While some start-ups are trying to serve real and tangible needs, others are just looking for a weird way to make a buck. Whether it's freezing ice cream in front of your eyes or devices that mix butter with nutritional supplements, there's another business idea out there to try.
The latest attempt is "shipyourenemiesglitter.com," a one-man business that offers customers the chance to ship their enemies an anonymous bag of glitter, according to the Washington Post.
Mat Carpenter is a self-described "internet marketing entrepreneur." He founded other businesses in the past that sold likes and follows on social media. So, building a business like this was no problem. Carpenter said that the idea for the site came about after receiving a card from a family friend that had glitter all over the place.
Why do people want to mail glitter, of all things? LGBT protesters often glitter bomb their opponents. It's also been used to prank people (both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum received glitter bombs during their campaigns).
Carpenter created the site on Monday, and it quickly went viral. The site was picked up by Producthunt.com, then featured by WNYC, Washington Post, Daily Mail and dozens of other sites. The site crashed by the first day. Once it was rebooted, people kept ordering. At one point, Carpenter said in an email that "the house looks like it's 1975 and Donna Summer has just hit the stage."
By midday Wednesday, Carpenter commented on Product Hunt, saying, "Hi guys, I'm the founder of this website. Please stop buying this horrible glitter product - I'm sick of dealing with it. Sincerely, Mat." Carpenter also removed the buy button from the site. That same morning, Mat tweeted that the site was for sale.
It's uncertain if anyone will buy the site, or if shipyourenemiesglitter.com will become a larger business. But if you happen to receive an anonymous envelope of glitter in the next few weeks, then you know where it came from.
