My First Profitable Product Was a Pair of Underwear

Let me tell you about my first profitable product.

It started with a desperate MBA student, 5000 Rupees cash, and a final exam.

My buddy (now a bigshot in the US who'd kill me for telling this story) found himself in a classic college nightmare: final exam tomorrow, hadn't opened a book all semester.

Failure wasn't an option. So he hatched a plan.

Cheat.

By midnight, he had cobbled together a phone and Bluetooth setup to get answers during the exam. Just one problem: how to smuggle a phone past security?

That's when he made an announcement to our hostel floor: "Whoever solves my phone smuggling problem gets all the cash in my pocket." He pulled out 5000 rupees (serious money for broke college students).

Game on.

After a quick brainstorming session with my roommates, we landed on a ridiculous solution: a custom-sewn underwear with a hidden phone pocket, positioned where security wouldn't dare search.

One tiny hiccup: it was 1 AM, and all the tailors in Chandigarh were asleep.

Then I remembered something.

When my mom dropped me at college, she slipped a sewing kit in my bag. And unlike most guys, I actually knew how to use it. Back in school, whenever a button popped off my uniform, Mom made me fix it myself.

That insignificant skill suddenly became my million-dollar talent.

I sewed that secret pocket like my life depended on it.

The result? My friend made it through security, aced the exam, and somehow landed third in the class. (The professor never questioned the sudden intelligence boost).

And I walked away with my first product revenue.

The lesson? Solving urgent, painful problems creates instant value. My friend didn't care about aesthetics or features—he needed a solution to his critical problem NOW.

That principle has guided my product development ever since.

What urgent problem can you solve today?