Internet's CatGPT's landline-style phone goes viral; ‘Zillennial’ founder generates $280,000 selling Bluetooth 'landlines' to combat screen time

Cat Goetze, a tech founder known online as "CatGPT," has turned a personal quest for nostalgia into a six-figure business, banking on a generation’s desire to disconnect. According to a report by CNBC Make It, Goetze’s startup, Physical Phones, generated $120,000 in sales in its first three days after going viral on social media in July 2025. By the end of October, the business had sold over 3,000 units, totaling $280,000 in revenue. The product—a retro-styled handset that looks like a traditional landline but connects to smartphones via Bluetooth—was born out of Goetze’s desire to reduce her own screen time without sacrificing connectivity.Two years ago, Goetze sought to replace her smartphone usage with something "low-tech." However, she discovered that installing a true landline in her apartment was both expensive and logistically difficult."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," Goetze told CNBC Make It. "That just felt nostalgic and chic to me."Taking matters into her own hands, Goetze "hijacked" a thrifted landline phone and engineered it to be Bluetooth compatible. For two years, the pink clamshell device served as her primary communication hub at home, allowing her to take calls and even buzz guests into her building.When she finally unveiled the device to her social media audience in July 2025, she anticipated a modest response, setting up a shop hoping for 15 to 20 pre-orders she could build manually. Instead, the demand was instantaneous."It literally felt like we had captured lightning in a bottle," she told the CNBC.Physical Phones are currently available in five styles ranging from $90 to $110. While Goetze originally built them by hand, she has since partnered with an electronics manufacturer, with the first major batches shipping this December.The devices function as an extension of a user’s smartphone:Connectivity: Pairs with iPhone and Android via Bluetooth.Incoming Calls: The device rings for standard calls as well as audio/video calls from apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, and Snapchat.Outgoing Calls: Users can dial numbers directly or use the star key (*) to activate voice assistants (like Siri or Google Assistant) to dial contacts by name.Cat Goetze has two Instagram posts where she shares details of her phone.First Instagram PostR u reading this caption because the video started to get boring?Ur gonna check the comments next huh?It’s ok.That’s your brain looking for more rustling leaves in the Savannah.If that doesn’t make sense, you just haven’t gotten far enough in the video yet.Force 1= tech companies. They get paid more $ the longer you stay here, so they wanna hook u. Bad.Force 2= about two thousand centuries of evolution. Your brain is hardwired to reward noticing novel, unexpected things. Your feed is a FLOOD of novel, unexpected things. The rewards feel so good, it almost feels like a trance-like state.Dont feel bad. We all have monkey brains. How do u think we got here?!!!But u can protect ur monkey brain. In the next video I’ll explain 3 tricks I used to get off of social media for 5 years.Second Instagram PostI’m committed to bringing down my screen time this year but I know I need to be reachable in case of emergency. Also, living out my nostalgic 90s dream is very important to me.YES it takes FaceTime Audio and WhatsApp calls.YES it works with AndroidNO, you will not know who’s calling. Like the olden days.YES they are the coolest cutest things ever.