Ridiculous Ideas That Made People Millions
Learn the stories behind some (seemingly) ridiculous ideas that have made inventors and investors very wealthy.
You’ve may have never heard of Scott Stillinger but somewhere in your home or office you probably have one of his inventions – the Koosh ball, which made millions of dollars. Stillinger came up with the idea for the Koosh ball when he tied rubber bands together to create a smaller, easier-to-catch ball for his young children in 1987. He founded OddzOn Products Inc. to distribute the small, simple toy, and within just 12 months it was flying off of store shelves as that year’s hottest Christmas gift. The company expanded, and in 1994 Stillinger sold OddzOn to toy manufacturer Russ Berrie and Company Inc., which in turn was bought by toy behemoth Hasbro in 1997 for more $100 million.
Every year, millions of children around the globe pen letters to Santa and hope for a response. Byron Reese realized the potential in this market. In 2002, he launched “Santa Mail,” a service that allows kids to send letters to the North Pole. Parents enclose a small fee of just $9.95, and little Johnny or Jane receives a personalized letter back from the “big man” himself. By 2009, Santa Mail had responded to nearly 300,000 children. At close to $10 a letter, well, you can do the math – needless to say, it was a little idea that has earned Reese a big return.
Are you still a little bitter that, at last year’s Thanksgiving dinner, you lost out to your cousin Ned in the annual fight over the lone turkey wishbone? Well, thanks to Ken Ahroni, those days are long over. In 1999, he had something of an epiphany at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner table: a family with multiple people would like multiple wishbones. He shuttered his previous consulting business and launched Lucky Break Wishbone Corp. in 2004, in order to sell his one-of-a-kind breakable plastic wishbones. Within two years, the company was generating nearly $1 million in sales through distributors in more than 40 states nationwide.
Photo by Hasbro.
Scott Quitter on May 19th, 2009 2:20 pm
I always love reading stories about people who make millions with crazy or downright silly ideas. It makes me pay even more attention to little details all around me that I might otherwise not notice. Good stuff.
Franchise Opportunities on May 20th, 2009 6:20 am
Good write-up! It just shows how some people can make something out of nothing. It builds confidence for all to think of great things even with simple and out of the box iideas.
Jaclyn on May 20th, 2009 7:00 am
I can understand and even get behind the ideas of the koosh ball as those not only are used by kids but adults to reduce stress as well, and the santa mail because that is just a really cute idea that keeps the santa legend alive and keeps kids young longer, but the wishbone idea? Why would you pay for a plastic fake wishbone…that to me almost seems like people would think to themselves “why buy this, it’s not the real thing so my wish definitely wont come true”. maybe that’s just me, but that’s what i would be thinking.
Scott Quitter on May 20th, 2009 12:05 pm
Jaclyn,
For some people, the wishbone is symbolic for good luck, just like having a four-leaf clover printed on a shirt is a symbol for good luck even though it’s not the real deal. A horse shoe is, likewise, a symbol of good luck, therefore, it’s common to see flowers arranged in the shape of the horseshoe, again, to symbolize good luck. Anything that is considered good luck seems to become iconic in some form or another to the point that just the image itself takes on meaning.
But I imagine if you’re really into wishbones and can only rarely get your hands on one, if you found a plastic wishbone in a store, you might say, “Holy cow! This is my lucky day!” ;-)
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