The ultimate low-cost startup

I posted the other day about unlikely businesses, like the small repair shop here in Eugene that specializes in fixing electric shavers.

Talking that over with a couple of people around the office reminded me of another unusual business I saw recently: a midway stand on the Coney Island boardwalk called, charmingly enough, Shoot the Freak. See for yourself:

This business is exactly as sophisticated as it sounds. The pitch is made, loudly, by employee #1, a teenage kid with a microphone, and it's dead simple. Pay $5 and get 15 tries to shoot at employee #2 with a paintball gun.

Are you not tempted by this? Then you are clearly not my teenage son, who rushed to part with his money and happily took his shots.

Beyond the novelty of the offer, what's remarkable to me about this business is its economy. Seriously, is there a lower-cost startup idea out there? Coney Island is still miraculously decentralized, a sort of anti-Disney playground. Every ride, game, and concession is its own independent business. One guy owns the Tilt-a-Whirl, another the bumper cars, and each one has its own ticket booth.

So to start your own Shoot the Freak stand, you need:

• Two minimum-wage employees
• Two loaded paintball guns
• A cheap microphone and amp
• The right to use a vacant lot (the more rubble strewn, the better, and keep in mind we're in Brooklyn here)

Not to read too much into this admittedly dodgy business, but isn't this the essence of small business success: find an audience (13-year-old boys) and give them what they want (to shoot paintballs at strangers, apparently)? Nice and tidy. And it makes a good story when you're done.

Josh Cochrane
Director of Online Marketing
Palo Alto Software

Comments

[evan]

I have to ask, do you win anything for hitting the guy? Or is hitting a stranger with a paintball its own reward?

[Josh Cochrane]

Apparently the bragging rights are enough. No prizes or other incentives are offered, though I imagine adding the opportunity to get an "I shot the freak at Coney Island" t-shirt would go over well.

[Atlanta Search Engine Optimization]

Awesome story.
Many young people are tempted with the quick money that drug dealing offers, especially in a big city like Brooklyn.

So many people settle into the mindset of what else can we do to earn money?

How inspiring to see the entrepeneurial mindset of a few young marketers like this.

[0biwan]

hey, Great idea! lol