This guy is an effing genius!

[Exterous]

In 2007, during a business school lecture at UCLA, Roberto Sequeira had a revelation. What if I could design the perfect business? he asked himself, something niche, high-margin, scalable. He ran through a rolodex of potential consumer items -- watches, food, clothing -- before arriving at his moment of clarity: he’d start an ice cube company. But not just any ice cube company -- one that sold its wares at $8 a piece. Today his brainchild, Gläce Luxury Ice, caters posh events at the Playboy Mansion and L.A. Fashion Week; for the mere price of $325, 50 Gläce cubes are all yours -- complete with an "elegant" resealable bag.

http://priceonomics.com/the-rise-of-the-s8-ice-cube/

I wish I had been smart enough to swindle people out of money make that much money off of frozen water.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Jeff7]

They already sell water in bottles at a huge markup. Why not?
Diamond is a sparkly rock when cut appropriately, and it's sold at a huge markup for a cosmetic purpose.
Soda is diluted corn syrup, also sold at a large markup.
Homeopathic products contain virtually nothing of value, and they sell for far more than $0.

People are always looking for ways to convince other people to spend their money. A good marketing campaign will make the target audience believe that they need the product or service being sold.

Have millions of dollars sitting in the bank? An expensive ice cube can make you feel wealthy, because you know that the rabble are using plain tap water that they paid almost nothing for.

 

[Markbnj]

Diamond is sparkly rock, and it's sold at a huge markup.

I think that somewhat deprecates the true nature of diamonds, which are a pure carbon crystal, but definitely not as rare as the diamond cartels try to make them.

 

[phucheneh]

I think that somewhat deprecates the true nature of diamonds, which are a pure carbon crystal, but definitely not as rare as the diamond cartels try to make them.

Diamonds for any actual useful (industrial) purpose can be made in a lab. The rocks whose mining has and continues to cause a great deal of human suffering are literally damn near worthless as anything but whore decorations.

 

[darkewaffle]

Oh god reading the marketing speak for the ice featured in that article had me stifling some pretty serious laughs, amazing.

 

[Rakehellion]

Diamonds for any actual useful (industrial) purpose can be made in a lab. The rocks whose mining has and continues to cause a great deal of human suffering are literally damn near worthless as anything but whore decorations.

:thumbsup:

 

[Rakehellion]

Everyone in this thread is so jelly.

 

[Drako]

That guy is not a genius.

The people that buy those are just stupid. :biggrin:

 

[Rakehellion]

That guy is not a genius.

The people that buy those are just stupid. :biggrin:

Smarter than your broke ass, obviously.

 

[Drako]

Smarter than your broke ass, obviously.

My broke ass? :hmm:

I have not been broke since I was 20ish, which was many years ago. :biggrin:

 

[Aharami]

i seriously doubt this company will last too long.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.” ~ H.L. Mencken

 

[lozina]

The next big thing will be air.

Pure, clean filtered air shipped to your home in pressurized tanks. Our air is sourced from the pristine peaks of the northern Rockies and is filtered for purity to the precise levels of oxygen, nitrogen, etc. for optimal human consumption. Having your home filled with our premium air will make you healthier and happier.

 

[Rudee]

Company will be out of business within 2yrs.

 

[CurseTheSky]

The next big thing will be air.

Pure, clean filtered air shipped to your home in pressurized tanks. Our air is sourced from the pristine peaks of the northern Rockies and is filtered for purity to the precise levels of oxygen, nitrogen, etc. for optimal human consumption. Having your home filled with our premium air will make you healthier and happier.

Sounds like Spaceballs.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

He adds that his cubes have seen great success. They've been featured in drinks at Playboy parties, the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance, and “uber-lux” car shows, and are now part of Sysco's restaurant distribution chain. The company maintains that the true power of their cubes lies in “tastelessness.”

hahaha, he's a funny, cynical guy.

 

[akahoovy]

hahaha, he's a funny, cynical guy.

I love it, hehehe

 

[pontifex]

Company will be out of business within 2yrs.

it was started in 2007

 

[Fayd]

I thought there was whiskey rocks, so as to not dilute the beverage?

 

[brianmanahan]

Everyone in this thread is so jelly.

Smarter than your broke a**, obviously.

rake, why are you always projecting your feelings onto other people?

 

[MongGrel]

rake, why are you always projecting your feelings onto other people?

:biggrin:

 

[Jeff7]

I think that somewhat deprecates the true nature of diamonds, which are a pure carbon crystal, but definitely not as rare as the diamond cartels try to make them.

Oh I do appreciate diamond quite a lot. It's an excellent crystal, is extremely stable and orderly, and has impressive thermal conductivity. It's a damn shame that carbon needs so much coercion to form that structure.
It also happened to be the subject of a really good marketing campaign, which is what drove its monetary value as a sparkly rock.

 

[BUTCH1]

That guy is not a genius.

The people that buy those are just stupid. :biggrin:

No, genius found. He realized a market for his product before he even made the first one. look at $300 Monster HDMI cables which can be had for around $11 at monoprice, but whoever started the company knew that even AV cables can have snob appeal. Same with bottled water, many just use city water and filter it, then charge you $1/bottle for what cost them $.15 to bottle and market.

 

[Eug]

The next big thing will be air.

Pure, clean filtered air shipped to your home in pressurized tanks. Our air is sourced from the pristine peaks of the northern Rockies and is filtered for purity to the precise levels of oxygen, nitrogen, etc. for optimal human consumption. Having your home filled with our premium air will make you healthier and happier.

Might be worth something in Beijing on those smoggy days.