Booking Spontaneity, at a Price

Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

Aerialist Seanna Sharpe instructs Hirak and Millie Biswas during a one-hour cloud trapeze class.

Millie and Hirak Biswas arrived at a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, street corner one night last week, following vague instructions that offered little hint at what was in store for the evening.

They were told to wear comfortable clothes and warned that they would spend time barefoot. It was little to go on, but the couple had theories. Perhaps they would be swimming or playing some kind of sport.

They weren't even close.

A young woman with a knowing smile met the couple and led them to a tall oak tree inside McCarren Park. There, she suspended them from 30 feet of silk rope. And so began the couple's private trapeze lesson.

The Manhattan couple had paid $50 apiece for an evening of the unexpected with Surprise Industries, a company that plans spontaneous activities for its willing customers.

"Every weekend we know what we will be doing ahead of time—birthday parties, dinner with friends. We wanted to do something where we didn't know what was coming," said Ms. Biswas, a 28-year-old consultant. "It breaks the routine and gets a new energy flowing."

Secretive activities have long captivated New Yorkers, particularly the types who love to flaunt their knowledge of a phantom lounge underneath a taco stand or a tiny bar behind an unmarked door. The planners behind Surprise Industries take that love of the unknown and make it available to anyone with a free night.

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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

In McCarren Park, aerialist Seanna Sharpe instructs Millie Biswas during a cloud trapeze class. Far left, Hirak Biswas, who is afraid of heights.

The company's three founders started up two years ago, a passion project supplemented by more traditional careers. Co-founder Tania Luna, a 25-year-old psychology instructor at Hunter College, said the company's revenue doubled to $100,000 in its second year and is on track to double again in 2011.

"We have people saying, 'I will pay whatever, can you create this mind-altering experience?'" Ms. Luna said.

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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

Prior to the event, Millie and Hirak Biswas were given vague instructions that offered little hint at what was in tore for the evening.

The Surprise team has planned just more than 1,000 experiences to date. They start at $25 a person for such activities as pottery classes, wine tastings and kayaking jaunts. For more elaborate outings—flights in a helicopter, trips to a shooting range and a beer-tasting/tango-class combo—the company charges upwards of $75. (The Biswases got their $50 surprise as part of a holiday special.)

Surprise Industries is one of many New York businesses seeking to capitalize on the allure of the unexpected. In the retail world, marketers have for years used flash sales, pop-up stores and Twitter campaigns to excite consumers.

Such limited-time offerings, along with the city's unending tide of new restaurants, new clubs, new shops and new people, eventually leave us numb, said Dr. LeeAnn Renninger, a psychologist who studies surprise and is writing a book on the topic with Ms. Luna. Dr. Renninger calls this "change blindness" and says it is a reason why truly unexpected events are more rewarding.

"We drift from day to day. One of the elements that helps us to feel really alive in the moment is surprise," she said.

Unexpected twists tap the human body's reward system and send a surge of dopamine into the bloodstream. That reaction "not only feels awesome but also makes us feel more bonded to the people around us and those who experienced that moment with us," Dr. Renninger said.

Deep-pocketed New Yorkers with a boundless appetite can opt for Surprise Industries' upcoming product, dubbed "Blow Your Mind." For $10,000, the company will create a weeklong series of surprises, something akin to a real-life version of "The Game," a film in which a character played by Michael Douglas becomes ensnared by an elaborate surprise company. (The experience is similar to the movie "but not creepy," Ms. Luna said.)

Even modest surprises can feel risky, which is part of their appeal. The trapeze lesson, for instance, might not be everyone's idea of a good time—including, as it turns out, Mr. Biswas, a 29-year-old bond trader who is afraid of heights.

"I saw him freaking out, but I know that he loved it," Ms. Biswas said while her husband hung upside down from a nearby tree.

The outing left the couple exhausted and sore, but exhilarated. "We never would have done this if we knew what it was," Ms. Biswas said, "but I really feel great."

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