Imagine sitting ringside with Mike Tyson, dining with Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, or spending some quality time with Shakira.
These meetings might seem like farfetched encounters, but they're exactly what new website IfOnly.com offers - what it calls "experiences" with celebrities, chefs, musicians and artists in exchange for some hefty fistfuls of cash.
Users of the site run by San Francisco tech entrepreneur Trevor Traina can purchase a package to hang out with Shakira for $15,000. A sit-down with NFL Network analyst Faulk costs $42,900. That Mike Tyson meet-and-greet? It'll put you back a cool $78,600.
The site doesn't just offer meetings, either - customers can purchase a Ray Lewis "Personalized Video Pep Talk" for $1,450, or a ukulele signed by the members of musical group Train for $700. Popular options on the site also include intimate in-home dinner parties and classes put on by top chefs like Thomas McNaughton and Tyler Florence.
"We're recognizing that anyone who's a top talent or a luminary has a natural market for their expertise, but no one has really created that marketplace for them," Traina said to the New Yorker during a phone interview. "Their time and attention has value, just like an empty guest room has value."
Traina started IfOnly to connect everyday people with the "luminaries," to create "extraordinary experiences for good," as the website describes.
"We believe that true luxury is not another bauble or thing, but rather the extraordinary experiences we remember and share," the site reads.
But New Yorker finance writer Vauhini Vara questioned the accessibility of the packages for sale on IfOnly, due to their high prices. Traina said his team was trying to make other, less expensive, experience-facilitating items more available.
"We've spent a lot of our time brainstorming ways for people to get the feeling of connection at lower price points," he reported to the New Yorker. "It's a lot of money, but, quite frankly, the people who buy those are not rich - in fact, I wouldn't even say they're middle class. But if you can't afford that, you can get... a signed hoodie for ninety dollars.The last thing we want to do is discourage people."
