3 Killer Businesses Hidden in Plain Sight

1M dollar product: Water quality testing (0s)

• There are three businesses that take something that's free and sell it, with one making hundreds of thousands of dollars, one making millions of dollars, and one making hundreds of millions of dollars (19s).
• The first business is an app called Oasis, which checks water quality and makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by selling a product that is free and hidden in plain sight (1m29s).
• Oasis was created by a person named Cormac from Minnesota, who initially drank tap water without issues but experienced problems after moving to LA and discovering contaminants in the water (2m6s).
• Cormac found that anyone can request a report on water quality in their area from their city, and bottled water companies must provide reports on the testing of their water (2m41s).
• Cormac created the Oasis app to aggregate free data on water quality, which already exists and can be accessed by anyone, to help people check the quality of their city, town, or bottled water (3m23s).
• The app and website provide information on whether the water is clean or contains contaminants such as P forever chemicals (2m5s).
• The idea for Oasis was inspired by a tweet from Joe Gebbia, the founder of Airbnb, about an app that checks water quality (58s).
• Jeremy's business generates revenue through an affiliate scheme and a paywall, where users can request a report and pay $40-$49 for an annual membership to access the full report, with the business now earning around $40,000 a month in revenue, equivalent to half a million dollars a year (3m33s).
• The business provides information on the quality of water and other products, with a small number of people willing to pay for the information, and the owner has structured the business to start with free reports before offering paid subscriptions (4m32s).
• The owner's mission is to build a 100% independent platform to test products and provide healthy alternatives, and he achieves this by doing independent testing, which is expensive, but necessary to verify the reports (5m13s).
• The business grows through the creation of simple, viral videos on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, which drive traffic to the app and encourage people to sign up for the paid subscription (5m26s).
• The owner uses a format that works, such as a green screen video discussing the health implications of certain products, and reposts the same content to reach a large audience, even if they don't follow him (6m12s).
• The business model is successful, with several people building multi-million dollar businesses using similar strategies, and the owner's approach to providing valuable information and building a community around it is key to his success (6m33s).
• A business that showcases its revenue on Twitter, Oasis Metrics, has a monthly gross revenue of $25,000 and is predicted to become significantly larger, potentially worth tens of millions of dollars, due to its use of data to organize information in a table, making it more profitable than traditional review websites that rely on hiring freelancers to write articles (6m35s).
• The business is also getting in early on a trend that is expected to grow in the next 10 to 20 years, making it a potentially life-changing opportunity for the owner (7m20s).
• Many people want to start a side hustle while having a full-time job, and they often look for ideas on what to do (7m42s).
• The Side Hustle Idea Database, created by The Hustle, is a list of 100 side hustle ideas that provides information on how to start and grow them, and is available in the description below (7m58s).

10M dollar product: EZ Labor Law Posters (8m26s)

• A company is making millions by selling labor law posters that are required by law to be posted in employee break rooms or open areas, and these posters are updated every year, requiring businesses to purchase a new one annually (8m28s).
• The company sends letters to businesses, warning them that they are in violation of labor laws if they do not have the poster, and offers to send the poster for a fee of $45, despite the posters being available for free on state labor law websites (9m42s).
• The business model relies on making it easy for companies to comply with labor laws, rather than having to navigate the complexity of government websites, and is an example of a company making a high-margin product by aggregating and structuring data and making it available to people (10m57s).
• The company's success is attributed to its ability to make a product that is free seem valuable and necessary, and to create a sense of urgency and importance around its purchase (10m26s).
• The labor law poster business is an example of a company that is "hidden in plain sight," making millions of dollars from a product that is not well-known or understood by the general public (11m20s).
• Every object in view has a purpose and was created by someone who realized a need for it, indicating that business opportunities are everywhere (11m43s).
• A simple business model can be found in a company that paints stripes in parking lots, with one such company making $7 million in revenue per year (12m21s).
• A person can make money by taking advantage of free services, such as ordering free Bibles from the Church of Latter-day Saints and reselling them online, as one individual made $500 per month doing so (12m58s).
• This business model, although considered a scam, highlights the potential for making money from unexpected sources (13m36s).
• A friend, Miles, made money through this method but eventually disappeared, possibly due to getting in trouble for a crypto scam (14m3s).
• A product used over a billion times a day, which was featured in Time Magazine's 50 things that made the world economy work, is the subject of the third business example, although the product itself is not specified in this part of the text (14m24s).
• The product was invented around 20 years before it became widely used, indicating that sometimes it takes time for a great invention to gain traction (14m45s).
• The concept of finding a use case for something is discussed, with an example of a product that was initially without a use case, but eventually found one (14m53s).
• An example is given of a product that people use every time they buy something, with a riddle-like description of the product (14m58s).
• The product is revealed to be a barcode, with a description of a riddle that fits the characteristics of a barcode, such as being able to sit on it but not take it with you (15m7s).
• The story behind the barcode is mentioned, but not elaborated on, with an expression of interest in sharing it (15m20s).

100M dollar product: Barcodes (15m22s)

• The barcode was invented by Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver, who were inspired by Morse code and its simplicity of using dots and dashes to create a unique system. (15m25s)
• Initially, the barcode system looked like a circle with thin and thick lines, allowing for the creation of an infinite number of unique tags, but it didn't have a good use case and was patented. (15m47s)
• The first attempt to use barcodes was to track train containers, but it failed due to the barcode getting dirty and becoming unusable. (16m8s)
• The invention of the laser provided a great way to scan barcodes, but it wasn't until later that its use became practical. (16m42s)
• In the 1970s, grocery stores were struggling with inventory management and checkout processes, which were time-consuming and labor-intensive. (17m0s)
• To address these issues, the ad hoc committee for the uniform grocery product identification code was formed, and they discovered the barcode technology and decided to use it with lasers. (17m51s)
• The committee modified the barcode shape from a circle to a rectangular shape, which is still in use today, and the first barcode was scanned on a pack of Wrigley's gum in 1974. (18m10s)
• The creation of the barcode system is compared to the invention of the blockchain, where manufacturers were convinced to adopt the system due to retailer demand, with retailers threatening to deny shelf space to products without barcodes (18m30s).
• The problem of ensuring unique barcodes for each product led to the creation of a central organization, GS1, a nonprofit that issues and tracks barcodes, charging manufacturers for the service (19m0s).
• GS1 has become a lucrative business, with $81 million in revenue last year, 90-93% of which comes from barcode sales, and has accumulated $46 million in assets, with high salaries for its executives (19m57s).
• The organization has been criticized for its business practices, including stockpiling $30 million in overseas accounts and spending half of its expenses on staff salaries and lobbying against QR codes (20m35s).
• The barcode system has become a necessary requirement for retailers, including Amazon, which demands that manufacturers use the GS1 system, giving the organization significant pricing leverage (19m38s).
• The story of GS1 and the barcode system has been described as a "racket," with manufacturers having to pay whatever GS1 demands in order to get their products on store shelves (21m14s).
• The story of Bernard Silver is more interesting than initially thought, as it changed culture and had significant ramifications, similar to the invention of the iPhone, which led to the creation of various other technologies and businesses, including Uber, due to the inclusion of GPS (21m46s).
• The barcode is an example of an inflection that helped create or make possible businesses like Walmart, shaping history in the process (22m10s).
• The creation of the barcode is a space that people often overlook, but it was invented by someone who can now charge for its use, illustrating that business opportunities are everywhere (22m30s).
• The episode is accidentally turning into a theme of things that people don't think about but became significant, with the barcode being one such example (22m41s).
• Bernard Silver's story is being shared as an example of one of those overlooked things that became a significant business opportunity (22m51s).

Idea: Casual Friday (22m55s)

• The concept of Casual Friday originated in Hawaii in the 1960s, where one hotel allowed employees to wear Hawaiian shirts to work on Fridays, which was a departure from the usual formal attire (22m56s).
• The idea gained popularity in mainland America in the 1980s, with companies like HP adopting the practice, but it wasn't until the late 1980s and early 1990s that casual wear became more widely accepted (23m33s).
• Levi's launched Dockers, a line of khaki pants, but they were initially considered too casual for everyday wear, leading a marketing executive to create a pamphlet explaining the concept of business casual and Casual Friday (23m42s).
• The pamphlet, titled "A Guide to Casual Businesswear: Ideas for Dressing Professionally at Work," outlined rules for the new trend, including avoiding tattered or stained clothing, sleeveless shirts, and athletic wear (24m54s).
• The pamphlet was sent to 40,000 HR executives and included a hotline for companies to call with questions about implementing Casual Friday, which helped to popularize the trend (25m48s).
• The success of Casual Friday helped to shape culture and boost sales for Levi's and the American apparel industry, which was experiencing a slump at the time (26m25s).
• The concept of Casual Friday led to increased sales of Dockers and Levi's, demonstrating the power of marketing in creating cultural shifts and hijacking traditions to sell products (26m39s).
• De Beers, a diamond company, ran a campaign in the 1940s called "A Diamond is Forever," which successfully created the idea that diamonds are special and established the notion that one should spend two to three months' salary on a diamond (27m10s).
• De Beers also ran further campaigns that linked diamond purchases to certain anniversaries, further shaping the diamond industry (27m42s).
• The idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day was invented by Corn Flakes, and this concept has been passed down to future generations (27m47s).
• Baby showers were not a common practice until Johnson and Johnson started running ad campaigns, and wedding registries were popularized by Macy's as a way to avoid receiving duplicate gifts (28m3s).
• Spring cleaning as a common practice was popularized by Lysol, which created the idea that people should thoroughly clean their homes during the spring season (28m27s).

Marketing campaigns that altered culture (28m44s)

• Various holidays and traditions were created by marketing efforts, such as Spring Fling and Spring Cleaning, which were designed to boost sales of cleaning products during slow spring sales periods (29m5s).
• A marketing campaign can shift how people do things, as seen in the example of Craig Clemens discussing how certain foods became staples of people's diets, such as eating bacon for breakfast and drinking orange juice (29m20s).
• The tradition of brushing teeth was also created by a marketing campaign, with Claude Hopkins coming up with the idea of rubbing one's tongue on their teeth to feel the film and then promoting toothpaste as a solution, resulting in a significant increase in people brushing their teeth (29m51s).
• The idea of giving a specific gift after achieving a milestone, such as a Rolex watch for hitting a sales quota, has been successful in the past, and there may be opportunities to create new traditions in this area (31m7s).
• Friendsgiving, a celebration among friends instead of family on Thanksgiving, is an example of a tradition that does not have a clear owner and could be developed into a larger concept, such as a week-long celebration of being thankful for friends (31m32s).
• Showing appreciation to friends can be turned into a business by selling gift boxes, gratitude journals, digital cards, and other related items (31m57s).
• Hallmark is an example of a company that capitalizes on life transitions and celebrations like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and graduation season (32m7s).
• Graduation season can be turned into a business by offering financial planning subscriptions, productivity tools, career coaching, and travel discounts (32m26s).
• The Otis Elevator company is an example of a business that overcame fear and skepticism by showcasing the safety of their product through a dramatic demonstration at the world fair (32m45s).
• Before Otis, elevators were invented but not widely used due to safety concerns, which limited the height of buildings in cities like New York (32m51s).
• Otis created an elevator with automatic brakes, but it took a marketing stunt to convince people of its safety, which ultimately led to the widespread adoption of elevators and the construction of taller buildings (33m23s).
• The marketing stunt involved Otis suspending an elevator in the air, having someone cut the ropes, and demonstrating the automatic braking system, which stopped the elevator from falling (34m1s).
• The success of Otis Elevator led to the company becoming a well-known brand, with their elevators being widely used today, and their name often displayed in elevators (33m34s).
• A person reshaped the way cities work by thinking out of the box in terms of marketing and doing something that would break through the noise and shift culture and perception about a product in a dramatic way (35m6s).
• Craig's tool belt includes the "hijacks of the human mind," also known as the seven human hijacks, which can be used to hijack the mind and create a spectacle (35m21s).
• Craig has a potential book about the seven human hijacks, and there were discussions about writing the book, but it has not been completed due to busy schedules (35m31s).
• The intro for the book has been written and is described as "pretty dope" (35m46s).

Shaan reads his intro (36m0s)

• The intro to a book titled "Confessions of a Billion Dollar Marketer" is being read, which starts with a promise to use the tactics in the book for good and not evil, as they can be used to hijack the minds of consumers to get them to buy products they didn't even know they wanted (36m0s).
• The book's author, Craig, has sold over a billion dollars of products online and claims that the techniques in the book are not just tactics, but hijacks that can be used to sell products (36m10s).
• An example of a successful marketing campaign is given, where Claude Hopkins increased the percentage of the population that brushed their teeth from 7% to 65% through a brilliant marketing campaign (37m7s).
• The book discusses how diamonds became a girl's best friend and other products that got embedded into culture, and how they were marketed using the seven human hijacks (37m30s).
• The seven human hijacks are a set of techniques that can be used to change people's daily habits and get them to buy products, and they include tactics such as spectacle and demonstration (37m56s).
• The idea of the seven human hijacks was developed by Craig, who realized that a set of techniques was being used across different examples of successful marketing campaigns (39m32s).
• The seven human hijacks have been discussed on Reddit and other online platforms, and have been shared by Craig in a post that lists the seven hijacks and how to use them in marketing (39m48s).

Torches of freedom (40m6s)

• A successful marketing strategy involves making consumers feel like they're rebelling against societal norms by buying a product, as seen in the example of cigarette sales in the past, which were flat due to being associated with men only (40m7s).
• To grow sales, the cigarette company targeted women, who were seen as the other 50% of the population, by using influencers and associating smoking with female empowerment and freedom (40m32s).
• The company hired 30 influential women to participate in a parade, where they lit cigarettes as a symbol of defiance and freedom, which was then reported by journalists as "torches of freedom" (41m10s).
• This campaign successfully changed the perception of smoking among women, making it more acceptable and increasing sales (41m29s).
• The same strategy can be applied to other products, such as vapes, by associating them with freedom and rebellion (42m2s).
• The company also used the same influential women to popularize the brand's color, green, by having them wear green dresses to a high-profile fashion event, making the color trendy and increasing sales (42m29s).
• The story is documented in the book "Propaganda" by Bernays, which is considered a hard read but provides valuable insights into marketing and propaganda strategies (43m6s).
• The individual finds it challenging to read old, dense books due to their simplicity and limited attention span, often relying on summary books or modern translations to understand complex concepts (43m19s).
• They mention struggling to read books like "Mimic Theory" by Renee Gerard, even with the help of a summary book, and instead opt for more accessible versions, such as those written by Malcolm Gladwell (43m30s).
• The individual expresses interest in reading the book "Propaganda" but acknowledges the difficulty in understanding books written over 50 years ago due to the different writing style and language used during that time (44m6s).
• They note that people from older generations, such as the author of "Propaganda" who was born in 1891 and died in 1995, had a distinct way of speaking and writing that can be hard to process for modern readers (44m37s).

( Sam tours Yale campus (44m42s)

• A visit was made to Yale's campus on a Saturday, which was tweeted about on Friday, resulting in a large number of replies and suggestions on what to do during the visit (44m43s).
• Upon arrival, a student tour was joined, and a 20-year-old fan was met, who offered to show around the campus (45m38s).
• The fan showed various interesting places, including the Skull and Bones secret society building, which is not very secret due to its public presence and endowment (46m21s).
• A visit was also made to the oldest graveyard in America, where the graves of notable historical figures such as Noah Webster, the inventor of the dictionary, and Charles Goodyear, the creator of vulcanized rubber, were seen (46m46s).
• The experience of visiting historical places like Yale and seeing the graves of influential people sparked an appreciation for the history and significance of such institutions (47m6s).
• A visit to Yale University was inspiring, seeing the old institution that has lasted for centuries and its global impact was very cool (47m44s).
• The experience made one think about the impact of their own work, feeling like it's not as impactful compared to inventing robots or going to the moon, but still being inspired by authors whose graves were visited (48m35s).
• The idea of creating something that can impact people for centuries, like a thesaurus or a dictionary, was discussed, and the challenge of coming up with alternative phrases was mentioned (49m1s).
• A similar feeling of being around old, historical things that have lasted for a long time was experienced at Duke University, but with a darker side to its history (49m25s).
• Despite the dark side, the vibe and aura of old institutions like the Duke chapel were appreciated, and the idea of thinking about things that we take for granted, like old buildings or institutions, was discussed (49m57s).
• The love for Silicon Valley and old stuff stems from a similar appreciation for thinking about things that we take for granted, like how someone created an institution that became a part of our lives (50m13s).
• Silicon Valley is considered cool because it is a place where institutions are created in real time, and it is exciting to see the beginning of hopeful institutions being made (50m34s).
• The outcome of creating something in Silicon Valley is ideally that it will become an institution, such as Airbnb or Google, which can even become a verb in everyday language (50m39s).
• Being in Silicon Valley allows one to see both the creation of new institutions and the established ways of doing things, with the opportunity to learn from both (50m55s).

Idea: YC campus (50m59s)

• A potential business idea is to create a campus for Y Combinator (YC) with a Gothic, old-school institutional vibe, offering free room and board, and healthy food, in exchange for the opportunity to cherry-pick investments from the people on campus (51m0s).
• The campus would allow the creator to invest in the companies of the people living there, without needing YC's involvement (51m22s).
• An alternative idea is to create a museum, similar to the Museum of American Finance in New York City, which showcases the history of finance and YC's achievements (51m31s).
• The Museum of American Finance is a physical space where visitors can explore the history of finance, including old stock tickers and trading floors (51m56s).
• The idea of creating a museum or campus for YC is an interesting concept that could provide a unique space for people to learn about and engage with the history of finance and entrepreneurship (51m44s).