My First Million 4 dumb ideas that made people rich
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Jan 23, 2026 Novelty foam party hats going viral and turning into real money. Star-naming registries and online ordination services selling sentiment and status. A 10-hour fireplace video and ambient lo-fi channels earning steady ad revenue. Stories of relentless salesmanship, repeatable processes, and bold capital moves that scaled small ideas into big paydays.
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Viral Foam Hats Became A $1M Business
- Sam describes FoamPartyHats.com founders turning oversized foam team hats into a viral, million-dollar novelty merch business.
- A viral moment (DJ Moore wearing the hat) triggered ~10,000 orders in a week and huge backlog for their handmade hats.
Fast-Follow Merch Wins Meme Moments
- Shaan notes rapid, moment-driven merch can outspeed traditional licensed sports merch via fast drops.
- Fast-following meme moments creates high-share, social-first products that scale quickly.
BirthdayAlarm Grew From Customer Signals
- Sam recounts building BirthdayAlarm from a feature idea and how customer feedback revealed demand for birthday reminders.
- The founder pivoted from an address idea to birthday reminders, reached 10,000 members fast, and sustained long-term revenue.