- By Prateek Levi
- Mon, 01 Dec 2025 05:28 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
While the world is moving in a direction where tech innovations are a thing that we get to see every other day, and while the world of smartphones is moving in a direction where the form factor and design are getting sleeker and slimmer and touchscreens are all the frenzy, there is something in the market right now that just came out recently which is changing the way the conventional market functions.
Yes, screen times have become a point of pain, with most of us getting glued to our screens for hours throughout the night or day, and reflecting upon that, a tech founder thought of something that would have helped her reduce her own screen time. This attempt, although, turned out to be quite profitable for her and has already made the tech founder $120,000 (1 crore approx.) in just three days. Let's take a look at her story.
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Cat Goetze, better known online as CatGPT, reached a point two years ago where constant smartphone use felt overwhelming. She longed for the simplicity and charm of old landline conversations. The idea of twirling a phone cord and chatting with friends felt nostalgic in a way modern devices could not match. “I was kind of just sitting around [thinking] it’d be so cute if we still had landline phones and you could twirl the cord and talk with your friends. That just felt nostalgic and chic to me,” she told CNBC Make It.
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Once she realised setting up an actual landline meant paying for a new number and a fresh connection, she decided to build her own version. She found a thrifted pink clamshell handset, modified the internal wiring, and made it Bluetooth compatible. The retro device transformed into a functional conversation piece in her apartment. She could buzz people into her building from it and make outgoing calls directly from the handset. The quirky mix of vintage design and modern utility quickly became part of her daily routine.
In July 2025, she finally revealed the creation online. The reaction arrived instantly. Hundreds of users asked for one, turning what she expected to be a small project into a full business. She launched an online shop, anticipating only a handful of preorders. Instead, her brand, now called Physical Phones, recorded 120,000 dollars in sales in just three days. By the end of October, she had sold more than three thousand units, with total revenue crossing 280,000 dollars. “It literally felt like we had captured lightning in a bottle,” she said.
Physical Phones currently offers five handset styles priced between 90 and 110 dollars. CNBC Make It reports that Goetze has partnered with a manufacturer to scale production, with the first official batches shipping from December. The devices connect to iPhones and Android phones through Bluetooth and ring for incoming calls on WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram and Snapchat. Users can place calls by dialling manually or by pressing the star key to activate the phone’s voice assistant.
Goetze believes the demand represents a broader pushback against digital overload. The pandemic increased smartphone dependency, but she says people are now searching for ways to reclaim their attention. “Our attention spans are shorter. We feel more anxious. We’re less present and unable to enjoy our lives. We’re going through a total loneliness epidemic,” she said. People, she added, are “starting to put their foot down and realise, ‘You know what, I actually don’t want this, and I’m going to go ahead and choose a different future.’”
She is not against technology but wants to find a healthier balance. “What brings us sustainable forms of energy and vaccines and a bunch of really good things for the world, but it’s like, OK, how do we live in harmony with it?” she said.