You scratch your head and say to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”, when you hear about a new business idea that takes off and is a really simple concept. Take Beanie Babies for example.

Here’s a good one that will make you wish you had thought of it. Groupon. Here’s the lowdown. Groupon solicits deals from local stores/ services and spreads the offer out among the city. The deal is spread by Groupon members spreading the deal to their friends in hopes that they too will take advantage of the offer. The trick is that a guaranteed number of people have to sign up for the deal to make it worthwhile. Everyone wins. The company offering the deal gets a guaranteed number of folks paying for the offer up front, thus becoming engaged in the brand. This quantity guarantee makes the 40-70% discount palpable to the company sponsoring the deal. Groupon gets half the cost of each deal so they make money too. Groupon members continue to be brand evangelists reaching out to their friends to join Groupon so they can get as many folks as possible to buy the deal. It’s a win, win, win. Wow.
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