Original Article Title: Ryan Cohen: From Chewy to GameStop
Original Article Author: Thejaswini M A

Original Article Translation: Luffy, Foresight News

Ryan Cohen strikes again, with his signature move of acting swiftly, without warning, explanation, or permission.

On a Tuesday in May 2025, buried in a routine disclosure in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that most investors overlooked, a few words quietly appeared in GameStop's 8-K form: "Purchased a total of 4,710 Bitcoins."

The CEO who led a nearly bankrupt video game retailer to a stunning recovery has just plunged over $500 million of the company's cash into Bitcoin. No press release, no investor conference call, just the bare minimum required by law.

When BTC Inc's David Bailey posed the question everyone was asking to Cohen, his answer shattered months of speculation.

"Did GameStop buy Bitcoin?"

"Yes. We currently own 4,710 Bitcoins."

And just like that, Cohen, in his typical understated manner, turned GameStop into the world's 14th largest corporate holder of Bitcoin — much like he did when he transformed Chewy from nothing to a $3.35 billion unicorn.

Anyone who follows him would not be surprised. It was this man's involvement that inspired millions of retail investors to short some of Wall Street's most established hedge funds. He turned a company many so-called experts thought was destined to fail into one that defied all traditional valuation models.

From a college dropout selling pet food online to a business disruptor, Cohen's journey began as a teenager in Florida, understanding that the best opportunities lie where others have given up.

From Dropout Teen to Business Disruptor

Ryan Cohen's entrepreneurial journey began long before he reached the legal driving age.

Cohen was born in Montreal in 1986. His mother was a teacher, and his father, Ted Cohen, ran a glassware import company. When he was young, the whole family moved to Coral Springs, Florida. At the age of 15, Cohen started his own business, collecting referral fees from various e-commerce websites.

By the time he was 16, his business had expanded from simple referrals to more organized e-commerce operations. While most people thought the internet was just a passing fad, he already deeply understood the essence of e-commerce.

His father, Ted, became his most important mentor, teaching him about delayed gratification, professional ethics, and the importance of viewing business relationships as long-term partnerships. Eventually, Cohen decided to drop out of the University of Florida and fully commit to his business. He had proven his ability to acquire customers and generate revenue, and university was just a detour from his mission.

The Pet Food Revolution

In 2011, the e-commerce space was dominated by Amazon, and most entrepreneurs shied away from direct competition. However, at the age of 25, Cohen chose to engage in "non-confrontational competition."

Cohen didn't try to beat Amazon in product selection or logistics but found an area where customer relationships were more important than operational efficiency: pet supplies. Pet owners care about their "family members," not just about buying products. They need advice, empathy, and an understanding that "a pet getting sick is not just a hassle but a crisis."

The core idea of Chewy was simple: combining Amazon's logistics with Zappos' customer service philosophy to create a personalized experience for pet owners. The company sold pet supplies online, but more importantly, it built relationships with customers beyond individual transactions.

The early execution was well-organized and customer-centric. Chewy's customer service team not only processed orders but also sent handwritten holiday cards, customized pet portraits for loyal customers, and sent flowers when beloved pets passed away. These services were costly and difficult to scale. Below is a widely circulated tweet:

But building emotional connections did not bring immediate returns. In the first two years, Cohen faced a challenge that would cause most startups to fail: no one was willing to invest in a pet food company competing with Amazon.

One Hundred Rejections

Pitch meetings are torment for entrepreneurs. Between 2011 and 2013, Cohen contacted over 100 venture capital firms, explaining why pet supplies represented a huge opportunity for a customer-centric company. Most VCs saw it as: a company founded by a college dropout with no traditional business experience trying to carve out a niche in a small market dominated by an unbeatable competitor.

The turning point came in 2013 when Volition Capital provided a $15 million Series A funding. This funding enabled Cohen to scale Chewy's operations while maintaining its customer-centric corporate culture. By 2016, the company received investments from Belvedere and T. Rowe Price Group, with annual sales reaching $900 million.

Chewy boasted a very high customer retention rate, continuously increasing average order value, and most importantly, customers who became advocates recommending the service to other pet owners.

By 2018, Chewy's annual revenue had reached $3.5 billion, and it was preparing for an IPO. It was then that PetSmart made a $3.35 billion acquisition offer to Chewy, marking the largest e-commerce acquisition at the time. At 31 years old, Cohen became a multi-millionaire but chose to leave Chewy to focus on his family.

Halftime at Home

In 2018, at the peak of his career, Ryan Cohen made a decision that puzzled the business world.

He stepped down from his position as CEO of Chewy to be with his pregnant wife and prepare for fatherhood. He bid a final farewell to the company he had spent seven years building. Cohen had achieved financial independence and intended to use that freedom to savor the most important moments of his personal life.

He sold off most of his Chewy shares, focusing on being a husband and father. For someone who had been focused on growth and competition since his teenage years, transitioning to family life might have been challenging. However, Cohen embraced it wholeheartedly.

Even during this period dedicated to family, he remained an active investor. His portfolio included Apple Inc. (of which he held 1.55 million shares, becoming one of the largest individual shareholders), Wells Fargo, and other blue-chip companies.

The family foundation he and his wife Stephanie established supported education, animal welfare, and other charitable causes.

This hiatus lasted for three years until he discovered GameStop.

GameStop Gamble

In September 2020, when most investors saw GameStop as a struggling brick-and-mortar retailer on the brink of collapse, being choked by digital downloads and streaming services, Ryan Cohen saw something different: a company with a strong brand presence and a loyal customer base, yet a management that did not know how to leverage these two assets.

Cohen's investment firm, RC Ventures, has disclosed that it holds nearly 10% of this struggling electronic game retailer, becoming the company's largest shareholder. This move has puzzled Wall Street analysts, as they can't understand why someone as experienced as Cohen would invest in an "outdated" retail company.

Cohen believes that GameStop is not just a retail chain but also a cultural landmark in the gaming community. Its customers are passionate enthusiasts of gaming culture, collectibles, and social experiences, willing to pay a premium for emotional connection.

The issue lies in the management viewing the company as a traditional retailer rather than a community-driven platform.

In January 2021, Cohen joined GameStop's board, triggering a frenzy of purchases by retail investors. Within two weeks, GameStop's stock price surged by 1500%, creating one of the most famous short squeeze events in market history.

While financial media focused on the "meme stock" phenomenon and the battle between retail investors and hedge funds, Cohen focused on more fundamental change.

Cohen's rebuilding of GameStop mirrors how he founded Chewy.

When he took over, "the company was a mess, deeply in the red."

He first ousted the leadership team. Ten board members departed, replaced by executives truly knowledgeable in e-commerce from Amazon and Chewy. If you want to compete in the digital space, you need experienced talent.

Next was cost-cutting. Cohen trimmed all inefficient elements: redundant positions, underperforming stores, expensive consulting fees, but retained all customer-centric parts. The goal was to maintain profitability even as sales declined.

Let's look at the specific data changes before and after Cohen took over GameStop:

Cohen took over a $5.1 billion revenue company with over $2 billion in annual losses. After three years of systemic restructuring, in 2023-2024, he successfully led GameStop to its first-ever profit. Despite a 25% revenue shrinkage due to store closures, he still raised the gross margin by 440 basis points and transformed a $215 million annual loss into a $131 million profit. This proves that even smaller-scale companies can bring significant profitability.

His bet was placed on digital transformation. Brick-and-mortar stores will survive, but only the best will thrive. The future of GameStop lies online, serving gamers with not just video games but also collectibles, trading cards, merchandise, anything related to gaming culture. Cohen also stockpiled cash and gained the power to make strategic investments. On September 28, 2023, he took on the role of CEO while continuing as chairman. His salary is zero. His compensation is entirely tied to the stock price, meaning he will only be rewarded when shareholders profit.

Next came the cryptocurrency bet.

GameStop made its first foray into the cryptocurrency space, showcasing the prospects and risks of implementing emerging technologies.

In July 2022, the company launched an NFT marketplace focused on game-related digital collectibles. Initial results seemed promising: over $3.5 million in transaction volume within the first 48 hours indicated a genuine demand for gaming NFTs.

However, the collapse of the NFT market was swift and brutal. Sales plummeted from $77.4 million in 2022 to a mere $2.8 million in 2023. Citing "cryptocurrency regulatory uncertainty," GameStop halted its crypto wallet service in November 2023 and shut down its NFT trading feature in February 2024.

This failure could have spelled the end of GameStop's cryptocurrency venture. Yet, Cohen took away valuable lessons and devised a more mature digital asset strategy.

Bitcoin Bet

May 28, 2025. Amid the market frenzy over the Fed's policy, GameStop quietly purchased 4,710 bitcoins worth $513 million.

Cohen's rationale remained as meticulous as ever:

If this argument is correct, then Bitcoin and gold can serve as hedges against global currency devaluation and systemic risk. Bitcoin boasts some unique advantages over gold: portability, as it can be instantly transferred globally, while gold has a large volume and extremely high transportation costs. Its authenticity can be instantly verified through the blockchain. You can securely store Bitcoin in a wallet with ease, whereas gold requires costly insurance. There's also the scarcity factor; Bitcoin's supply is fixed, while with gold, technological advances mean supply remains uncertain.

This move positioned GameStop as the 14th largest Bitcoin corporate holder.

The company funded its Bitcoin purchase not from its core capital but through convertible bonds, while still maintaining a robust cash reserve of over $4 billion. This strategy reflects a diversified and cautious approach, rather than an all-in bet: positioning Bitcoin as a secondary bet rather than a core business.

“GameStop follows GameStop's strategy, we do not follow anyone else's strategy.”

After the news was announced, GameStop's stock price fell, and Cohen seemed unfazed.

On June 25, GameStop raised an additional $450 million through the exercise of the greenshoe option, bringing the total amount raised through the convertible bond issuance to $2.7 billion.

The greenshoe option is a provision in the issuance agreement that allows underwriters to issue up to an additional 15% of shares beyond the original plan in case of strong demand. Exercising this option gives the company the opportunity to raise more funds while helping stabilize the post-issuance stock price. For GameStop, this means issuing more convertible bonds to increase the total fundraising amount.

This fund will be used for “general corporate purposes and for investing in a manner that is consistent with GameStop’s investment policy,” which explicitly includes purchasing Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

Cohen has a “ape army.” Perhaps the most unusual part of Cohen's GameStop story is the millions of retail investors who refuse to sell.

They call themselves “apes” and their behavior is drastically different from ordinary stock investors. They do not trade based on earnings reports or analyst ratings. They hold the stock because they believe in Cohen's vision and want to see what the future holds.

This is “patient capital” rarely seen in the public markets. Cohen can focus on long-term strategy without worrying about quarterly fluctuations, as his core investor base is not easily swayed.

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