Success stories
10 ordinary things that made their creators a fortune
Image: Photo by Leo Bayard on Unsplash
Sometimes, the best ideas come from recognizing an everyday problem—a frustrating morning shave, an annoying typo, a kitchen full of chipped dishes—and finding an interesting solution. In fact, some of America's greatest fortunes began with deceptively simple ideas : an improved razor, a way to correct typing mistakes, a better way to do the dishes. Read on to find out how some of the most ubiquitous business empires grew from surprisingly humble beginnings.
1
King C. Gillette: Safety razor
In 1895, traveling salesman King C. Gillette was struggling to shave with a dull blade when he came up with an idea for a safer, more convenient shave. He envisioned a razor with thin, disposable blades, but it took him years to turn the concept into a working product . Finally, with the help of engineer William Emery Nickerson, he launched the Gillette Safety Razor company in 1901.
The real breakthrough was the business model: customers could keep the handle and buy inexpensive replacement blades, which proved to be more convenient than sharpening or replacing an entire razor. The idea helped build a lasting fortune, and Gillette remains a household name to this day.
2
Bette Nesmith Graham: Liquid Paper
In the 1950s, Bette Nesmith Graham worked as an executive secretary using an IBM electric typewriter. She was frustrated that even a small mistake often made it necessary to retype entire pages . Inspired by painters who covered errors with an extra coat of paint, she developed a white liquid to hide typos. She began selling it to co-workers as Mistake Out, later rebranded as Liquid Paper .
The product caught on despite early setbacks, including accusations that it was a way to "cut corners." In 1979, Graham sold Liquid Paper to Gillette for a reported $47.5 million. Her office trick for covering up mistakes became a million-dollar business, even as computers eventually reduced the need for correction fluid.
3
Josephine Cochrane: Dishwasher
Josephine Cochrane, a Chicago socialite married to a successful merchant and politician, was frustrated to find some of her heirloom dishes chipped after being handwashed. She wasn't the first to imagine a dishwashing machine, but her design was the first that used water pressure instead of scrubbers.
After the death of her spouse in 1883, Cochrane was left with little money and significant debt. However, she kept working on her machine and received a patent in 1886. Her main customers were hotels and restaurants; it wasn't until the 1950s that dishwashers became popular for home use.
Cochrane built a successful business around her invention and, after her death in 1913, her company was sold to KitchenAid in 1926.
4
George Eastman: Kodak film roll
In the 1870s, George Eastman was a bank clerk, but he developed an interest in photography. Back then, most cameras used plates that were cumbersome and difficult to work with and develop. He began experiments to create flexible film rolls to replace plates and make photography more convenient.
In 1885, Eastman received a patent for a film roll, and in 1888 he patented and released the first Kodak camera . The camera came loaded with a 100-exposure film roll and could be mailed back to the Eastman Company for development.
Eastman's invention made amateur photography accessible to the general public, and he used the considerable fortune he amassed to pursue various philanthropic endeavors.
5
Chester Carlson: Xerox machine
Chester Carlson, a patent attorney, grew frustrated with the tedious process of copying documents in the 1930s, which involved multiple steps, photographic equipment, and special chemicals and papers.
Carlson developed xerography , a method of electrostatic printing that requires no liquid chemicals. He received a patent for it in 1942, and by 1946 he had signed an agreement with the Haloid Photographic Company to develop xerography into a commercial product.
It took almost 18 years before a fully automated xerography process was developed. This work resulted in the Xerox 914 machine, sold by Haloid (later renamed Xerox Corporation ) to huge commercial success. Carlson continued to earn royalties on his patents, and he became one of the wealthiest people in America.
6
Edwin Land: Polaroid instant camera
Despite leaving Harvard after his freshman year and holding no formal degree, Edwin Land was fascinated by optics and light, and dedicated his life to studying them. He invented inexpensive filters for polarizing light, which allowed him to develop a practical system for instant photography.
Land co-founded the Polaroid Corporation , and the first Polaroid instant camera reached the market in 1948. He ran the company until 1981, but considered himself a scientist first and foremost, and made multiple contributions in the fields of military photo intelligence and color theory.
7
Lonnie Johnson: Super Soaker
In 1985, Lonnie George Johnson, who had previously served in the Air Force, worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He conceived the idea of a pressurized water gun while performing experiments for a new type of heat pump. In 1989, he managed to secure funding from the toy company Larami.
The first version of Johnson's water gun hit the market in 1990 as the Power Drencher, but it achieved commercial success in 1991 after changing its name to Super Soaker . The toy generated over $1 billion in lifetime sales, making Johnson a wealthy inventor.
8
Willis Carrier: Air conditioning
Willis Carrier was a young engineer when a printing plant in Brooklyn asked him to solve a humidity problem that was ruining paper and ink. In 1902, he developed a system that controlled both temperature and moisture, thus inventing the first electrical air conditioning unit.
Carrier founded his own company in 1915. What began as a solution for a specific problem in a specific industry eventually transformed homes and workplaces worldwide. The Carrier Corporation is still a household name not only in America, but all around the world.
9
Earl Tupper: Tupperware
Earl Tupper first developed lightweight, airtight containers while working for the chemical company DuPont, using leftover pieces of polyethylene. He founded Tupperware Plastics in 1938 and began selling his products at department stores in 1948.
Tupperware's commercial breakthrough came through Brownie Wise , a pioneering saleswoman who caught Tupper's attention by explaining the benefits of selling his products via at-home "Tupperware parties." Their partnership proved successful, and by the 1950s Tupperware had become a household staple.
Tupper and Wise had a much-publicized falling-out in 1958. Wise was forced out, and Tupper sold the company to Rexall for $16 million that same year.
10
Milton Hershey: Affordable chocolate
Milton Hershey had very little formal education, but was trained in the confectionery business. In 1883, he started the Lancaster Caramel Company, which was successful enough that he sold it in the 1890s for $1 million to start the Hershey Chocolate Company.
Hershey's company supplied mass-produced milk chocolate, which had previously been a luxury good. The first Hershey bars, known as "The Great American Chocolate Bar," were first sold in 1900 and became immensely popular. The area around the factory eventually developed into the company town of Hershey, Pennsylvania.
During World War II, the Hershey Company supplied the Armed Forces with military chocolate bars and was rewarded for exceeding expectations for both quality and quantity.
