If you are wondering why you should ask people for their opinion about your business, it is because it will save you from doing something stupid like this:
Running in place AND moving. Holy shit. Is that possible?
Hopefully this teaches you that you should always ask other people for their opinion. You don’t have to listen to them, but there is no harm in asking. And even if you decide to continue with a dumb idea, it doesn’t mean you can’t get rich off of it.
Do you know of any other dumb business ideas?
Update: Oh shit! This guy may actually be successful. It seems like his company has many other products that are popular.
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Come on Neil. It was not so bad. It does look a bit bulky but it looks interesting none the less.
Maybe a smaller model much sleeker could take off for the higher income bracket fit nut who wants another slightly dumb looking toy.
Actually with the right hype you can sell sand to a desert tribe man.
Why would you need to run in place while moving? Can’t you just run or walk down the street instead?
It’s not even running, you have to brace against the handles and use your feet to push the “treadmill” so that it rotates the wheels. You can see him strain to get it going… it’s stupid because it’s inefficient in everything it’s trying to do – provide exercise and provide transportation.
I wonder how much it costs, I want one. haha
LOL, I kind of want one too.
Agreed with above. I wouldn’t buy it but it’s not the dumbest idea ever. Why would people buy bicycles when they can just ride stationary bikes?
Good point. It may not be the dumbest idea… There is probably some idiot who will buy it.
Actually, that iphone “I’m rich” app is the stupidest ever, this is number 2. I could imagine riding and running on this at the same time would make you sick.
I guess I will have to check it out.
yeah that one is pretty dumb.. but there are tons of really stupid apps
I really hate the ifart, but I guess it is making a lot of money.
Well you have to consider the whoopee cushion, one of the top sold toys…ever. And I’m willing to bet the market for the ifart consists of mostly kids and teenagers who find farts hilarious.
yea true. A lot of dumb things end up going viral…like this
Or, rather, why would people by stationary bikes when they could just ride bicycles?
In the same vein, why buy any treadmill when you can just run on the spot, round your living room, or your neighbourhood?
Some people will have uses for things that others never would have thought of. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have inventors.
I can understand a treadmill because it can do different things such as create an incline like running up a hill. Plus the advanced ones can measure your heart beat and keep you cool.
My favorite part is the end: “Now is the time to invest”.
Indeed.
I wonder if he means invest in his company or buy the product.
You could do some mad faceplants off the ramp on that one though Neil…just like the electric scooter
ROFL! I don’t think that will happen again. The thinktank will probably be the last place in which you saw me fall off a scooter.
I don’t know if I’ve had any dumb business ideas, but I have had some … let’s just say that I wouldn’t think about them again. But then again, most entrepreneurs fail before they succeed, so all those failures have to be categorized under trial and error. Most ideas are probably just not “dumb” but unrealistic for the time if they fail? This was pretty dumb though..lol
Even a lot of good ideas are unrealistic for the current time. This is the reason some companies raise venture capital.
This was hilarious. Great find! My favorite part is the tandem running. Give me a break. Let’s hope he made just the one prototype in his garage and only spent a couple hundred dollars before he finds out there is no market for a moving treadmill — wow.
What adds to the humor is the music. LOL
Either all his friends are morons or he talked to NO ONE about it.
My money is on he talked to no one about it.
At least they could have used a hot woman for the video…
If they used a hot women it then wouldn’t be the dumbest business idea.
It would be so much easier just to run with weights or something. What is people thinking these days. Who knows what’s next
Or it would be easier to just run. Why even get the machine? I bet you it doesn’t work well up hills.
I was ROFL when I saw this, called my wife over and she thought is was cool. So, I guess a whole different strokes for different folks. Pet rocks sold millions.
Although, the idea of this reminds me of the anecdote that NASA spent millions to develop a space pen for astronauts. Something that would write upside down and in zero gravity. The Russians cosmonauts? Used a pencil.
There goes tax payer money down the drain for a dumb idea.
This is someone with way too much time on there hands. I also agree with Todd, if they had a clue they would have put good looking women on it, at least that way it may have went viral.
Exactly! They could have even done it two girls on the machine towards the end of the video instead of 2 guys.
The music makes it.
This strikes me as the kind of guy who embarrasses his family on a regular basis by bringing up his “revolutionary invention” at otherwise pleasant BBQs and other gatherings.
Let’s hope he didn’t quit his day job to become an “inventor.”
The good thing about the guy is that he is willing to try new things. You have to at least give him that…
Hopefully he becomes successful one day.
Hi Neil,
I don’t see a lot of value is something like this either, but who knows… If it had some type of power assist, to get it moving, or perhaps get you zipping along at a decent speed so you could run on a treadmill (but actually get somewhere faster).
Seems like it wouldn’t be able to turn very tightly, or stop very quickly. I’m sure it’s a prototype, but who knows.
I think the point of the post is not this specific product, but the fact that it pays to do some market research first, find out if there is a market for what your selling first, and get some ideas on what makes sense. Since it’s your baby, your biased as to how great the idea is, and in asking others, you’ll get a view of how the rest of the general public might view your idea.
So do you due diligence up front…
Exactly! You should always do market research before you jump into anything. It can save you a lot of time and money in the end.
You have to give credit to the inventor. He was able to get over all the “nae” sayers (I would be one of them) and follow through his “dumb” idea. Most of us have great ideas that become useless because we stopped along the way.
The thing I like about the guy is that he has the courage to start his own company and wants to be successful no matter what people are telling him.
Holly cow. It is …
Come on now, this is perfect for those of us who enjoy running outside, but don’t want to ruin our knees.
The treadmill with wheels will provide the cushion / support that we like while being able to enjoy the great outdoors. Pounding your feet against the sidewalk or asphalt really hurts the knees. That is why you see people running on the edge of the street instead of the cement sidewalk (asphalt has more give). You would also twist your ankle a lot less if you took it off-road. Or maybe you live in the midwest and have no hills to run up but still want to run outside – set to incline baby.
Finally, a company that found a problem and developed a solution.
Although wide and bulky right now, future roll-outs could be quite compact. I am sure the tandem thing was rehearsed quite a bit – ever tried to do that?
Another model could even be one for your dog, so now you can go out jogging with Rex and he can run as fast as he wants – he won’t be slowed down by your pathetic pace. Simply turn the machine to only roll the wheels at a certain pace (or sync with yours) and then the tread can run as fast as Rex can make it. – OH, Happy Dog
I am not necessarily filling out a check or looking up where to invest, and I really don’t think he would be able to sell many even with a better design, but I have seen dumber ideas – usually in the “fashion” industry or on late night TV (I am never going to try and vacuum-brush my cat – even with an extra long hose).
After the roll out for a dog they may create an automated one for handicapped people. LOL
LOL – YES.
That Hawaii Chair that Ellen Degeneres bought and mocked was a pretty bad idea – they probably sold a bunch just for the “fun” factor – especially after her national exposure. I think the treadmill would be too pricey for someone to buy it just for the “fun” factor though.
Yea, plus the shipping cost on the product must be a lot.
Pretty hilarious but I give him props for trying something. It’s best to just get out there and see what people say… who knows he may have the last laugh
That would be a very expensive laugh.
LOL…what the hell?!
The sad part is, the inventor will probably sell a bunch of em. You’d be surprised how many weirdos are out there that would buy something like this.
Marketing sometimes works wonders.
If he sells a bunch of them, that would be great. Although I don’t like the product, I still want him to be successful.
My belief is that if the product is not harming anyone, then he has the right to sell it. And, if he becomes rich by selling a “pet rock” type of product, then more power to him.
=D
Based on your update comment above, this makes it even more ridiculous. I thought he was new inventor who just wouldn’t let it go regardless of the common sense factor.
Maybe his wife/friends were just tired of him getting a big ego. They fueled the insanity only to video the look on his face after the first few questions from the media.
LOL. Sabotaged by his own family. That would suck.
I Agree. One should ask, listen but it is upto an individual to except/reject.
Exactly. There is never harm in asking for advice.
lol! this contraption reminds me of The Flintstones. I bet this thing was selling like hotcakes when gas was $4.65/gallon.
The thing with the Flintstones car is that you could easily use your feet to stop the car. With this, if you happen to be going down hill, I don’t think you can stop the machine.
Yeah, if you go downhill with this machine, you’ll have to abandon ship! Then hope that it won’t kill anyone on the way down to the bottom of the hill.
Maybe it can be harmful to society…
They do have some other great ideas. This one seems neat, but I just couldn’t stop laughing. I don’t know why. Maybe because if I am outside running I don’t want to be on a treadmill…don’t know. But if you have the patience to wait for the page to load they have a couple of other interesting products and concepts.
Although the point of this blog post is extremely pertinent. You “gotta” ask. lol
The company seems to be pretty innovative. I just don’t understand how they created a few GREAT products and then came up with this.
Maybe the creator lost focus. He saw the money rolling in with their other products, so he figured he’ll invent a new product for the purpose of increasing revenue. Just because something makes money doesn’t mean it’s practical or common sense.
Yea or maybe his current customer base wanted a product like that? Who knows his rational, but hopefully he had a reason behind creating it.
This is really bad invention, you are right Neil, 100 % right
Thanks! I am still wondering if the company made money off of the product. I don’t think I can find that information out, but I would love to know it.
it must be the music.
i found myself being hypnotized.
I think they use the same hypnotic music that they play in the big box home centers that makes you tranceline purchase whatever imported plastic crap they stock the isles with while concurrently zapping your mind of the list of necessities that brought you to the store in the first place.
it is just a ploy to get you to forget your shopping list essentials so you need to return to the store 2 hours later.
yep, its all in the music
im going out for a run in my car
thanks and take care,
Bryan
LOL, it maybe the same music. If it wasn’t for the music the video would suck a lot more.
Agreed with above. I wouldn’t buy it but it’s not the dumbest idea ever. Why would people buy bicycles when they can just ride stationary bikes?
Bicycles are an economical way of commuting around a small town.
It would be so much easier just to run with weights or something. What is people thinking these days. Who knows what’s next
LOL. Next he will come out with an addition that allows you to use that machine while running with weights in your arm.
Kind of pointless, but hey, if yo ucna do it then why not?! lol
Because it can lose you money.
It’s really encouraging to see you reply to every single comment here. Back to the post,i think boredom can result to one thinking like a fool..
Thanks! I try to, but sometimes it can be hard.
I think boredom and surrounding yourself with dumb people can cause you to do stupid things.
The only benefit that I see in this product is that it may give you a little be more of a work out on two levels. First is that it may give you more incentive to use it because you can go faster and farther than just running. Second is a what if scenario, what if you pop a tire you would have to carry the thing back to your house.
LOL, carrying it back is a tough thing to do. Or worse, what happens if you start going down hill. How would you stop?
Well it looks like you can steer it, and anything that you can steer should have some kind of fail safe, or break. Even if it didn’t you could always jump off or run backwards. This just proves that some people need to wear a helmet when they go out for a run, and from this idea the creator needs to wear a helmet even when not running.
Running backwards may work, but you would be running against momentum at that point. Jumping off is a good idea, but the treadmill may injure someone else.
Too funny. Perhaps a show on dumb business ideas would be good monthly filler for WebmasterRadio.FM too. Thanks for sharing someone else’s silliness.
No problem. I should have bought you the running treadmill for Christmas.
HA! Tell ya what Neil…. I’ll race YOU to the third or fourth floor of the Chicago Hilton next December to see if there is another mythical hallway of unoccupied rooms to exploit.
LOL, I don’t do that stuff anymore. I turned over a new leaf and I now believe in karma.
This is really dumb marketing strategic or marketing idea.
It is, but it looks like the company is doing really well. Maybe I was wrong…
“Hopefully this teaches you that you should always ask other people for their opinion.” Perhaps that’s why God gave us 2 ears and one mouth – to listen MORE than we talk. Perhaps,
The problem is most of us talk more than listen. Only if we could change that…
what will you get if you buy this product ?
you run on this machine and you move too !
this machine designed to do sports at home ” so you don’t have to go out to run , but with this idea they offer in the video i see that i have to go out to run so what i got then ???
Not much. Just a treadmill with wheels. Or better yet, a moving treadmill.
I Agree wid u… One should ask n listen bt it is totally upto an individual to except/reject.
My guess is he asked other people for their opinion.. Maybe he asked the wrong people for advice…
Neil, No no no no no no no…
Pets.com and the Phantom game console is the stupidest business idea I’ve seen.
Pets.com
When you need cat litter you NEED IT NOW, not in 4-7 business days… NOW!
Phantom Game Console from Infinium Labs
These guys >>> SPENT $160 MILLION <<< on consulting fees and useless expenses, came to the bring of bankruptcy, and still never came out with their product! Behold the power of stupidity. Check out their site Phantom.net, the only thing they have to show is a wierd a** keyboard.
Infinium Labs company t-shirt: “I spent $160 million of venture capital and all I made was this f***ed up keyboard.”
I think pets.com is making millions of dollars.
I think pets.com is making millions of dollars.
*shakes head* nope. Pets.com is long gone and bankrupt.
Are we talking about the same one?
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com
- http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/0,39029552,49296926-8,00.htm
It launched and burnt out within 9 months. Pets.com is now owned by PetSmart and is a pet community instead of an online store.
Ah… I guess I was wrong. Thanks for correcting me.
I think a million pixels page was a dumb idea but hats off to every one who made me to think like an idiot.
I wish I created it.
Seriously, how could million pixels page could ever be successful, what were the first advertisers thinking…there are few other such ideas which go on to be successful and make one feel like an idiot..
I know, but the stupidest stuff makes money sometimes.
LOL, you are right! That’s why you supply people with what they need other than what they don’t want. However, this could go viral for whatever he’s doing. Maybe it’s just for a viral video Neil, LOL I don’t know. Nice catch bro!
It did go viral to some extent. I posted on it and other bloggers did as well.
That guy is freak, but the idea maybe is good for the mad people
His company looks very successful 
Maybe the costumers like him because of his ideas 
No, it’s was simply a bad idea.
Yes,we should ask other’s opinion but important point is that they should know more than you about the topic what you ask.Otherwise,the result will be wrong I think.
Well yes of course, it’s up to you to do your research have the extensive database of knowledge.
kudos to the guy! i never really thought that moving AND staying in place at the same time could be possible. but yeah, i think you should ask people about your business ideas. just make sure you ask the RIGHT kind of people so you don’t get the wrong advices.
Ask people who you admire and you’ll hopefully get the right response. However, even with that, go with your gut on what you feel is right.
It’s a dumb idea, but there are a lot of dumb people in the world, so who knows?
lol… very true… a lot of stupid people out there who buy anything and everything so maybe this does have a shot
I think a million pixels page was a dumb idea but hats off to every one who made me to think like an idiot:D
It may have been a dumb idea, but the guy who made made a lot of mula.
I agree but why not spend your time, energy, and money making something more useful?