$200,000 Lesson: College Kids Turn Meme into Money
Hello Tribe,
Welcome to another exciting edition of Moneymint! We're more than just a newsletter—we're a community of go-getters, dreamers, and doers.
In this story, we'll dive into how two college students turned a viral internet meme into a business idea, making $200,000.
From College Grads to $200,000: The Viral Nut Button Success Story
In 2017, Davis Harari traveled to Tel Aviv for a summer internship at a VC firm.
Little did he know, a popular meme sent in a jokey group chat would spark a business idea. 💡
The meme? The Nut Button 🔘
You know, that image of a hand pressing a blue button with the word "nut" Photoshopped on it.
It was a popular joke among young people at the time. 😂
I know, some of you Googled it! [Google at your own risk]
Harari found it hilarious and wanted to buy a real-life Nut Button, similar to the Staples Easy Button.
When he couldn't find one, he saw an opportunity to make and sell his own.
He pitched the idea to his high school friend, James Reina, a finance student at Binghamton University.
Reina initially thought it was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.
But Harari convinced him, saying, "You're right, it is stupid. But think about it. It's smart, kind of."
Even though the idea was dumb, they knew it wasn't too risky to sell plastic buttons online, plus there was strong brand recognition too.
Fast forward to 2017, the two entrepreneurs sold more than 14,000 Nut Buttons for $200,000 in sales.
Harari says, “I’m so happy this worked.”
Obviously, he was happy, especially after leaving his first post-college job at a consulting firm after just two months.
So, how did they turn a popular internet meme into an IRL product? Let's find out!
"We just figured it out along the way," they say. Despite limited e-commerce experience, they knew the Nut Button would go viral. 📈
In early 2018, a vertical of New York Magazine, Intelligencer called the Nut Button, "One of the most enduring online JPEGs of our current age."
It was the 4th-most shared meme on Twitter in the summers of 2016 and 2017. 🏆
Where Did Even This Odd Meme Come From?
It all started in 2015 when a photo was posted on Tumblr, depicting someone hitting a physical "Like" button.
From there, the internet took over and began Photoshopping different words and images onto the button.
Initially, the Nut Button started as a crude sexual joke in meme culture, but it quickly evolved to take on new meanings, including more family-friendly versions.
Why? Because people were already familiar with the meme and enjoyed it. 😂
Harari and Reina did their homework, researching things like finding a distributor and ensuring their product would pop up when people searched for the meme.
How did they learn all this?
Reina says that whatever they learned was mostly through Google, then trial and error. 🔍
As we all know, the best way to learn is by doing, failing, and growing from those experiences.
To bring their idea to life, the duo put in their own capital, using savings from earlier entrepreneurial endeavors.
Reina had run a pop-up coffee shop one summer, while Harari had resold concert tickets and sneakers online.
In 2017, they took the leap and spent $2,500 to order 1,000 buttons from a Chinese distributor they found on Alibaba.
Next Steps: Making Thousands from the Dumbest Idea
Turning a meme into a business isn't just about having a funny idea. It's about execution.
Here's how Harari and Reina navigated the complexities of business:
1. Legal Protection
They used LegalZoom to understand and secure trademarks. Smart move.
This ensured they adhered to all legal requirements, protecting their brand from day one.
2. Online Presence
They didn't just throw up a basic website. They used SquareSpace to create a professional online storefront.
But they didn't stop there. They also set up shop on eBay and Amazon for international orders.
Multi-channel selling = more opportunities for sales.
3. Marketing Strategy
They didn't rely on organic growth alone. They invested in targeted marketing:
Instagram: $75 to $150 per post
Facebook: $10 daily ad budget
This comprehensive approach maximized their visibility and operational efficiency in the digital marketplace.
The results?
Day 1: 0 orders
Day 2: 1 order (time to celebrate!)
Week 2: 5 orders per day
As James Reina put it, "We were closing 5 sales per day and felt like Bill Gates."
The Big Break: Jack Russell Terrier Video
A Jack Russell Terrier playing with a button that says "Nut." Sounds ridiculous, right? It was.
But that 15-second clip, shared on Barstool's Instagram (then only 6M followers), changed everything.
Managing Studies with Business
Final exams? Who cares when you're shipping 100 buttons a day.
These college kids got creative:
Hired housemates at $15/hour
Managed packaging and shipping
Kept the supply flowing
The Nut Button Today
Still selling like crazy:
Till date, they’ve sold over $1M
Priced at $14.99
Amazon's small & light program = better margins
60% profit split 50/50 between founders
They spend less than 4hrs/week on it
The Amazon Advantage
"Amazon pretty much does all the shipping and customer service for us," says co-founder Harari.
The breakdown:
90% of sales through Amazon
10% from their website and eBay
The $100,000 Lesson
Each founder has pocketed $100,000 so far. Not bad for a meme, right?
Harari and Reina, the masterminds behind the Nut Button, only put in 4 hours/week each. Let that sink in.
Their secret sauce?
User-generated content.
As Reina puts it:
"The beautiful thing is that people who buy the product do the advertising for us. They're posting on their Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, whatever, and sharing it."
Despite their wild success, the founders wrestle with a nagging question: "How long does a meme last?"
We've all seen it before:
Fidget spinners everywhere, then nowhere
Viral trends that fizzle out faster than a TikTok video
They knew they had to strike while the iron was hot.
The $200,000 Exit Plan
In 2018, Harari and Reina hatched a plan: Cash out while the Nut Button was still trending. They were aiming for a $200,000 valuation.
But fast forward to 2024, and the business is still going strong. They've even expanded into other merchandise.
The Lesson
The Nut Button story teaches us that one person's trash is another's treasure.
All it takes is:
Spotting the potential in a meme
Acting fast
Leveraging user-generated content
Knowing when to cash out
So next time you scroll past a silly meme, pause and ask yourself: "Could this be my Nut Button moment?"
If you found this newsletter informative and thought-provoking, why not forward it to someone you think would enjoy it?
Thank you for reading. See you in the next time.
Awesome 👍