Coming up with an idea for a new business is never easy. While most people take the traditional route and stick to tried-and-tested concepts, a rare few dare to think out of the box. That may not always be a good idea, as some of the most unusual business ideas in history have also been massive commercial failures, though quite a few have succeeded, too, creating their own market niches where none existed before.
10. iSmell
Back in 1999 when the dotcom bubble was at its peak, two Stanford graduates – Joel Bellenson and Dexster Smith – attempted to bring smell to the digital world. By breaking down scents into digital files that could be transmitted online and reproduced by a specialized, USB-powered device on the other end, their product – iSmell – promised to change the way we consume things online.
It might sound weird today, though it was the next big thing in Silicon Valley at the time, raising over $20 million in venture funds from multiple investors. They envisioned a whole ecosystem built around iSmell and its parent, DigiScents Inc., which could be further incorporated into other industries like gaming, movies, and porn.
While the device itself worked well enough, it was poorly marketed and eventually shut down in late 2001. There was also the whole question of whether anyone wanted such a technology, as being able to smell things over the Internet no longer sounds as pleasing as it likely did in 1999.
9. Washboard
Washboard has also been called one of the worst startup ideas of all time, and for good reason. Launched in June 2014, the whole idea was based on the assumption that people are willing to pay extra to get change for laundromats. For $15, Washboard would send you quarters worth $10, using the markup for delivery costs, operational expenses, and – obviously – a bit of profit. You could even go for their saver package, getting change worth $20 for a low sum of $26.99.
Of course, it was a ridiculous idea. Apart from the fact that you can just walk into a bank and get loose change whenever you want, a majority of people now have washing machines at home. Washboard was declared shut down by its founder in July of the same year, as they could barely get any lasting customers to keep it running.
8. NYC Garbage
Justin Gignac, a New York-based artist, came up with the idea for NYC Garbage back in 2001, following an argument with someone over the importance of package design. While most of us would think nothing of such a trivial topic, Gignac decided to prove them wrong by finding the most unsellable thing in New York City – garbage – and started repackaging it in fancy, limited-edition garbage cubes. Each cube comes signed, dated, and numbered by the artist, presumably indicating exactly when the garbage was collected.
While it sounds absurd, the idea surprisingly took off. According to NYC Garbage’s own website, more than 1,400 people around the world have already ordered one, priced anywhere between $50-$100. The collection also includes special editions, like the World Series at Yankee Stadium and New Year’s Eve at Times Square.
7. Fashism
Launched in 2009, Fashism was a fashion-based startup based out of New York. Despite the horrible naming choice, it wasn’t an inherently bad business idea. Fashism was a kind of social media for fashion, where you could post pictures of your outfits and get feedback from a community of users. At its peak, the service had over 80,000 unique visits per month, with over 15,000 user accounts. It was even backed by several high profile investors, including actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.
We’re not sure if the name had anything to do with its downfall, or if it just wasn’t a viable business idea. Fashism eventually shut down in 2014, owing to a lack of growth and low user count. According to the numbers on Crunchbase, the outlet could only raise about $1 million in total funding.
6. Blippy
Blippy was launched as a private beta app in 2009, quickly grabbing the attention of venture capital investors around the world. In essence, it was like a Twitter feed for your credit card transactions, allowing users to see and comment on other people’s purchases. Surprisingly, most people didn’t see it in terms of privacy, and the idea itself found many investors. Overall, they were able to raise over $13 million in funding, and the company was valued at around $46 million at its peak. Apple even launched their own service, Ping, to compete with Blippy’s business model.
Unfortunately, Blippy suffered from a classic drawback: no one wanted it. At the end of the day, there was no real use for a social media service for credit card purchases, even if it was integrated right into your phone. Blippy soon ran out of money and shut down their primary service in 2010, eventually turning into a user reviews app.
5. I Am Rich
While I Am Rich was mostly made as a novelty joke app, the fact that some people actually bought it makes it count as a business idea. Made by a German developer, Armin Heinrich, it was officially launched on the App Store in August, 2008. At $999.99, it was one of the first few apps on Apple’s newly-launched store, as well as possibly one of the most expensive apps ever.
As for its functionality, the app itself just consisted of one large red button on the screen. When pressed, it would display a bunch of inspiring sentences like – you guessed it – ‘I am rich’ or ‘I deserve it’, which should prove to anyone sitting around you that you are, indeed, rich. While Heinrich has since admitted that he made the app as a joke, it was purchased by eight people, and only two of them asked Apple to reverse the sale.
4. Potato Parcel
On paper, Potato Parcel sounds like another wacky business idea with no long-term prospects. For $9.99, someone at the company would handwrite a message on a potato and parcel it to anyone you want. It was a pitch on Shark Tank back in 2016, asking for $50,000 in exchange for 10% of the company. The offer was accepted, in addition to a royalty sharing agreement with one of the judges.
As it turns out, personalized messages on potatoes is actually a viable startup idea. Until 2018, Potato Parcel had sold more than 70,000 potatoes, with six figures in yearly revenues. The service has now expanded to include messages on other items like socks and pillows, as well as more advanced potato messages like pictures.
3. DiedInHouse.com
Founded in 2013 by software engineer Roy Condrey, DiedInHouse.com is perhaps the only business of its kind. It tells you whether someone has died in the house you’re about to rent or purchase, as long as it’s a US address. It’s a paid service, using information from death certificates, news reports, and police records to provide an accurate measure of whether your house is haunted. The website also displays any other serious criminal cases at a particular property, making it rather useful for potential homeowners and ghost hunters.
According to a Forbes story from 2016, DiedInHouse.com had sold over 40,000 reports until 2016. Each report contains information like deaths, meth operations, nearby cemeteries, registered sex offenders in the area, previous fire incidents, and other details about the property.
2. Bottled Air
Vitality Air started out as a prank, when two Canadians – Moses Lam and Troy Paquette – filled a ziploc bag with fresh Canadian air and posted it on eBay. It quickly grabbed media attention and a frantic bidding war, and the bag ended up selling for $130. Sensing a business opportunity, Lam and Paquette decided to look into bottled air as a potential startup idea.
As it turns out, it was, and Vitality Air was born in early 2015. They now export bottles of fresh air to countries around the world, including Mexico, India, Vietnam, and China. The operation has vastly expanded from just driving around with a ziploc bag and sealing it shut at the right time, as it now includes massive air-collection machines and a fully-automated bottling plant. As per a 2019 report, Vitality Air made more than $300,000 in annual sales for two consecutive years, making it a rather successful business idea.
1. No More Woof
No More Woof was a promising – even if a bit ambitious – crowdfunding pitch posted by a few Scandinavian engineers on Indiegogo. They claimed that the device could accurately translate your pet’s brainwaves into intelligible speech, using EEG brain-scanning technology that’s currently used in many brain-related medical procedures. No More Woof was successfully crowdfunded by over 200%, and the story was picked up by multiple news outlets including Mashable, CNET, and Engadget.
Sadly, while it was a good idea, it was too good to be true, as the technology to make such a device simply doesn’t exist. While there have been major advances in brain-reading tech in the past few years, it’s still impossible to accurately translate thoughts into speech. No More Woof was shelved after the founders publicly-admitted that they don’t have the technology to make it work.