Remember Pet Rock? The smooth rock in a box with an “instruction manual” that made it’s creator Gary Dahl a millionaire back in the 70s? Well, think of the NoPhone as a 2010s update of that. The NoPhone, is essentially a plastic slab, that does what no phone in the market currently does. Absolutely nothing.
The creators, Van Gould and Ingmar Larsen acknowledged as much, on Shark Tank no less, that their inspiration was partly driven by Pet Rock. Coincidentally, both the creators of Pet Rock and NoPhone are from the advertising business. (what, do they just sit around twiddling their thumbs coming up with dumb but money making ideas??)
Oh, and did I mention they were featured on Shark Tank? Eventually none of the sharks gave them an offer, but I bet the exposure itself was probably worth it!
Since this is a side hustle blog, I’ve decided to reach out to them via Twitter to see if they were interested in an email interview with me, just to check in on their business post Shark Tank.
Since their failed pitch on Shark Tank, they’ve come up with other revolutionary products, such as the NoPhone Air (which is really a bag of nothing!), and a few combo bundles for couples and families.
It’s a great gag and I see the majority of sales probably going to birthdays and Xmas prank gifting.
Maybe not a millionaire making idea, but hey, still probably a more than decent side hustle! I will update this if an interview ever comes to pass.
And of course, if you need a solid slab of plastic to help with your smartphone addiction…