Not bad for a dumb Internet joke.While big red buttons used to activate a powerful force have been a trope in pop culture for decades, the idea of using one of them to make a decision with both positive and negative effects dates back to a 1970s short story by Richard Matheson titled 'Button, Button.' In the story, a couple receives a locked box with a button that, when pressed, will give them $50,000 but also cause someone that they didn't know to die. If all goes to plan, they expect to close out with around $150,000 in profit each. They hope to sell the business in the next six to 12 months, and expect to come away with around $200,000, based on a figure they received from the consulting service Flippa. They don't expect there to be demand forever, and they want to cash out while they're hot. 'One of the most important questions for us is: How long does a meme last?' says Reina. Still, Harari and Reina realize virality can be fleeting. 'They're posting on their Snapchats, Instagrams, Facebooks, whatever, and sharing it.' 'The beautiful thing is that people who buy the product do the advertising for us,' says Reina. Harari and Reina estimate they each put in around four hours of work every week. (Ten percent of orders come from eBay and their website.) 'Amazon pretty much does all the shipping and customer service for us,' says Harari. So far, splitting everything 50-50, the partners say they have pocketed around $40,000 each.įor Amazon sales, which makes up about 90 percent of the business, the process is almost entirely hands-off. The Nut Button now sells for $14.99, and thanks to better prices from their distributor and cheaper fulfillment fees through the Small and Light Amazon shipping program, the company's profit margins are around 60 percent, according to the co-founders.

The red button meme