Which business idea do you think was so ridiculous that it feels absurd how much money it made?
I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way or anything like that, but throughout my life, I’ve come across (and I’m sure you have too) several products whose actual usefulness wasn’t exactly impressive, but their creators still made a huge amount of money.
For me, for example, it was:
Fidget spinners (2017). At the peak, the global market was estimated at hundreds of millions to over $1 billion.
Metaverse land (2021) – valuation could be for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars each, with the overall market reaching hundreds of millions during the peak hype cycle. I bought one too. :D (actually was scammed).
Pet Rock (1975) – the creator became a millionaire within a few months.
Can you recall similar products (maybe new ones between 2020 and 2026) that were ridiculous but earned a lot of money?
P.S.: We, marketers, call these types of products "Fads."
Replies
ProdShort
Million Dollar Homepage 💰 Selling pixels on a page sounded completely ridiculous, until every pixel sold out and it made $1M 😂
@amraniyasser Oh my 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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@amraniyasser I have never heard about this, but funny. I know about the app that is just a simple icon of a diamond, and it costs $1k – just to flex you have that money :D https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Rich
I really don't understand how a to-do list can make so much money. It is like a simple to-do list which you can even track in Notepad also but still they are a million-dollar business and it is really easy to build. Also with the new AI agents we can really easily build a to-do list but still people are using it so I just don't understand this concept
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@nayan_surya98 Yeah, and think about that, people spend huge money just booking someone's time (e.g. Cal). I have seen one post on X, and it had the same narrative as these comments. Definitely inspired me to open this topic.
@nayan_surya98 @busmark_w_nika I still think about fidget spinners sometimes. It felt like overnight everyone had one, and then suddenly no one cared anymore. The speed of that rise and fall was wild to me .
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@nayan_surya98 @anil_yadav38 That idea took like 6months to be used. Can bet that no one is using it now, people forgot :D
Dogecoin reaching a $90 billion market cap is the one that still doesn't make sense to me — it literally started as a joke based on a meme, and at its peak it was worth more than most Fortune 500 companies.
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@farrukh_butt1 Many people have earned money, but many have lost. But in general, my aunt told me about crypto "it is scam anyway." :D
@busmark_w_nikaHonestly, your aunt might be onto something — when you can't explain why something has value beyond 'because everyone believes it does,' it starts to sound less like investing and more like a very organized group delusion.
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@farrukh_butt1 aren't paper dollars and digit numbers in the account the same? :D They are not backed by gold as they used to be. Everything works on our trust :D
@busmark_w_nika Fair point, the whole system runs on collective belief. The difference is governments can enforce trust with laws and taxes. Crypto has to earn it fresh every day.
The Stanley drinking cups. They look so ridiculous and somehow they convinced so many people to buy them and walk around anywhere with them when they're just expensive, large drinking bottles 🤣
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@ruxandra_mazilu €20 for that? :D No way, I am okay with my bottle for €0.10 :DDD
@busmark_w_nika ikr!!!
The TikTok lip liner hit $46M because the algorithm surfaces it to millions instantly. Suddenly, it's a cultural signal, not a product. Stanley cups the same way.
Dogecoin and metaverse land are different, though. There's no actual utility underneath, it's pure identity play. The cycle extracts value until sentiment collapses and there's nothing left.
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@arun_tamang Well, but at least, it has some aesthetic value, for many beauty influencers it is important :D
Scrub Daddy the smiley face sponge with eye holes for your fingers, and a mouth for cleaning spoons. Current valuation is over $250 Million which is just crazy to be honest but I see the appeal lol
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@minhajulll I searched for that on Google. I find it cute :D