A prank website created during a New Year’s Eve drinking session became one of the internet’s most unexpected business success stories.
In early 2015, Australian entrepreneur Matthew Carpenter launched “Ship Your Enemies Glitter,” a simple website that allowed users to anonymously mail envelopes filled with glitter to people they disliked.
Built for less than $30 and originally intended as a viral media experiment, the website exploded across Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and major news outlets within hours of launch, generating more than 1.3 million visitors in its first day and thousands of customer orders almost immediately.
Carpenter later revealed that the project was inspired by ideas around internet virality and media amplification, after noticing how easily unusual stories could spread online.
Just four days after launching the website, Carpenter listed the business for sale, claiming he was overwhelmed by the sudden attention and demand.
The site was eventually purchased for $85,000 by Georgia-based entrepreneur Peter Boychuk, a move that many people online openly mocked. While critics viewed the purchase as paying a premium for a short-lived internet joke, Boychuk saw something different: attention.
Under new ownership, the company expanded operations, developed new prank products, hired staff, scaled fulfillment, and transformed what began as a marketing stunt into a legitimate e-commerce business with sustained sales. Boychuk later described the acquisition as one of the best investments he ever made.
The story has since become a case study in modern internet culture, viral marketing, attention economics, unconventional startups, and the growing business value of shareable ideas.
It highlights how distribution, timing, and execution can sometimes matter more than the original concept itself, especially in an era where online attention can rapidly transform niche ideas into real companies.
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