CNBC's HOW I MADE MY MILLIONS goes behind the curtain to reveal how everyday people have taken ordinary ideas and turned them in extraordinary businesses. Companies that have surpassed that magic number of a million dollars. The series will premiere tonight, May 14th at 9:00 pm/ET on CNBC.
Each of these entrepreneurs took a risk, believed in their dream and, thanks to a lot of hard work and a little luck, became millionaires.
"How I Made My Millions" puts the American Dream on display and shows you that it's alive and well if you have the heart, the desire and the know-how to make it big.
EPISODE #16:
“Making A Mark”—MAKER’S MARK (Loretto, KY —Louisville)
After five generations of making bourbon whiskey, Bill Samuels decided to throw out the family recipe and start over. His new bourbon was hand-crafted and made to be savored. Samuels called it “Maker’s Mark."After The Wall Street Journal profiled the tiny distillery in the hills of Kentucky, Maker’s Mark received tens of thousands of letters from customers wanting to try the new bourbon. Those customers soon expanded into millions as Maker’s Mark grew to become an icon in the whiskey industry.
“Top Banana”—BANANAGRAMS (Rhode Island)
In 2005, three generations of the Nathanson family—headed by 75 year old, Abe—worked together to create a fast, fun and easily portable word game. They called it, Bananagrams. Since then, the game has won several toy awards and brought in about $90 million in sales. It’s also spawned several books and an entire fruit bowl of other games.
“Millions in the Making?”—STELLA & CHEWY’S (New York, NY)
Vegetarian, Marie Moody helped nurse her sick rescue dog, Chewy, back to health by feeding him a diet of raw meat and vegetables. She discovered that it not only healed Chewy, it also helped her other dog, Stella. So in 2003, she launched Stella & Chewy’s brand dog food—a maker of frozen and freeze-dried pet products—now available in pet shops across the country.
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