Ideas that made millions

14 simple ideas that made their inventors millions

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  • Sometimes people make it look so easy to make a fortune you're left wondering why we aren't all millionaires.
  • It's entertained children (and adults) for decades and has reportedly generated profits of $250 million (£170m), but the humble Slinky was actually conceived after a clumsy mistake. Inventor Richard James accidentally knocked a tension spring to the floor and noticed how it continued flipping along. Most might have thought nothing more of it, but James saw the potential for a children's toy.
  • While the Slinky has remained popular over generations, the loom band's global popularity lasted just a couple of years – but that was more than enough time to make its inventor Cheong Choon Ng a fortune. Essentially a set of intertwined rubber bands, they were a staple in schools across many countries between 2012 and 2014.
  • Long before the loom band came along, children in the eighties and nineties were enthusiastically wrapping snap bracelets (or slap bracelets, depending which school you went to) around their wrists. Invented by teacher Stuart Anders, the bracelets reportedly brought in as much as $8 million (£5.5m) a year in the early 90s.
  • Back in the 1970s, inventor Gary Dahl marketed rocks as pets that require absolutely no caring for. For your $4 you were given a stone nestled on a bed of hay in a little box. The lighthearted gag gift caught the public's imagination and, depending on who you ask, Dahl earned anywhere up to $15 million during the mid 70s.
  • When Roni Di Lullo noticed her dog squinting in sunlight back in 1997, she set about modifying a set of goggles to fit on the pooch's head. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they attracted attention wherever they went, and Di Lullo was soon receiving orders from other dog owners.
  • The brainchild of 21-year-old student Alex Tew (pictured), the million dollar homepage was a phenomenally simple – and successful – concept. He set up a web page in 2005 where companies could buy space to advertise their wares at a cost of $1 (68p) per pixel.
  • The Magic 8 Ball is another enduring classic, having been around since the 1940s. Inventor Albert Carter was inspired by a device used by his mother, who considered herself a clairvoyant. It took a few years and a few tweaks (the original was cylindrical-shaped), but the device finally caught the public's eye and it's still mass produced for children around the world.
  • From knocking on doors trying to get companies interested in her product to featuring on the front cover of Forbes magazine, Sara Blakely's success story is a remarkable one. The entrepreneur was convinced her invention, an undergarment that flattered the figure, would prove massively successful, but she just couldn't find a company to back her.
  • They might not have featured on many catwalks, but Crocs are undoubtedly a global success. Since 2002, Crocs has sold more than 300 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world.
  • The annoying thing about Christmas or Thanksgiving is that only two people get a crack at the wishbone, and the scientifically-guaranteed year of good luck it offers. Ken Ahroni worked around this issue by inventing plastic wishbones. The simple idea proved hugely successful and his Lucky Break company has sold millions of dollars worth of artificial wishbones since it was created in 2000.
  • The final entry on our list, and one that's perhaps the most valuable of all. Ty Warner's Beanie Babies have proved a collector's cult hit since the early 1990s. So much so that some individuals are willing to spend thousands of dollars for some of the rarer bears. The simple but brilliantly-marketed creation has helped Warner create an empire reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

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1/15 SLIDES © Getty/Spanx/Shutterstock.com

Ideas that made millions

Sometimes people make it look so easy to make a fortune you're left wondering why we aren't all millionaires.
Click ahead for 15 simple ideas that made their inventors millions.



 look so easy to make a fortune you're left wondering why we aren't all millionaires.
Click ahead for 15 simple ideas that made their inventors millions.
2/15 SLIDES © AETHAER

Fresh air

An English company is now selling fresh air to China and has reportedly already made over $23,000. But they have a long way to go to catch some of the super-rich inventors on this list.
3/15 SLIDES © Wikimedia Commons

Post-its

What do you do with a glue that isn't actually very good at sticking things? That was the problem facing Dr Spencer Silver, who had invented an adhesive in the late 1960s which had rather unusual qualities.
It wasn't until years later that his colleague at the innovation firm 3M, Arthur Fry (pictured), used some of it to stop the bookmark in his choir book slipping out. After noting that it didn't tear the book's paper, he soon realized its potential and the now infamous Post-it note was born.
4/15 SLIDES © Trunki

The Trunki

With its ability to keep children happy -- and get them to carry their own luggage -- it's hard to believe the inventor of the Trunki was actually rejected by the business gurus of TV show Dragons' Den. Thankfully that didn't deter entrepreneur Rob Law, who was now sold millions of the four-wheeled suitcases, which sell for upward of $50.
5/15 SLIDES © AlexLMX/Shutterstock.com

The Slinky

It's entertained children (and adults) for decades and has reportedly generated profits of $250 million, but the humble Slinky was actually conceived after a clumsy mistake. Inventor Richard James accidentally knocked a tension spring to the floor and noticed how it continued flipping along. Most might have thought nothing more of it, but James saw the potential for a children's toy.
6/15 SLIDES © CarlosODs/Shutterstock.com

Loom bands

While the Slinky has remained popular over generations, the loom band's global popularity lasted just a couple of years -- but that was more than enough time to make its inventor Cheong Choon Ng a fortune. Essentially a set of intertwined rubber bands, they were a staple in schools across many countries between 2012 and 2014.
By September 2014 he had shipped more than eight million units worldwide, and his company Choon's Design was worth more than $130 million. Like many children's trends, the loom band's popularity waned has since waned as kids moved on to the next big thing, but Cheong made more than enough hay while the sun shone bright.
7/15 SLIDES © Coprid/Shutterstock.com

Snap bracelets

Long before the loom band came along, children in the '80s and '90s were enthusiastically wrapping snap bracelets (or slap bracelets, depending which school you went to) around their wrists. Invented by teacher Stuart Anders, the bracelets reportedly brought in as much as $8 million a year in the early '90s.
8/15 SLIDES © Jcjgphotography/Shutterstock.com

Pet Rocks

Back in the 1970s, inventor Gary Dahl marketed rocks as pets that require absolutely no caring for. For your $4 you were given a stone nestled on a bed of hay in a little box. The lighthearted gag gift caught the public's imagination and, depending on who you ask, Dahl earned anywhere up to $15 million during the mid '70s.
9/15 SLIDES © rightdx/Shutterstock.com

Doggles

When Roni Di Lullo noticed her dog squinting in sunlight back in 1997, she set about modifying a set of goggles to fit on the pooch's head. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they attracted attention wherever they went, and Di Lullo was soon receiving orders from other dog owners.
And so Doggles were born, with customers happily paying between $10 and $20 a pop. Di Lullo's business is still running today, reportedly bringing in as much as $4 million a year.
10/15 SLIDES © Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

The million dollar home page

The brainchild of 21-year-old student Alex Tew (pictured), the million dollar homepage was a phenomenally simple -- and successful -- concept. He set up a web page in 2005 where companies could buy space to advertise their wares at a cost of $1 per pixel.
That's all it was -- a page for adverts online. Yet the idea caught global interest and all one million pixels were snapped up within five months, making the student from Wiltshire in England rich beyond his wildest dreams. Tew has since moved to San Francisco where he founded calm.com, a firm that promotes the benefits of meditation.
11/15 SLIDES © Irina Mozharova/Shutterstock.com

Magic 8 Ball

The Magic 8 Ball is another enduring classic, having been around since the 1940s. Inventor Albert Carter was inspired by a device used by his mother, who considered herself a clairvoyant. It took a few years and a few tweaks (the original was cylindrical-shaped), but the device finally caught the public's eye and it's still mass produced for children around the world.
12/15 SLIDES © Craig Barritt/Getty Images

Spanx

From knocking on doors trying to get companies interested in her product to featuring on the front cover of Forbes magazine, Sara Blakely's success story is a remarkable one. The entrepreneur was convinced her invention, an undergarment that flattered the figure, would prove massively successful, but she just couldn't find a company to back her.
After being turned away by numerous hosiery mills, she finally found success with Neiman Marcus in the early 2000s. In the following 15 years, Blakely's suspicion proved correct and the Spanx brand grew rapidly across the globe, and her company is now valued at around $1 billion.
13/15 SLIDES © Vytautas Kielaitis/Shutterstock.com

Crocs

Another hugely successful -- if slightly less flattering -- product to have enjoyed massive growth in recent years is the humble pair of Crocs. Launched in the early 2000s by three friends, they were made from a trademarked material which was “comfortable, lightweight, non-marking and odor-resistant” -- and you could also get them wet without having to throw them out.
They might not have featured on many catwalks, but Crocs are undoubtedly a global success. Since 2002, Crocs has sold more than 300 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world.
14/15 SLIDES © Lucky Break/Shutterstock.com

Plastic wishbone

The annoying thing about Christmas or Thanksgiving is that only two people get a crack at the wishbone, and the scientifically guaranteed year of good luck it offers. Ken Ahroni worked around this issue by inventing plastic wishbones. The simple idea proved hugely successful and his Lucky Break company has sold millions of dollars worth of artificial wishbones since it was created in 2000.
15/15 SLIDES © Wikimedia Commons

Beanie Babies

The final entry on our list, and one that's perhaps the most valuable of all. Ty Warner's Beanie Babies have proved a collector's cult hit since the early 1990s. So much so that some individuals are willing to spend thousands of dollars for some of the rarer bears. The simple but brilliantly marketed creation has helped Warner create an empire reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
15/15 SLIDES

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