He left college to sell Pokémon cards. His business made $7.8 million last year

Andres Fernandez dropped out of college after one semester to sell Pokemon cards. What began as a passion became a multimillion-dollar business, generating $7.8 million in sales in 2025 and targeting $10–11 million this year. He dropped out of college to follow his Pokemon passion. His business made $7.8 million last year (Image courtesy :@MintlyCollects/Instagram (left image))Andres Fernandez had a dream. And eventually, he made it come true.When Fernandez enrolled in college, he was not entirely sure what he wanted to do. He was studying business, but the degree felt clich to him. More importantly, he had joined college largely because his mother had asked him to.After just one semester, he decided to drop out.Instead of pursuing a business degree, Fernandez chose a very different path: becoming a full-time Pokemon card seller. What started as an interest in Pokemon eventually turned into a multimillion-dollar business, MintlyCollects, as reported by Business Insider. A $5 POKEMON PACK GAVE HIM AN IDEAFernandez had been playing Pokemon games since he was 10 years old, but he was never a serious card collector. That changed when he wanted to buy a gift for his cousin.He went to Target and picked up some Pokemon cards. When they opened the pack together, Fernandez pulled a card worth around $100 from a $5 pack. That moment changed how he looked at Pokemon cards. He started buying more packs and collecting cards. At the time, however, Fernandez was working at a croqueta bar, where he was earning around $10 an hour.He was spending more and more money on Pokemon cards, so he decided to find a way to make money from his interests. He began creating content around Pokemon cards, as reported by Business Insider.FROM 30,000 FOLLOWERS TO LIVE SELLINGFernandez's online following gradually grew. Eventually, he built an account with around 30,000 followers and started selling Pokemon cards through Instagram Live.That was when Whatnot, a live-shopping marketplace, reached out to him. In late 2020, when Whatnot was just starting its Pokemon category, Fernandez became one of the first five Pokemon streamers on the platform.What began as a side hustle was now becoming a serious business opportunity.HE DID EVERYTHING HIMSELF IN THE BEGINNINGThe early days were far from glamorous. Fernandez handled almost everything himself. He streamed six days a week, packed orders, and shipped them to customers. He was learning how to run a business while simultaneously trying to keep it alive.He also did not pay himself for the first two and a half years.Fernandez had no formal roadmap for running a business full time. Instead, he learnt through experience, mistakes and trial and error. Eventually, he decided to take an even bigger risk.HE INVESTED $150,000Fernandez made his first major sealed-product investment by putting $150,000 into Pokemon cards. It was a significant gamble for someone who had built the business from scratch.To make the investment possible, he turned to friends and family and offered them a commission on the profits, as reported by Business Insider. The gamble eventually paid off and helped Fernandez scale the business further.Today, his operation looks very different from the one-man business he started with.He now has 10 streamers working with him. One account streams for around 20 hours a day, while another streams for around 15 hours a day, with both accounts operating simultaneously.FROM $3.7 MILLION IN SALES TO $7.8 MILLIONThe growth of Fernandez's business can be seen in its sales figures. In 2024, the business generated around $3.7 million in sales. A year later, that figure more than doubled to $7.8 million in 2025, as reported by Business Insider.The business is growing further in 2026 and is currently on track to generate between $10 million and $11 million in sales, according to the report.For Fernandez, the journey has been less about following a conventional career path and more about learning how to build something of his own.HIS ADVICE TO STUDENTSLooking back at his journey, Fernandez believes that comfort does not necessarily lead to success. He told Business Insider that students should take internships more seriously, work more, and focus on gaining real-world experience.Fernandez also acknowledged the personal sacrifices he made while building his company. He went for years without paying himself, particularly during the first two and a half years of the business.He believes the idea that young people can simply “go with the flow” and everything will eventually work out belongs to a different era.According to Fernandez, that approach may have worked in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, but the current job and business landscape is different.In his own experience, he believes, is proof that young people need to actively build skills, gain experience, and create opportunities rather than simply wait for them.Despite building a business that is now generating millions of dollars in sales, Fernandez does not see his current success as a guarantee that everything will always work out.He told Business Insider that even if his business failed today, he would find a way to build something else. For him, that is simply how he sees life. The college dropout who once worked for $10 an hour at a croqueta bar now runs a multimillion-dollar Pokemon card business.And his biggest lesson may not be about Pokemon cards at all: build something, learn from the experience, and be ready to start again if it doesn't work.- EndsPublished By: Karan YadavPublished On: Aug 30, 2026 11:47 IST