Demand for Wag-N-Bag rolls back, co-founders say; portable game wagon just needs a second push

It’s back to the crowdfunding starting line for Kansas City-tossed Wag-N-Bag, as the yard game startup rolls out an expanded product and launches its second attempt at a critical campaign. 

“It’s going to get us to the next level,” Brad Hull, co-founder, said of the company’s recently launched Kickstarter campaign, which aims to secure $10,000 for its convertible cornhole wagons — cash that will be crucial in fully realizing the company and its desire to disrupt social game play. 

Click here to back the Wag-N-Bag Kickstarter campaign as it works to reach its goal over the next three weeks. 

Tyler Hull and Brad Hull, Wag-N-Bag

“After scraping together the money we needed for a production run, we quickly sold out — so we knew the demand was there.”

Instead of a full-on launch, Hull and his Austin, Texas-based brother, Tyler Hull, co-founder, turned to selling the game wagons on Etsy, where they’ve grown to sell-out popularity among tailgaters and outdoor entertainers, he said. 

“We found ourselves in a similar situation [as when we started],” said the Overland Park entrepreneur, who also is marketing manager for Kansas City-based SFA Companies, a leader in hydraulic lift equipment. “There’s this demand there, we sold through [our inventory] — but, when you need dollars for marketing and putting more content out there, we don’t have enough money to keep producing.”

With hopes of large-scale partnerships on the line, the brothers have turned back to crowdfunding in hopes of being able to realize an expanded product — now offering customers wagon accessories that include games like washers and beer pong — they can show to potential investors and wholesale customers. 

“At this point we’re really just trying to spread the word and get in front of people, to sell them a product that is quality made,” Hull said, noting increased Etsy sales amid the pandemic served as further motivation for putting the product back on display with Kickstarter. 

Click here to shop the Hull brothers’ Etsy shop and its array of outdoor games. 

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How’d it start?

“The idea hit us while tailgating at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City,” said Wag-N-Bag co-founder Brad Hull. “We saw a lot of people struggling to carry their coolers, chairs, grills, etc. We also noticed almost everybody was playing Bags or Cornhole. So we thought … ‘Why not combine the two?’”

Click here to read more about how Wag-N-Bag was created.

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Returning to Kickstarter wasn’t an easy decision, Hull acknowledged.

“For other companies it’s kind of like, ‘If you do it once and it works, great,’ you’re not going back to that platform again. But we felt like we did learn [a lot,]’” he said. 

“People are at home shopping for games, they’re bored. So it’s kind of been — I wouldn’t say a perfect storm, obviously, it’s a terrible situation — but I’d say there’s a lot of people seeking games out right now.”

The company’s values could help position Wag-N-Bag for further success, Hull added. 

“There’s a lot of games out there, but I think people — on Etsy especially — seek out quality-made, hand-crafted stuff and — being a family-owned business — it’s definitely helped us get a huge spike in sales,” he said of the effort’s strengths and hopes Wag-N-Bag could become a household name as more people return to sporting events and outdoor gatherings grow larger and less distant. 

“We’ve built it from the ground up and [we hope people] see the perseverance and the ‘Never say die’ attitude. We could have given up a long time ago, but based on people’s reactions … we know there’s a demand there. We just need some help with that next step.”