audio books and cartoons “Kaboons”) as a hobby. These Kaboons are currently used in a highly successful card game for children, with over 60.000 units sold in the Netherlands alone. Together with Hans Schuurmans, he started the most prominent online educational institute in the Netherlands (www.skillstown.com)
For more information, go to http://www.kaboons.com. Contact me at basboon@hotmail.com
How the Fight Game created Brand and Billions.
https://basboon.com/how-the-fight-game-created-brands-and-billions/
(c) Bas Boon www.basboon.com