He made five figures in six weeks with an invention he came up with after being stranded at the end of a night out
After a night out, most people are happy with ideas like grabbing a pizza or some chips to help soak up the alcohol, or maybe leaving out some painkillers for the next morning's hangover.
But for one man, his late-night idea turned into a money-making business, and a very successful one at that.
While side gigs like delivering food for DoorDash can help bring in extra cash, this brainwave proved to be much more profitable, making him close to $72,000 in just six weeks.
Queensland local Bailey Page came up with his entrepreneurial idea after finding himself stranded with a dead phone following a night out in 2020. Unable to call a taxi, he had no choice but to walk home.
During that long walk home, he started thinking about a solution — a way to charge your phone without needing a plug or carrying a bulky charger with you.
This is where Page's idea was born. He wanted to create a portable, wireless phone charger that people could easily carry around, especially when going out, without cluttering up their pockets.
After making it home, he didn’t forget about his idea, despite the late-night inspiration. Instead, he began researching, only to find that there wasn’t anything quite like what he had in mind on the market.
Determined to make his idea a reality, he decided to invest all of his savings into creating the product, all while juggling his studies during his third year at university.
Working with a manufacturer he found through the e-commerce site Alibaba, Paige spent nine months developing the product. The result was a wireless charger that attaches to a phone, with the Zip Zap website offering battery charge.
The charger itself is reusable and recharges fully in about two hours, making it both portable and convenient for anyone on the go.
Balancing his studies and exams with starting a business wasn’t easy, but Paige managed to pull it off. Speaking with the Courier Mail, he explained:
"My third year essentially, I just had to focus on getting uni complete while I did my studies.
"It was just a lot of late nights and weekend work to really cover up on what I couldn't do through the week when I was at uni. I thought to myself, you know what, if I failed, I at least had a go.
"I always encourage young people just to have a go. You have to put a plan on paper. It's always good to get outside eyes looking in and giving you feedback. You can never fail with starting and the biggest hurdle is actually just starting."
Despite the long hours and sleepless nights, Paige’s risk paid off. His invention became the foundation for his new company, Zip Zap Chargers, and he was able to make back his savings—and more.
In its first six weeks, Zip Zap earned nearly $72,000 and sold out its first batch of chargers in just two weeks.
Since then, the business has continued to grow, breaking his goal of selling 2,000 chargers in a year and showing no signs of slowing down.