The Journey to Greatness

The fact that anything gets made is incredible. The fact that it turns out great? That’s a miracle.

Take the movie Jaws, which celebrates it’s 50th anniversary this summer, introduced the blockbuster era of moviemaking in the 1970s. It almost didn’t happen and nearly ended Steven Spielberg’s career before it even began. Filming on the ocean proved incredibly difficult. The production went over budget, the cast and crew were miserable, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw had a tumultuous relationship, and the mechanical shark—the star of the movie—was a complete disaster. Yet Spielberg found a way to work around these personal and technical challenges (which is why we barely see the shark until the end), and a masterpiece was born.

How about YouTube? The video platform has 2.5 billion users today, but when the company started, it barely had one. Twenty years ago, on February 14, 2005, co-founders Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim created YouTube as a video dating site where users could upload videos discussing their dream partner. It was originally called Tune In, Hook Up. #Cringe. After a week, not a single person had uploaded a video, so the co-founders resorted to offering women $20 to post clips of themselves. Realizing their dream project was becoming a nightmare, they pivoted and opened the platform to any type of video. The app we all know (and either love or loathe) was born. In 2006, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion.

This spirit of perseverance and creative problem-solving isn’t limited to stuff you can find on Wikipedia. You can find it at street fairs and flea markets, where passionate individuals—often juggling full-time jobs and families—spend their free time crafting products from scratch, hoping to become their own boss and build a successful business.

April Budney’s story with Old Whaling Company exemplifies this entrepreneurial journey. What began as a solution to her son’s sensitive skin has blossomed into a multimillion-dollar bath and body products company. Like many success stories, it started with a simple need and a willingness to learn.

During one of my podcasts, April shared, “The origins were way back when my son, Jack, was a baby. He had super sensitive skin, and that kind of sent me down this journey of paying attention to what was in products.” A chance conversation with a pharmacist about his grandmother’s goat milk soap sparked an idea. “I really had no idea you could make soap,” April admitted. “I just knew that my son had this terrible diaper rash situation that was never going to go away unless I did something.” That maternal instinct to help her child led her to experiment with soap-making, which quickly became an obsession.

As April put it, “Once I played around with it, the connection in my brain was so easy. I really thought, ‘I could figure this out much better and make something from it.’ It was a very slow, long process, but there was really no precise plan. I just couldn’t stop the ideas from flowing.”

When April moved to South Carolina about 12 years ago, she didn’t know anyone. “There was really a need to survive,” she explained. With the support of her husband, Mike, who helped make molds and develop recipes, they began selling at local artisan fairs in Charleston. “Anywhere that would let us set up a tent and sell—that’s how we started.”

Their breakthrough came when they gained entry into Charleston’s historic City Market. Getting in wasn’t easy—it involved a mysterious jury process and starting with the night market before earning a spot as a daytime vendor. April recalls the moment they made it: “It was St. Patrick’s Day. I was about seven months pregnant with my daughter, Charlotte. We woke up, and the jury list came out. It felt like winning the lottery because it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know we can support our family doing this now.’ It wasn’t just about building an amazing business; it was about being able to pay the light bill and the rent on time.”

The product line expanded naturally based on customer feedback. What started with soaps grew to include body butters (now their top-selling product), candles, bath bombs, and, most recently, shower steamers. Their reach extended from the City Market to retail stores across the country, evolving from an Etsy shop to a robust e-commerce operation. Today, Old Whaling Company products can be found in stores from Maine to Alaska.

April still marvels at their growth: “We get texts from friends and family exclaiming, ‘Oh, I was in Maine or Alaska or wherever, and look what I found.’ Those moments are always so special.” Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs? Trust your instincts. “I always felt like I needed outside information, like maybe I should have had a mentor or read more books. But I think deep down, we already know the answers—we know what we need to do. I would have paid less attention to outside influences and just focused on what I knew was right.”

In looking at the stories behind the making of Jaws, YouTube, and Old Whaling Company, we see a shared thread of resilience and innovation. Whether Spielberg battled tumultuous waters, a fledgling video platform struggled to find its footing, or a mother worked to soothe her child’s sensitive skin—every great venture starts with overcoming a challenge.

Yet, in the face of adversity, these creative forces adapted, embraced innovation, and persevered. They transformed obstacles into opportunities, reshaping their industries and enriching lives along the way. Whether in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, or a small town in South Carolina, these journeys remind us that the path to success often begins with a single problem and the courage to pursue a solution—one step at a time.