(We originally posted this in 2020. You can read more of our original ideas in our archive. You can order a business plan of this idea here.)
Problem: It’s hard to know which popular fads from the present will become profitable antiques in the future.
Solution: A company whose whole purpose is to create a “living museum” in real-time, while also owning assets that may be potentially more valuable in the future. For example, there’s a whole list of “Things you owned in the 90s that are worth a fortune today” — including Pokemon for Nintendo Game Boy, Furby (furbies? furbys?), Super Soakers, Power Rangers Action Figures, YU-GI-OH! Cards, beanie babies, happy meal toys, original Harry Potter books, and more. The value of “vintage” or “memory artifacts” are that they become harder and harder to obtain in pristine condition as time goes on. Moreover, as one generation gets older and richer, they are more willing to spend more money to reclaim a bit of the nostalgia from their youth (Slate described this phenomenon a bit in their piece “Why are mint condition comic books so expensive”).
What’s interesting about this business is that the assets it purchases would have no fixed value (beyond the sale price). Instead, demand, willingness, and capability to pay fully would define the value; thus, it would be like a material-based Venture Capital company (in the sense that this company would by “shares” of popular culture and hope that their shares would increase in value to produce a high return or IRR). The company would buy a set of the 15-20 most popular cultural items every year to preserve in mint condition for eventual resale in 2-3 decades.
Monetization: Ticket sales to visit the museum (whether in a physical or digital location) and sales of the final product after holding culture for a few decades.
Contributed by: Michael Bervell (Billion Dollar Startup Ideas)