The internet is an amazing place.
Why?
You get to rake in millions, sometimes even with weird stuff.
We’ve all got those business ideas that we shared with each other but never followed through because they seemed too difficult or insane.
But these crazy ideas are an example that deep thought ideas don’t always work and crazy ideas don’t always fail.
We bet you’ll think “They made money doing this???”, cause we did too.
It's time to shine a light on some of the most outlandish business ideas ever created.
17 Crazy Business Ideas That Have Made Serious Money
1. Professional Cuddling Service
Cuddling for cash?
What sounds like a late-night infomercial is actually an innovative service that has been around for more than a decade.
Professional cuddlers provide non-sexual, therapeutic touch therapy, known to boost the immune system and reduce stress.
Don’t believe us? This cuddler charges $87 for an hour-long session.
- Creator: N/A
- How much money they made: Upto $80 an hour (Ranker)
- Check it out here: CuddleComfort
2. I Wear Your Shirt
Who thought getting paid to wear t-shirts for a living would be a thing? And it would generate loads of cash! Jason did.
The idea was simple – He wore a t-shirt with a company’s logo, for a day to advertise it by taking pictures and by uploading videos about the companies.
You might think “He got paid for that?”. Listen from Jason himself.
- Creator: Jason Zook
- How much money they made: $1,000,000+ (WanderingAimfully)
- Check it out here: IWearYourShirt
3. Ship Your Enemies Glitter
Will you pass on a grudge? Or will you ship glitter and let your enemy deal with a literal mess?
The idea behind it – Shipping in a sealed envelope, the contents look innocent. The victim opens it and boom! Glitter everywhere.
It sounds silly but seems like a fun prank to us.
People got so carried away with this idea, that the founder had to plead to customers to stop using this horrible product!
- Creator: Mathew Carpenter
- How much money they made: $20,000+ in 4 days (Flippa)
- Check it out here: ShipYourEnemiesGlitter
4. Pet Rock
Screw problem-solving. Instead, think about selling rocks.
Gary Dahl did it.
The owners of these rocks would treat them like pets and care for them. The box even came with a care manual!
He pocketed millions of cash with this crazy idea, indeed a rocking business.
5. Million Dollar Homepage
Who would have thought that selling a pixel would make this broke student a millionaire?
Alex sold 1 million pixels of the internet ad space for $1 each and ended up making…you guessed it right — $1 million.
The idea went soo viral that a person replicated it so the internet can buy him an Apple watch.
- Creator: Alex Tew
- How much money they made: $1,037,100 (Wikipedia)
- Check it out here: MillionDollarHomepage
6. Potato Parcel
People were right when they said potatoes can go with everything.
Alex took it seriously and turned them into a perfect gift, so you can thank someone—or make them laugh—by sending a potato with a custom message or personal photo on it.
As silly as this may sound, this business appeared on Shark Tank and even struck a deal with Kevin.
- Creator: Alex Craig
- How much money they made: $700,000+ (SharkTankRecap)
- Check it out here: PotatoParcel
7. I Want To Draw A Cat For You
Hey, we want to draw a cat for you. Why? Cause we are good at it.
Sounds silly right?
But Steve took it seriously.
He was good at drawing cats so he drew stick figures of cats according to customers' specifications.
This crazy idea made it to Shark Tank – quite bold of him – and even closed a deal with Mark Cuban.
- Creator: Steve Gadlin
- How much money they made: $200,000 (TechieGamers)
- Check it out here: IWantToDrawACatForYou
8. Reserve A Spot In Heaven
Strange business ideas can sometimes be the most intriguing, and now you don’t have to worry about ending up between devils up there cause you can book your seat in heaven, that too with a first-class ticket and a heaven 101 booklet.
The business guarantee a spot in heaven or your money will be back (well).
We’ll definitely buy this – just in case.
Catch you up there folks :)
- Creator: Edgar Kim and Nate Davis
- How much money they made: $11,000 in 2 months (DesignBro)
- Check it out here: ReserveASpotInHeaven
9. Santa Mail
While Santa is busy getting ready at the north pole for Christmas – this company sends personalized messages to kids on Christmas addressed from Santa.
You can keep your child believing in Santa until ‘Santa Mail’ exists.
This is one of those successful businesses that can inspire entrepreneurial ventures, showing how a simple idea can turn into a profitable opportunity.
- Creator: Byron Reese
- How much money they made: $1 million by 2005 (DesignBro)
- Check it out here: SantaMail
10. Ship Snow, Yo
Who thought selling snow can make you millions? This couple did.
The idea was simple – shipping snow packages to people (especially in the west) to let them feel the snow or make their own snowman.
This is by the way a SaaS company – Snow as a Service :)
- Creator: Kyle & Jessica Waring
- How much money they made: $5,000 in the first week (ThePennyHoarder)
- Check it out here: ShipSnowYo
11. Chia Pets
How about if you don’t have to scoop the poop of your furry pet?
The idea behind this product is quite interesting though – it's an American-styled terracotta figurine used to sprout chia, which grows in weeks and resembles the animal's fur. This product effectively targets niche markets by appealing to customers who are looking for unique and creative pet alternatives.
Can you imagine their tagline – Pets with plants, not fur?
- Creator: Joe Pedott
- How much money they made: Around $8 million every year (BusinessInsider)
- Check it out here: Chia
12. Doggles
Dog + Goggles? Sounds interesting to us.
Doggles is a commercial brand of eye protection for dogs in the form of tinted goggles, helping canine companions see out of the sun safely.
Now your pups can protect their peepers too.
- Creator: Roni Di Lullo
- How much money they made: $100,000 in the first year (CNBC)
- Check it out here: Doggles
13. Shit Express
What’s better than an expression of ‘what the heck’ on your enemy's face?
As shitty as it may sound, you can send a piece of shit to anyone anonymously who might just be pissing you off.
You no longer need to worry about offending people or hurting their feelings.
It’s crazy how the startup sold shit to 500 people in just 30 days – we hope you weren’t the one.
- Creator: Peter
- How much money they made: $10,000 in the first month (Vice)
- Check it out here: ShitExpress
14. Wishbone
A turkey-less wishbone? Oh, that's just swell.
Ken came up with a plastic lucky break wishbone, so vegetarians and vegans can finally make a wish on Thanksgiving without eating a turkey.
The crazy part? PETA too promoted this bizarre idea.
- Creator: Ken Ahroni
- How much money they made: $700,000+ (BizJournals)
15. iFart App
Looks like people are obsessed with weird noises these days.
Joel created the iFart App and listed it on the Apple store, available for $1.99 – the audacity.
People are going crazy with it and it has flooded the apple store with more such apps but this one remains on top.
- Creator: Joel Comm
- How much money they made: Nearly $30,000 (VentureBeat)
- Check it out here: iFart
16. Blank Book
It took the author 39 years of research and observation.
After years of hard work, his work finally paid off.
He concluded that men think of absolutely nothing, apart from sex.
That’s how he published his book “What Every Man Think About Apart From Sex” which has blank pages and turned out to be a best seller. Crazy.
- Creator: Shed Simove
- How much money they made: N/A. However, another blank book -Fifty Shades of Grey- from the same creator made several $100,000s
- Check it out here: What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex
17. Bottled Air
Feel like breathing on the go?
No, don’t breathe air from your surroundings instead, purchase bottled air.
The idea behind canned air is to provide people with fresh portable air who doesn’t have access to clean air.
No wonder this startup makes millions annually due to increasingly polluted air in many cities.
We knew the time would come, but this soon?
- Creator: Moses Lam
- How much money they made: $300,000 annually (CBC)
- Check it out here: VitalityAir
Going Nuts?
The fun part? Many of these ideas are still in business today.
So not only are they crazy but legitimate (a little bit).
We can’t deny the fact that little moments of luck played an important role in taking these ideas to heights. Cause of course, who would think, selling rocks or potatoes will make them a millionaire?
We hope these crazy ideas inspire you enough to not delve deep into overthinking and take the plunge today.
