Ohio-based businessman Robert Croak has an estimated net worth of $15 million. He is the head of BCP Imports which distributes Silly Bandz, the rubber bands made of silicone rubber which are formed into shapes of animals, objects, numbers, and letters.

Mr. Croak was visiting Japan when he saw a Japanese product which is a more environmentally friendly version of the rubber band. Its original shapes were created in 2002 by the Japanese design team Passkey Design, Yumiko Ohashi and Masonar Haneda. He brought the product to US which was repackaged as toys. This gave birth to the Silly Bandz craze.

The silicone rubber bands are sold under the brand name Animal Rubber Bands. The first sets were sold online in November 2008. The first retail store to stock Silly Bandz was Learning Express in Birmingham, Alabama in 2009. It has won the Best Design award during the Japanese National Competition in 2003.