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A rock sold as a pet. A website made of pixels. Sunglasses for dogs. These ideas seemed ridiculous when they were launched, but they went on to make millions for their creators.
News18
Most people imagine that multi-million dollar companies start with brilliant inventions, cutting-edge technology, or years of careful planning.
But sometimes the idea of changing someone’s life is surprisingly simple. A rock sold as a pet. A website made entirely of pixels. Sunglasses for dogs. Even the toilet footstool.
At first, many of these ideas were ridiculed or dismissed as gimmicks. However, they struck a chord with consumers, went viral and ended up making millions of dollars. Here are 10 strange, unexpected, and downright bizarre ideas that have turned ordinary people into millionaires.
1. Word
Josh Wardle created Wordle as a simple word game for his partner without a big business plan in mind. Then millions of people started sharing their results online every day, turning it into a global obsession. Just a few months later, the New York Times bought the game for a low seven-figure sum.
2. Dubai Chocolate
It was just a chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and crunchy pastry. Then TikTok discovered him. The videos have garnered millions of views, stores have sold out, and copycats have sprung up around the world. What started as a local product has helped turn a small chocolate factory in Dubai into a global sensation.
3. Pete Rock
Gary Dahl’s million dollar idea was an absolute rock. He placed ordinary rocks in cardboard boxes, called them pets, and included a humorous instruction manual. More than 1.5 million of the pet rocks were sold within months, making him a millionaire from one of the strangest products ever created.
4. Squatting potty
Most people don’t expect toilet footstools to become a popular business. But a bizarre ad campaign featuring a unicorn turned Squatty Potty into a viral hit. The company went on to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
5. Poo mullet
Selling toilet spray doesn’t sound glamorous. However, founder Susie Pattiz has built a business around helping people avoid embarrassing bathroom odors. Its viral, funny videos and a product that people actually wanted helped turn Poo-Pourri into a company that reportedly generates more than $100 million a year.
6. Cards Against Humanity
A group of friends created a card game filled with offensive jokes and silly humor. They never expected it to become a cultural phenomenon. Instead, it became one of the most successful party games in the world and generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
7. Million Dollar Home
In 2005, student Alex Teo needed money for university, so he came up with a strange plan. He created a web page containing a million pixels and sold each pixel for $1. Advertisers loved the novelty and Teo earned exactly $1 million.
8. Liquid death
Mike Cesario took one of the most mundane products imaginable – water – and packaged it like a heavy metal album. The result was Liquid Death, a canned water brand that looks more like beer than bottled water. What many assumed was a joke is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
9. Dogs
The dog sunglasses looked like something invented for a comedy sketch. However, pet owners have embraced the idea, especially those with active dogs exposed to sun, wind and dust. Doggles has grown into a global brand and multi-million dollar company.
10. Fart jars
Few business ideas sound more ridiculous than selling jars supposedly filled with your farts. Reality TV personality Stephanie Matto did just that, and the Internet couldn’t look away. She claimed that the project generated more than $200,000 before she eventually stopped for health reasons.
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