I’d like to say a little non-religious prayer for all the business ideas that could’ve been. You know the ones – those ripper concepts you come up with approx. 10 minutes before you fall asleep, feeling pretty darn positive that you’ll remember what it was come morning.
IF ONLY.
You probably forgot that you even had an idea by the time you’ve woken up, let alone what it actually was. Oh, the millions of dollars that could’ve been made. Oh, the ways we could’ve changed the game.
Be inspired, below, by people who probably wrote down their idea in the middle of the night, and then you can proceed going through life hating yourself for not doing the same. They’re lapping up the $$$ while you’re, you know, sleeping.
SHIPYOURENEMIESGLITTER.COM
Photo: Shipyourenemiesglitter.com.
Annyoing people you hate is a pretty basic concept, but one guy found a way to monetise it and tbh, we’ll forever look up to him. Back in 2015 regular dude Mathew Carpenter (then 22) came up with the idea to help people send glitter bombs to their enemies – if you’ve ever dropped glitter you’ll understand the frustration.
He reckons he copped $20,000 from orders within the first couple of hours, and then sold the business for $85,000 just weeks later. We can’t imagine the overheads would’ve been too high either, so this, friends, is a job well bloody done. Check it HERE if you’re so inclined.
THE HAMDOG
Photo: Facebook / Hamdog.
The hamdog – literally a hamburger and a hotdog combined – was laughed at when its inventor, Mark Murray, presented it on ‘Shark Tank Australia‘ in 2015.
Since then he’s turned down a $5 million offer from an Aussie company, has gotten stocked in over 8,000 7-Eleven stores in South Korea (if the product’s verified Facebook page is to be believed) and has been praised as a hero across US media, namely because this product is so bloody American it’s not even funny. I’m yet to try it but like, wouldn’t say no.
THE PET ROCK
Photo: Pet Rock.
A pet rock might just be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of but for some reason or another, people love giving dumb presents. The concept of the “Pet Rock” – a $3.95 gag – made it’s inventor Gary Dahl a millionaire essentially overnight back in 1975 (he passed away in 2016) and within the first six months he made an estimated profit of $15million. If that’s not inspiration then I don’t know what is.
THE SNUGGIE
Photo: Facebook / Snuggie Blanket.
Snuggie’s inventor Scott Boilen is worth USD $200 million, which isn’t surprising after he sold 20 million units in its first year alone. The thing with the Snuggie is, there were other products before it which were essentially the same thing. So how did it make more than its predecessors? Owning how tacky it truly was via marketing and advertising, probably.
To help see more cray and downright clever ideas come to life, vote for your fave entry at the NESCAFÉ HEADSTART comp before Monday 26th June HERE. The winner – across a category of ‘people’, ‘planet’ or ‘progress’ will receive $15K to make their idea a reality. Plus, it’s a good way to encourage y’all to move forward with your own crafty inventions.
