729: $500,000 in Hamster Ball Sales? How a College Student Brought a New Product to Life
The Side Hustle Show
Intro
Nick introduces the episode, the guest Ethan Haber, and the hamster-ball business idea that started in college.
Half a million dollars in hamster balls. What if you spotted a gap in a market that hadn’t changed in 50 years and turned it into a fast-growing product business while still in college?
That’s exactly what Ethan Haber did with Happy Habitats, a small pet products company he started as a sophomore at Wake Forest University.
While watching his hamster Mooksy roll around in a standard hamster ball on campus, Ethan looked over and saw someone walking a dog.
The thought hit him: why can’t I walk my hamster? That simple question launched a product line now heading into 1,500 stores nationwide through a major big-box retail deal.
Ethan’s story covers everything from cold-emailing a design firm and navigating COVID shipping delays, to cracking Amazon and landing a mentorship with the founder of PetSmart — all from a niche that most people overlook.
Tune in to Episode 729 of the Side Hustle Show to learn:
- how to take an existing product and improve upon it to create a defensible business
- what it really takes to get your product into retail stores and online marketplaces
- why patents, packaging, and the right partners matter more than most first-time founders realize
Full Show Notes: $500,000 in Hamster Ball Sales? How a College Student Brought a New Product to Life
New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here!
Sponsors:
- Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post!
- Quo (formerly OpenPhone) — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!
- Shopify — Sign up for a $1 per month trial!
- Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!
About The Side Hustle Show
This is the entrepreneurship podcast you can actually apply!
The award-winning small business show covers the best side hustles and side hustle ideas. We share how to start a business and make money online and offline, including online business, side gigs, freelancing, marketing, sales funnels, investing, and much more.
Join 100,000+ listeners and get legit business ideas and passive income strategies straight to your earbuds. No BS, just actionable tips on how to start and grow your side hustle.
Hosted by Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation.
The AI-powered Podcast Player
