Author’s comment :
There are some businesses that no one thinks can exist.
I decided to write this post to prove to the audience that any business worked long enough on can actually bring profit and prosperity.
I am sharing the business, because it would help you understand the power of the time that is required to invest in something to make it work.
Obviously it also starts with understanding your worth and worth your time.
Research :
1. Professional Cuddling Services
The Strange Idea: Paying a trained professional for a session of strictly non-sexual, platonic cuddling and companionship.
How It Functions: Professional cuddling operates as a therapeutic service where clients book sessions, typically by the hour, with a "professional cuddler." These practitioners are often independent contractors or sole proprietors who list their services on dedicated platforms that connect them with potential clients. The entire business model is built upon a foundation of clear, unshakeable boundaries. Before any session begins, both client and cuddler agree to a strict code of conduct that explicitly forbids any sexual contact, ensuring the environment remains safe and therapeutic.
Operationally, successful cuddlers run their practice like any other small business. They establish hourly rates, which can be substantial, and manage their own finances, often using separate bank accounts to track income and expenses. They utilize modern payment systems like Venmo, PayPal, or Square to handle transactions electronically. A critical and non-negotiable operational cost is liability insurance. Because the profession is still novel, practitioners often seek coverage from specialized insurers like Beauty & Bodywork Insurance or the Hands On Trade Association, which have assessed the unique risks of "cuddle therapy".
What Makes It Profitable: The profitability of professional cuddling stems from its ability to address a genuine, and growing, societal need within a high-margin business structure. The service directly targets what experts call "touch deprivation," a condition affecting millions in an increasingly disconnected world. Scientific studies have shown that meaningful physical contact releases oxytocin, a hormone that reduces stress and can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. By offering a safe and structured way to meet this biological need, the industry taps into a powerful and underserved market.
This niche exists within the colossal global wellness economy, a market valued at over $4.5 trillion. The therapeutic services segment, which includes professional cuddling, is one of its fastest-growing components and is projected to reach $77 billion globally by 2025. The business model is inherently high-margin; as a service-based enterprise, the primary cost is the practitioner's time. With low overhead—consisting mainly of insurance, marketing, and platform fees—the gross profit margins are estimated to be around an extraordinary 90%.
The very existence of a profitable market for professional cuddling signals a profound societal shift. As traditional community and family structures that once provided consistent physical and emotional support have weakened for many individuals, a vacuum has emerged—a market demand for platonic touch. The genius of the business model lies in its ability to professionalize and de-sexualize intimacy. It reframes the act of cuddling as a legitimate wellness service, complete with contracts, codes of conduct, and insurance. This structured framework transforms a service that would otherwise be socially ambiguous, or even taboo, into a safe and marketable therapeutic practice. The key innovation, and the source of its profitability, is not merely selling hugs; it is the creation of a legitimate, professional context in which those hugs can be sold.
2. Rent-A-Friend
The Strange Idea: Hiring a platonic "friend" for an hourly rate to serve as a companion for events, a local tour guide, or simply someone to talk to.
How It Functions: Rent-A-Friend operates not as a direct service provider but as a marketplace platform that connects two distinct user groups. On one side are the "Friends," individuals who sign up for free, create a profile detailing their interests and availability, and set their own hourly rates, which typically range from $10 to $50. On the other side are the "Members," or clients, who pay a recurring monthly membership fee—for example, $39.99—to gain access to the platform's database of Friends.
Once a Member pays the subscription fee, they can browse profiles and contact potential Friends directly through the site. From that point on, the platform's role is complete. All negotiations regarding the activity, duration, and payment occur directly between the Member and the Friend. Crucially, the Friend keeps 100% of the money they earn from the interaction; the platform takes no commission from their earnings. The service caters to a surprisingly diverse array of needs beyond simple loneliness, including travelers seeking a local to show them around, professionals needing a "plus-one" for a corporate function, or people wanting a partner for a hobby like hiking or attending a concert.
What Makes It Profitable: The business model of Rent-A-Friend is exceptionally profitable due to its low overhead and scalable platform structure. The company's core asset—its database of "Friends"—is entirely user-generated and costs nothing to acquire or maintain. This is a zero-cost inventory model. The company's revenue comes exclusively from the subscription fees paid by Members, creating a predictable, recurring income stream with extremely high profit margins. Annual earnings for the platform can range from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on the number of active members.
The distinction between Rent-A-Friend's model and that of a service like professional cuddling is fundamental to understanding its profitability. Rent-A-Friend does not employ anyone as a "Friend." It does not manage schedules, process payments for services rendered, or assume liability for the interactions themselves. Its product is not "friendship"; its product is access. By charging clients for access to a database and allowing the service providers (the Friends) to join for free, the company has created a classic two-sided marketplace. This structure allows the business to scale globally with minimal marginal cost. Adding another thousand Friends to the database costs virtually nothing, but each new paying Member adds directly to the bottom line. The profitability lies not in providing a service, but in building and monetizing a network that facilitates connections. In essence, Rent-A-Friend operates more like a social media or technology company than a traditional service business.
3. Virtual Dating Assistants (VIDA Select)
The Strange Idea: Hiring a team of remote experts to completely take over and manage every aspect of your online dating life, from writing your profile to swiping on matches and conducting conversations on your behalf.
How It Functions: Virtual Dating Assistants (VIDA) Select offers a full-service, done-for-you online dating solution. Clients, who are predominantly busy, affluent men, pay a high-ticket monthly subscription fee that can range from $495 to $1,695 or more. In return, a dedicated team of specialists commandeers their dating apps. The process is highly systematized. "Matchmakers" sift through platforms like Tinder, Bumble, and Match.com, sending out mass-produced, copy-and-pasted opening lines that have been A/B tested and optimized for high response rates.
Once a conversation is initiated, a "Closer" takes over. This specialist's job is to impersonate the client, carry on the flirtatious banter, and convert the conversation into a phone number or a scheduled date. The entire operation is data-driven; messages are logged, response rates are analyzed, and effective lines are cataloged in a shared database for reuse. The client is largely uninvolved until the final stage, at which point they are alerted to a secured phone number or a date that has been arranged on their behalf. All they have to do is show up.
What Makes It Profitable: VIDA's profitability is built on a combination of a high-priced subscription model, a highly efficient and scalable workflow, and solving a significant pain point for a specific, affluent demographic. The target market consists of what the company internally refers to as "Cash Cows"—often younger men in high-powered finance or tech jobs who value their time immensely and are willing to pay a premium to outsource the "labor and tedium of online dating".
The key to the model's scalability is its treatment of romance as a form of clerical work or sales. The founder, Scott Valdez, developed the system by tracking the effectiveness of his own pickup lines on spreadsheets. This ethos is baked into the company's training manual, which states, "a surprisingly large portion of the online dating process can be systematized". By creating a predictable, repeatable "seduction assembly line," the company can efficiently manage numerous client accounts with a team of remote workers. This application of industrial-era efficiency principles—breaking down the dating process into discrete, optimizable tasks performed by specialists—is what allows the business to be so profitable. The service isn't just "helping" with dating; it is applying a form of Taylorism to courtship. The ethical questions surrounding impersonation and authenticity are secondary to the core value proposition: delivering tangible results (dates) with maximum efficiency for clients who have more money than time.
4. Cat Cafes
The Strange Idea: A hybrid business that combines a standard coffee shop with an interactive animal experience, where customers pay for food, drinks, and the opportunity to spend time with free-roaming, often adoptable, cats.
How It Functions: A cat cafe is effectively two businesses operating under one roof: a food service establishment and an animal care facility. This dual nature necessitates navigating complex regulations, including health codes that require complete physical separation between food preparation areas and the "cat lounge" where the animals reside. The business model hinges on creating multiple, overlapping revenue streams to cover significantly higher operating costs than a traditional cafe. These streams typically include the sale of food and beverages, a separate admission fee for timed entry into the cat lounge, the sale of cat-themed retail merchandise, hosting private events like "cat yoga" or birthday parties, and, in many cases, facilitating adoptions in partnership with local animal shelters, which can generate adoption fees and immense goodwill.
Startup costs are substantial, typically ranging from $80,000 to over $150,000 to account for renovations, dual licensing, and specialized equipment. Monthly operating expenses are also high, driven by rent, specialized staffing (requiring both food service and animal care skills), and significant cat care costs, including food, litter, and veterinary bills.
What Makes It Profitable: Despite the high costs, the cat cafe industry is growing rapidly, with nearly 300 locations in the U.S. as of late 2025. Successful cafes can generate annual revenues between $300,000 and $500,000, achieving net profit margins of 10-25%. The profitability is driven by the power of its diversified income model and its unique value proposition. The presence of cats transforms a simple commodity (coffee) into a premium destination experience. This allows cafes to charge higher prices and attract customers from a much wider geographic area than a standard coffee shop. A customer who might spend $5 on a latte elsewhere could easily spend $25 at a cat cafe between an admission fee, a drink, and a small piece of merchandise, dramatically increasing the average transaction value.
The concept of the "third place," a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to describe community hubs outside the home and workplace, helps explain the model's success. A standard coffee shop is a classic third place. A cat cafe elevates this by adding two powerful layers: a unique, therapeutic, and highly Instagrammable interactive element (the cats) and a philanthropic mission (animal welfare and adoption). This combination creates a much stronger emotional connection with customers. They are not just buying coffee; they are purchasing a memorable experience, a moment of stress relief, and the feeling of contributing to a good cause. It is this multi-layered, "feel-good" value proposition that justifies the premium pricing and builds the loyal community necessary for long-term profitability.
Part II: The Experience is the Product — Adventures, Adrenaline, and Atmosphere
In an economy increasingly saturated with physical goods, the new frontier of value creation lies in selling memorable experiences. The businesses in this section have mastered this art, transforming unique activities and environments into high-margin products. They understand that consumers are willing to pay a premium not for something they can own, but for a story they can tell. From the catharsis of controlled destruction to the thrill of dining in the sky, these ventures prove that the most profitable asset can be the experience itself.
5. Rage Rooms (Anger Rooms)
The Strange Idea: A purpose-built, safe facility where customers pay for the opportunity to destroy objects like glassware, electronics, and furniture using tools such as baseball bats, crowbars, and sledgehammers.
How It Functions: The business model for a rage room, also known as an anger room or smash room, is centered on selling a cathartic experience. Customers book timed sessions, which can be as short as five minutes for around $25 or longer, more elaborate packages for groups. Upon arrival, they are outfitted with extensive safety gear, including coveralls, helmets with face shields, and heavy-duty gloves. They are then led into a reinforced room and are free to destroy a pre-set collection of breakable items.
The inventory for this destruction is the lifeblood of the operation. Successful businesses establish a robust supply chain for cheap or free "smashables," sourcing old televisions, computer monitors, plates, and bottles from recycling centers, thrift stores, restaurant and bar partnerships, and public donations. The core loop is simple: acquire junk for little to no cost, and then charge a premium for the experience of breaking it.
What Makes It Profitable: The primary profit driver for a rage room is the immense value-add it provides to what is essentially trash. The business transforms items with zero or negative value into a high-margin entertainment product. This results in very high gross margins, which are typically estimated to be around 80%. This profitability is fueled by a clear and growing market need. In an era of high stress and increased mental health awareness, rage rooms offer a tangible, physical outlet for pent-up frustration and anger—an "alternative to the 'head doctor'". The market is responding to this need, with some industry analyses projecting the global anger room market to grow from around $199 million in 2023 to over $314 million by 2031.
Furthermore, the experience is inherently novel and highly shareable, making it a natural fit for social media. This generates significant organic, word-of-mouth marketing, attracting not just individuals but also groups for birthday parties, unique date nights, and corporate team-building events.
However, the simplicity of the concept belies significant operational complexities that create a barrier to sustained success. While it may seem cheap to start, the true costs lie in creating a genuinely safe and legally sound environment. This includes not just the initial build-out of reinforced rooms ($2,000+) but also substantial and ongoing insurance premiums, which can range from $5,000 to $15,000 annually due to the high risk of injury. Constant maintenance of the rooms and safety gear, coupled with the logistical challenge of maintaining a steady inventory of breakables, separates the fleeting ventures from the profitable ones. The profit is not just in the chaos; it is in the meticulous, professional management of that chaos.
6. Dinner in the Sky
The Strange Idea: An exclusive, fine-dining restaurant experience where the entire dining table, along with 22 guests, a chef, and waitstaff, is hoisted 150 feet (approximately 46 meters) into the air by a massive industrial crane.
How It Functions: Dinner in the Sky operates primarily on a global franchise model, making its unique experience available in over 60 nations. The parent company, based in Belgium, provides the core technology: the specialized, certified dining platform and the operational expertise. Franchisees or local partners are responsible for the significant logistical and financial undertakings of each event. This includes securing a suitable location with a ground surface of at least 500 square meters, renting a 200-ton telescopic crane, obtaining all necessary permits and licenses from local authorities, hiring chefs and staff, and managing local marketing and sales.
The experience is sold not as a regular restaurant meal, but as a high-end, exclusive event. It is available for 8-hour sessions that can be customized for various purposes, from a single VIP dinner to multiple shorter "tasting" or cocktail sessions. While some permanent locations exist, such as one in Las Vegas that cost $5 million to build with seats priced at $500 per person, the model is often mobile, serving as a powerful tool for corporate functions, product launches, and bespoke parties.
What Makes It Profitable: The profitability of Dinner in the Sky is driven by its extreme exclusivity, premium pricing, and its dual function as both a consumer experience and a B2B marketing platform. The sheer novelty and thrill of the concept allow it to command exceptionally high prices, targeting a clientele of luxury consumers and high-budget corporations.
The franchise model is key to its global scalability and profitability. By licensing the concept and technology, the parent company externalizes the immense operational costs and regulatory hurdles to local partners who are better equipped to handle them. This allows the brand to expand its global footprint while maintaining a relatively lean central operation. A significant portion of its revenue comes from the B2B market. The highly visible nature of the event—a dining table literally suspended in the sky—makes it a media spectacle and an unparalleled marketing tool. Corporations pay a premium to customize the platform with their branding, using it for high-impact product reveals or to entertain key clients, knowing the event will generate substantial publicity.
Ultimately, the product being sold is not just a meal; it is the spectacle itself. The visual of a gourmet dinner party hanging from a crane is inherently viral and newsworthy. The business model cleverly monetizes this spectacle in multiple ways. For individual consumers, it is a bucket-list luxury experience. For corporate clients, it is an advertising platform with unmatched "wow" factor. The profitability comes from licensing this spectacle globally, allowing franchisees to handle the complex logistics of making the impossible dinner party a reality.
7. The Icehotel
The Strange Idea: A world-famous hotel and art exhibition in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, constructed entirely from ice and snow harvested from the nearby Torne River, which is rebuilt in a new design each winter and melts back into the river each spring.
How It Functions: The Icehotel is a masterpiece of logistics, art, and hospitality. Each spring, the hotel harvests approximately 5,000 tons of crystal-clear ice from the Torne River, which is then stored in a massive, refrigerated warehouse. In the winter, this ice, along with "snice" (a mixture of snow and ice), is used to construct the hotel. The core of the experience is the "art suites," unique rooms designed and hand-sculpted each year by a new cohort of international artists selected from hundreds of applicants.
The business model is highly diversified. Revenue is generated not just from guests staying overnight in the "cold rooms" (who sleep in thermal sleeping bags on beds of ice) or the adjacent "warm" hotel rooms, but from a variety of other sources. The hotel operates as a major tourist attraction, selling day-pass tickets to thousands of visitors who come to see the art exhibition. It also runs restaurants, hosts conferences and weddings, and has franchised its most famous creation, the ICEBAR BY ICEHOTEL, to cities around the world. To ensure year-round operation, the company built ICEHOTEL 365, a permanent structure containing ice suites and an ice bar that is kept frozen using solar power.
What Makes It Profitable: With an estimated annual revenue of $15 million, the Icehotel's profitability is a testament to its brilliant transformation of a logistical challenge into a marketing triumph. The hotel's primary asset—its ice structure—melts every year. In a conventional business, this would be a catastrophic annual loss. For the Icehotel, it is the very engine of its success. This impermanence creates a powerful sense of scarcity and urgency, compelling visitors to experience the unique, one-of-a-kind creation "before it's gone."
The annual rebuild is not a recurring cost; it is a recurring global marketing event. The announcement of new artists and the unveiling of new suite designs generate fresh media coverage and social media buzz every single year, providing a constant stream of free, worldwide publicity. The company has further de-risked its seasonal model by creating permanent, scalable assets. The year-round ICEHOTEL 365 captures summer tourists, while the ICEBAR franchise allows the brand to monetize its core concept in high-traffic urban centers far from the Arctic Circle. The business has mastered the art of marketing ephemerality while building permanent, diversified, and highly profitable revenue streams around its core, frozen asset.
8. Extreme Kidnapping Experiences
The Strange Idea: A bespoke service where paying clients voluntarily subject themselves to a realistic, staged kidnapping experience, designed as an extreme thrill-seeking adventure or a form of performance art.
How It Functions: Companies in this hyper-niche market, such as "Extreme Kidnapping" founded by Adam Thick in the U.S. and the art project "VIDEOGAMES Adventure Services" (VAS) by Brock Enright, offer what they term "customized reality adventures". The process is meticulously planned and legally fortified. Potential clients undergo rigorous psychological screening and interviews to determine their fears, phobias, and boundaries.
Based on this information, a detailed scenario is crafted, and a comprehensive legal contract is drawn up. This contract specifies what is and is not allowed, indemnifies the company, and establishes a "safe word" that the client can use to end the experience at any time. The "abduction" itself is carried out by hired actors and can last from a few hours to several days. The experience is tailored to be as terrifying as possible within the agreed-upon limits, often involving blindfolds, restraints, and transportation to secret locations. The entire event is typically videotaped and given to the client as a memento. Pricing reflects the bespoke and intense nature of the service, ranging from $500 for a basic package to $1,500 and significantly more for elaborate, multi-day scenarios.
What Makes It Profitable: The business model capitalizes on the extreme end of the "experience economy," catering to a small but dedicated market of adrenaline junkies, thrill-seekers, and individuals seeking a transgressive, boundary-pushing experience. It is a high-ticket, low-volume service where the perceived value is immense for the right customer.
The profitability of such a venture hinges on a central paradox: the ability to manufacture and sell controlled chaos. The service is not selling actual danger; it is selling the sensation of danger within a meticulously controlled and legally protected framework. The extensive psychological screenings, detailed contracts, and safe words are not just measures to mitigate liability; they are the core mechanisms that transform a violent crime into a marketable consumer product. Customers are willing to pay a premium for a "real-life video game" or the "rollercoaster" of fear precisely because they know, on some level, that it is fundamentally safe. The shocking and controversial nature of the business also serves as its most potent marketing tool, generating significant media coverage and notoriety that attracts its niche clientele.
Part III: Viral Ventures — How Novelty and a Good Story Built Empires
The businesses in this section represent a unique form of entrepreneurial genius, one where the product itself is almost secondary to the story it tells. Their success was not built on utility or technological innovation, but on the creation of a simple, quirky, and irresistibly shareable idea. They prove that in the modern marketplace, a good punchline, a clever prank, or a bizarre novelty can, with the right packaging, capture the public imagination and generate millions.
9. The Pet Rock
The Strange Idea: The business of selling ordinary, smooth stones, packaged in a custom cardboard box complete with air holes and a witty "Care and Feeding" instruction manual, as low-maintenance "pets".
How It Functions: The Pet Rock was the brainchild of advertising executive Gary Dahl in 1975. The idea was born in a bar as a joke while listening to his friends complain about the hassles of traditional pet ownership. Dahl's genius was not in the "product"—the rocks were sourced for pennies from a landscaping supply company in Mexico—but in the elaborate and humorous packaging that surrounded it. Each Pet Rock came in a small cardboard box designed to look like a pet carrier. Inside, the rock rested on a bed of straw, accompanied by a 32-page manual titled "The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock." This manual was the heart of the product, containing comical instructions on how to teach the rock to "sit," "stay," "roll over," and "attack".
What Makes It Profitable: The Pet Rock was a masterclass in marketing and a case study in astronomical profit margins. The business model was breathtakingly simple: acquire a nearly free raw material, add immense perceived value through clever branding and humor, and sell it as a novelty gift. Each Pet Rock sold for $3.95 (a significant sum in 1975), of which an estimated $3.00 was pure profit for Dahl.
The concept became a national sensation, perfectly capturing the whimsical, anti-establishment zeitgeist of the 1970s. It was the ultimate gag gift, a piece of shareable satire that people bought to be in on the joke. The fad exploded during the Christmas season of 1975, and in just the first six months of operation, Dahl sold between 1.5 million and 5 million Pet Rocks. This short-lived but intense craze made him a millionaire many times over, with total profits estimated at a staggering $15 million.
The core of the Pet Rock's success lies in the understanding that the product was not the rock itself. The product was the punchline. The physical stone was merely a token, a tangible artifact that allowed the owner to participate in the joke. What customers were truly buying was the witty instruction manual, the clever packaging, and the story they could tell their friends. It was one of the earliest and most successful examples of a business going viral based purely on the strength of its concept and narrative, proving that with enough marketing ingenuity, you can, quite literally, sell anything.
10. Ship Your Enemies Glitter
The Strange Idea: An online service that, for a fee, would anonymously mail an envelope packed with glitter to a person of the customer's choosing, guaranteeing a messy and infuriating experience for the recipient.
How It Functions: Launched in January 2015 by Australian entrepreneur Mathew Carpenter, ShipYourEnemiesGlitter.com was a simple e-commerce website with a single, brilliantly malicious product. Customers would visit the site, enter the address of their "enemy," and pay a fee (originally $9.99 AUD). The company would then fill an envelope with glitter—a substance notoriously difficult to clean up—and mail it, ensuring maximum annoyance upon opening. The value proposition was not in the product itself, but in the perfectly executed, anonymous prank.
What Makes It Profitable: The business became profitable not through a long-term strategy, but through an explosive, instantaneous burst of viral fame. The concept was inherently funny, relatable, and perfectly suited for the social media age. Within its first 24 hours, the website received over 1.3 million visits, was mentioned around 300,000 times on Facebook and Twitter, and was flooded with thousands of orders. The cost of goods—an envelope, a stamp, and a small amount of glitter—was minuscule compared to the price charged, resulting in extremely high profit margins.
The demand was so immediate and overwhelming that Carpenter, the founder, famously posted a plea on the website: "Please stop buying this horrible glitter product — I'm sick of dealing with it". This act of public frustration, rather than hurting the business, only fueled the media narrative and amplified its notoriety. Recognizing the value of this massive, sudden attention, Carpenter made a brilliant move. Instead of trying to build a sustainable glitter-mailing empire, he decided to sell the viral asset he had created. Just days after launching, he listed the website on the domain auction site Flippa and sold it for $85,000. In its first few weeks, the venture had already generated $20,000 in sales.
ShipYourEnemiesGlitter.com was less a traditional business and more a monetized internet meme. Its value was not in its operational capacity or long-term growth potential, but in the immense, global brand recognition and media attention it generated overnight. The founder's real product was not the glitter bomb, but the viral story and the traffic-heavy domain it was attached to. The $85,000 sale price was a transaction for attention itself, proving that in the digital economy, a moment of viral fame can be the most profitable commodity of all.
11. Potato Parcel
The Strange Idea: A novelty gift service that allows customers to send a personalized, anonymous message or even a photo, printed directly onto a real potato and mailed to any address.
How It Functions: The operational model of Potato Parcel is a masterclass in viral-to-viable business creation. Customers visit the company's website and choose their product: a standard Russet potato with a handwritten message (for $9.99) or one with a full-color photo printed on it (for $14.99). They type their message, upload their image, provide the recipient's address, and the company handles the rest. The team inscribes or prints the custom content onto the potato and ships it via mail, arriving within a few days to the surprise and confusion of the recipient.
The idea was born when founder Alex Craig saw a viral image on Reddit of potatoes with stamps on them. Recognizing the potential, he acted with incredible speed, launching a basic e-commerce website for Potato Parcel within 24 hours. He then returned to the original Reddit thread to announce his new venture, immediately tapping into the existing viral interest and generating $2,000 in orders on his second day of business.
What Makes It Profitable: Potato Parcel's profitability is a result of its extremely low cost of goods, high novelty value, and a series of brilliant marketing maneuvers that propelled it from an internet joke to a multi-million dollar company. The raw material—a potato—costs next to nothing, meaning the vast majority of the $9.99+ price tag is margin.
While the initial Reddit-fueled launch was strong, the business achieved escape velocity through strategic media exposure. Craig leveraged his early success to get featured on local news, which then led to national television appearances on shows like Ellen and Good Morning America. The ultimate catalyst, however, was its appearance on the TV show Shark Tank. The founders, Riad Bekhit (who had bought the business from Craig) and Craig himself, pitched the seemingly absurd idea and secured a deal with investor Kevin O'Leary.
The "Shark Tank effect" was transformative. Before the show, the business was already impressively profitable, with sales of around $10,000 per month. After the episode aired, sales exploded. By early 2020, the company had sold over 70,000 parcels and earned over $7 million in total sales. As of 2023, the company's net worth was estimated at $1.75 million, with current annual revenues around $600,000 to $700,000. Potato Parcel's journey provides a clear playbook for viral success: identify a digital trend, act with speed to create a minimum viable product, re-engage the original community to ignite sales, and then leverage that initial traction to secure mainstream media validation for massive scaling.
12. Doggles (Dog Goggles)
The Strange Idea: A line of protective and fashionable eyewear—essentially sunglasses or goggles—specifically designed and manufactured to fit the unique shape of a dog's head.
How It Functions: Doggles were invented out of a practical need by Roni Di Lullo, who noticed her own dog, Midknight, was sensitive to bright sunlight. After experimenting unsuccessfully with human eyewear, she developed a prototype specifically for canines. The final product features a tinted polycarbonate lens for UV protection, a flexible frame that conforms to a dog's face, and adjustable elastic straps to keep them securely in place.
The company, Doggles, Inc., operates as a traditional product business. It designs, manufactures, and distributes its eyewear and a subsequent line of pet accessories. The products are sold through a vast network of retailers, including 4,500 shops in 16 countries by 2004, as well as through its own e-commerce website. The company has expanded its product line beyond goggles to include items like harnesses, flotation vests, and backpacks, leveraging its established brand in the pet accessories market.
What Makes It Profitable: Doggles achieved profitability by brilliantly executing a "silly but serious" product strategy, allowing it to capture multiple segments of the booming pet care market. On the surface, the name "Doggles" and the image of a dog in sunglasses are inherently amusing and novel. This quirkiness generated significant media attention and curiosity, with MSN Money ranking it as one of the "10 ideas that shouldn't have worked – but made millions". This novelty factor drives impulse purchases from pet owners looking for a fun, fashionable accessory for their furry companions.
However, beneath this "silly" exterior lies a "serious" product with legitimate, functional benefits. Doggles provide crucial eye protection from UV rays, wind, and debris, making them a practical piece of gear for dogs who ride in convertibles, on motorcycles, or in boats. More critically, they have been adopted for professional and medical use. The U.S. Army has used Doggles to protect military working dogs from sandstorms in Iraq. Veterinarian ophthalmologists also recommend them for dogs with eye conditions or those recovering from surgery, and the company even offers custom prescription lenses.
This dual appeal is the key to its financial success. The novelty attracts the broad consumer market, while the utility creates a loyal, needs-based demand from professional and medical segments. This strategy allowed the company to achieve $100,000 in sales in its first year, eventually growing to an estimated $3.4 million in annual revenue. Doggles succeeded by creating and dominating a new product category, bridging the gap between a gag gift and essential equipment.
Part IV: Unconventional Solutions for Unconventional Problems
Some of the most brilliant business ideas are not born from complex technology, but from looking at an old problem in a completely new way. The ventures in this section have found success by providing strange, yet surprisingly practical and efficient, solutions to common challenges. They replace herbicides with goats, long-term commitments with rental agreements, and emotional loss with financial opportunity. Their profitability lies in their ability to reframe a problem and offer a solution that is as clever as it is unconventional.
13. Goat Landscaping (Rent-A-Goat)
The Strange Idea: Instead of using machinery or chemical herbicides, this service involves renting a herd of goats to clear overgrown land, eat invasive weeds, and manage vegetation in a natural, eco-friendly manner.
How It Functions: Goat landscaping, also known as targeted grazing, is a full-service land management solution. When a client—who could be a homeowner, a corporation, or a government agency—hires a company like Goats On The Go or Rent A Goat, the process is straightforward. The company transports a herd of goats, typically ranging from 20 to over 200, to the client's property. The team then sets up temporary, often electric, fencing to contain the goats within the specific area that needs clearing. Once contained, the goats do what they do best: eat. They are particularly effective at devouring tough, undesirable vegetation like poison ivy, kudzu, and dense brush that is difficult for humans to manage.
The service is priced on a per-project basis, determined by factors like the size of the area, the density of the vegetation, and the terrain. A typical backyard project might start at around $1,200 to $1,500. Many of these businesses operate on an affiliate or franchise model, allowing local farmers and homesteaders to run their own targeted grazing operations under an established brand.
What Makes It Profitable: The business model for goat landscaping is ingenious because it fundamentally inverts a traditional cost center into a primary revenue stream. For a typical livestock farmer, feeding the herd is a significant and constant expense—a liability on the balance sheet. This business model flips that equation entirely. The goats' most basic biological function, eating, becomes the valuable service that is being sold. The business is paid by the landowner for the clearing service, and in the process, the goats are fed for free. The farmer's biggest expense is transformed into a revenue-generating activity.
This model is fueled by strong market demand from several sources. There is a growing desire for environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides. Goats can also work on steep, rocky, or wet terrain that is inaccessible or dangerous for heavy machinery and human crews. They are used for a wide range of applications, from eradicating invasive species in nature preserves to creating fire breaks to reduce wildfire risk in states like California. The demand for this service is reportedly so high that the supply of qualified providers often cannot keep up, creating a lucrative opportunity for those in the business. The novelty and visual appeal of a herd of goats at work also generate excellent public relations and word-of-mouth marketing, attracting clients ranging from private homeowners to large government bodies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service.
14. Rent-A-Chicken
The Strange Idea: A service that allows customers to rent a complete backyard chicken-keeping setup—including a portable coop, two egg-laying hens, feed, and supplies—for a short-term period, typically a few months.
How It Functions: Founded in 2013, Rent The Chicken operates on a scalable affiliate model, partnering with local farmers and homesteaders across the United States and Canada who act as local providers. The service is designed as a low-risk trial for people curious about the urban homesteading trend. For a set fee, customers receive everything they need to get started: a coop, a pair of hens that are already laying eggs, a supply of feed, and a waterer. The local affiliate delivers and sets up the entire package and provides support and guidance throughout the rental period. At the end of the term, the customer has the option to return the chickens and equipment, or, if they've fallen in love with the lifestyle, adopt the hens and purchase the gear. The company also offers hatching programs for schools and families.
What Makes It Profitable: The profitability of Rent-A-Chicken is rooted in its "try before you buy" approach to a popular and growing lifestyle trend. Many people are intrigued by the idea of raising their own chickens for fresh eggs but are hesitant to make the significant upfront investment in a coop, equipment, and birds, or to commit to the long-term responsibility of caring for animals. Rent-A-Chicken perfectly addresses this hesitation by offering a low-risk, all-inclusive rental package.
The business model allows farmers and homesteaders to generate a new, recurring revenue stream from their existing assets. Instead of just selling eggs or chickens, they can now rent them out, earning significantly more over the lifespan of a hen than they would from egg sales alone. The affiliate network structure allows the brand to expand its geographic reach rapidly without the high capital costs of building and managing a centralized, nationwide operation.
Ultimately, the company is not just renting chickens; it is selling a curated lifestyle experience. Customers are paying for a tangible taste of the idyllic, farm-to-table fantasy—the joy of collecting fresh eggs from their own backyard—without any of the long-term risks or commitments. The rental fee is priced based on the value of this unique experience, not just the market value of the eggs the hens will produce. This allows the business to charge a premium for what is, in essence, a short-term, all-inclusive hobby kit for the aspiring urban homesteader.
15. I Do, Now I Don't
The Strange Idea: An e-commerce marketplace dedicated to the buying and selling of secondhand diamond engagement rings and other luxury wedding jewelry, often following a broken engagement or divorce.
How It Functions: I Do, Now I Don't was founded by Joshua Opperman out of a painful personal experience. After his fiancée left him, he was left with an expensive engagement ring. When he attempted to return it to the jeweler, he was offered a buyback price that was only about a third of what he had originally paid. Realizing there was a major gap in the market, he and his sister Mara created a peer-to-peer platform to provide a better solution.
The website functions as a trusted intermediary in a high-value, emotionally charged market. Sellers can list their pre-owned rings and other jewelry, typically pricing them significantly higher than what a pawn shop or jeweler would offer, yet still up to 50% below the original retail value. Buyers, in turn, get access to luxury jewelry at a substantial discount. The company's crucial role is to build trust between anonymous buyers and sellers. It does this by offering services like escrow funds, which hold the buyer's payment until the item is received and verified, and third-party gemological authentication to confirm the quality and authenticity of the jewelry. For facilitating this secure transaction, the company takes a commission on each sale.
What Makes It Profitable: The business is profitable because it provides an elegant solution to a widespread and painful financial problem. The market for pre-owned engagement rings is enormous and evergreen; an estimated $4.2 billion worth of used rings become available for sale annually in the U.S.. The platform taps directly into this constant supply, driven by the unfortunate but consistent reality of relationships ending.
The company's success, however, is not just about tapping into a large market. It is about successfully destigmatizing a product that has traditionally been considered taboo. A secondhand engagement ring often carries the cultural baggage of being "bad luck" or tainted by a failed relationship. I Do, Now I Don't skillfully reframed this narrative. For the seller, the platform is not about dwelling on a past failure; it is about financial empowerment and moving on. For the buyer, the purchase is not an unlucky compromise; it is a smart, financially savvy, and practical decision in line with the modern values of the sharing economy. By providing a safe, professional, and discreet environment, the platform transformed a "taboo" object into a "repurposed" luxury commodity. Its profitability is derived from its success in building a trusted marketplace by fundamentally changing the cultural conversation around the product it sells.
Part V: The Business of Life, Death, and What Remains
The final frontier of unconventional business lies at the intersection of our most profound realities: life, death, and the legacy we leave behind. The ventures in this section operate in deeply personal and specialized niches, offering services that are at once macabre, scientific, and deeply meaningful. They have built profitable enterprises by catering to the needs of education, remembrance, and our enduring connection to the natural world, proving that even in the most sensitive areas of human experience, there is room for innovation and commerce.
16. Skulls Unlimited International
The Strange Idea: A global commercial supplier of real and replica animal and human skulls, skeletons, and other osteological specimens.
How It Functions: Skulls Unlimited International is the world's leading company in a highly specialized field. Founded in 1986 by Jay Villemarette, who turned a childhood fascination with collecting skulls into a full-time business, the company operates a multi-faceted enterprise from its headquarters in Oklahoma City. Its primary business is sourcing, preparing, and selling a vast catalog of real and replica bones. The preparation process is meticulous; the company is famous for using colonies of dermestid beetles to delicately strip the flesh from skeletons, a method that preserves even the most fragile bone structures. The bones are then whitened and prepared for sale.
The company serves a diverse global clientele that includes prestigious museums, universities for medical and scientific research, educators, and a growing market of private collectors and enthusiasts. In addition to selling specimens, Skulls Unlimited also offers its cleaning services to hunters and institutions, and it actively buys rare and unusual skulls from private individuals and retired doctors. To further solidify its brand and educational mission, the company opened the Museum of Osteology, which showcases hundreds of specimens from its collection.
What Makes It Profitable: As a multi-million dollar company that ships between 100 and 200 orders per day, Skulls Unlimited's profitability is built on its absolute dominance of a niche market. The business operates at the unique intersection of the macabre, the scientific, and the artistic. This allows it to cater to multiple, distinct customer segments with a single product line. A university's anatomy department, a natural history museum, and an interior designer looking for a unique decorative piece might all be customers, each with different motivations but all seeking a high-quality product.
A key pillar of its success and a significant barrier to competition is its commitment to ethical sourcing. The company goes to great lengths to state that all its natural bone specimens are legally and ethically obtained. Animal specimens come from sources like natural and predator deaths, roadkill, by-products from food industries, and attrition at zoological parks. Human bones are sourced from bodies that were donated to science. This ethical framework builds crucial trust with institutional clients and discerning collectors. The company's greatest value-add, however, is in its preparation. By transforming raw remains into what it terms "museum-quality specimens," it adds immense value and can command premium prices, turning a widely available natural object into a refined, high-demand product.
17. Eternal Reefs
The Strange Idea: A unique memorial service that incorporates a person's cremated remains into a large, concrete "reef ball," which is then placed on the ocean floor to become part of a new, living marine habitat.
How It Functions: Eternal Reefs operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, blending the functions of a memorial service provider with an environmental conservation group. The process begins when a family chooses this unique end-of-life option for a loved one. For a fee, which is considered a charitable donation and ranges from approximately $3,000 to $7,500 depending on the size of the reef, the organization creates the memorial.
The creation process, known as a "casting," is often a deeply personal and participatory event. Families are invited to mix their loved one's cremated remains into a specialized, pH-neutral concrete mixture. This mixture is then incorporated into a pre-cast, hollow, and vented reef ball. Families can personalize the damp concrete with handprints, written messages, or small mementos. Following a dedication ceremony, the completed reef ball is taken by boat and carefully deployed at a government-permitted, designated reef site off the U.S. coast, where it quickly begins to attract fish and support the growth of coral and other marine life.
What Makes It Profitable (or Sustainable): The financial sustainability of Eternal Reefs is built on an exceptionally powerful and emotionally resonant value proposition: the creation of a "living legacy". The service merges the act of memorialization with a tangible act of environmentalism. This dual mission appeals strongly to a specific and growing demographic, including divers, sailors, fishermen, environmentalists, and anyone with a deep connection to the ocean. The market for such eco-friendly memorial services is growing, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 8%.
The business model offers a profound alternative to traditional end-of-life options. Instead of a static gravestone in a cemetery or an urn on a mantle, Eternal Reefs offers a dynamic, living memorial that actively contributes to the health of the planet. The organization's non-profit status further reinforces its mission-driven identity, allowing clients to feel that their expenditure is a contribution to a greater cause, which may also offer them a tax deduction.
The ultimate value proposition being sold is a form of ecological immortality. The physical remains of an individual are not just laid to rest; they are transformed into the very foundation of a new, thriving ecosystem that will endure for generations. This narrative—of facilitating a transition from death back into vibrant life—is incredibly powerful. It is this unique philosophical and emotional appeal, far more than any traditional business metric, that ensures the organization's continued sustainability and success.
Conclusion :
The main goal to develop a profitable businesses is working for your idea long enough to actually see the result.
There been even crazier things being sold online for high amounts and different businesses that no one would imagine could exist.
There were success because the author believed in something others didn’t and believing helps you work long enough to actually see the result.
