Hey Hackers,
Your startup could have 100 people on its payroll whose sole job is to market your company and product, but sometimes, opportunities just fall into your lap naturally. When that happens, you have to make sure you don’t squander it because you never know when it’s going to happen again. Here are a few examples of businesses that have made the most out of opportunities that have come out of nowhere.
Dr. Pepper Jingle
In December of 2025, TikTok user romeosshow posted a video where they sang a jingle for Dr. Pepper, the soda brand. Instead of just commenting on the video and thanking them for being a fan, Dr. Pepper took it a step or two further. According to NPR, they featured the jingle in a commercial that was aired during the College Football Playoff National Championship. They even made sure to include her TikTok username in it.
Ocean Spray Viral TikTok
TikToker Nathan Apodaca filmed himself drinking Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry while riding his longboard and singing a song. Not long after, the Ocean Spray CEO recreated the video. It didn’t stop there, however. The company even gave Nathan a brand new truck, and also a ton of free Cran-Raspberry. By playing along with the trend and giving Nathan a big gift, Ocean Spray turned a lucky video into a successful campaign.
Stanley Cup Fire
Speaking of buying somebody a brand new car, something similar happened a couple of years later. A woman named Danielle posted a TikTok where she showed her car after it had been completely burned. The one thing that survived? Her Stanley Cup, with the ice still in it.
The video went extremely viral, and of course, it eventually reached the Stanley Company itself. Not only did they offer to give Danielle free Stanley cups, but they also offered to buy her a brand new car. So, they improved their reputation by showing they made products that were made to last, and they also scored brownie points for offering to help out a customer.
These three companies could’ve been content with their customers’ videos going viral, could’ve left a quick comment, and called it a day. But they decided to seize the opportunities that fell into their lap, and now, all three are seen as textbook-perfect ways to capitalize on organic marketing.
Although these examples are rare, who’s to say your company can’t make its own viral moments? You have the opportunity to go viral every time you publish an article as part of HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Here’s how:
HackerNoon’s Business Blogging gives you:
- Instant credibility by publishing alongside respected tech voices
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When you publish through HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program, you’re getting your insights, expertise, and unique perspective published on a platform that millions of developers, founders, and tech professionals actually read and trust.
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Now, let’s take a look at startups that are paving their own way to success.
The Real Group, D.notitia, and SumIt Software: HackerNoon Startups of the Week
The Real Group
One of the best feelings in the world is when you go shopping for clothes. Coincidentally, one of the worst feelings in the world is when you go shopping for clothes. It can be an overwhelming hassle. The Real Group is here to do something about that. They help you find the perfect clothes that fit your personal style, and even have an AI search mode that can give you fashion advice for when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for.
In HackerNoon’s 2025 Startups of the Year, The Real Group’s effort and work did not go unnoticed. They won 3rd place in Seoul, South Korea, and were also recognized in the Saas, Analytics, and Generative AI categories.
D.notitia
Most companies would do anything to have at least one successful product. Dnotitia developed 3 in just three years. Seahorse is a vector database created to help businesses with data management without having to break the bank. Mnemos is the product you need to run LLMs and to improve AI deployments. Finally, there’s DNA: Dnotitia AI, a bilingual AI model that’s perfect for both English and Korean-speaking users.
Dnotitia made it into the top 10 in both the Seoul, South Korea, and E-Learning categories, and also came in first place in the Edtech category.
SumIt Software
SumIt knows how tough it can be for family offices to handle accounting duties and all of the headaches that come with it, especially when they’re dealing with multiple entities. That’s why they’ve worked hard to make sure their customers will never have to go through that. SumIt is a general ledger specifically made for family offices that can help unravel the chaotic world of family office accounting by streamlining and consolidating everything.
For its efforts, SumIt was recognized in the Fintech, Banking, and Investment categories and also came in 3rd in New York City in HackerNoon’s Startups of the Year Awards.
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That’s all we have for you today.
Until next time, Hackers!
