Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2012; the remark that golf is very fashionable and the account of the product’s fate reflect the situation at that time.
Dr Floyd E. Seskin is convinced of the need to exercise at any age. His speciality is urology, so he used to see many elderly patients. A highly recommended sport that doesn’t demand great physical sacrifice is golf, which the doctor recommended to his patients. They tended to share the same problem: because of prostate trouble, they often need to go to the toilet much more often than usual.
The problem is that a golf course often covers several square kilometres, and there isn’t usually a toilet nearby. That’s where the doctor had an idea that he wanted to turn into a business. He patented a golf club with a cavity so the player could urinate inside the club. That way, players wouldn’t need to do it on the course (a practice club owners strongly frown upon).
He looked for ways to make it as discreet as possible, including a towel to block the view while the deed is done.
Once he had the invention and the patent, Dr Floyd looked for partners for his business, because he had the idea but didn’t know how to bring it to market. He entered several competitions for funding and was turned down. The judges didn’t see much use in the idea, or simply didn’t think there was a big enough market for the product. In the end he found several partners to launch the product, though with little success. Uroclub has ended up as a late-night infomercial product.
See also: 5 ways to grow your business
Where did this business idea go wrong?
There was a latent need in the market, and the product undoubtedly met it. The potential market was large, since golf is a very fashionable sport in practically every country. Golfers with prostate problems are fewer, though. The product is innovative, but it doesn’t satisfy the existing market: in the end, the customers it was aimed at have preferred to carry on doing what they always did out on the course.
Further reading
- 10 original products to sell
- 4 business ideas taken from the movies and aimed at a niche market
- 5 business trends for 2012
Featured image: Fairway on Garforth Golf Course by Chris Heaton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
