Posted by Robert Phelan on Mon, Apr 05, 2010 @ 07:29 AM
In 2008 I had the interesting experience of hearing Gene Simmons (KISS bass player and Rock icon) deliver a keynote address at a marketing conference. Not having been a close follower of KISS, I didn't know Gene's entrepreneurial background. I suspect that most of his followers don't either. They would be even further surprised to hear that as a teenager, living with his mother in NYC, he began studies to be a rabbi. Then he discovered Rock & Roll and the rest is history.
Even given Gene's business background building the KISS brand into one of the most recognizable in the world and still filling stadiums all over the globe, I almost fell out of my chair Saturday morning when I opened the Wall Street Journal. There, in double-breasted suit and flashy red tie stood Gene Simmons, flanked by the five other co-founders of Cool Springs Life. The headline read," Rock by Night, Life Insurance by Day". Who would have thunk it? Gene Simmons, co-founder of a life insurance company.
This isn't an April fool's joke much as it sounds like one. If you don't believe me, go here and read it for yourself:
Or go here to the company's homepage:
But before you go running out to exchange your present life insurance polices so you can do business with Gene, there is one small caveat. You have to have a net worth of $20M to be considered for this innovative product. Just like KISS isn't for everybody (although they've broken all box-office records set by Elvis and The Beatles) neither is this life insurance. Work hard or win the lottery if you want to do business with Gene.
What will we see next? Roger Daltrey opening a chain of pizza restaurants? Steven Tyler doing infomercials for vitamins? Eddie Vedder becoming Republican National Committee Chair? Insurance agent Rock Stars?
As another icon of the baby boom generation sang, "The times they are a-changin".