Fireworks, the microwave oven and even Corn Flakes cereal are some of the creations that fall into this category.

Take the case of Alex Tilley. The creator of the famous Tilley Hat and the founder of Tilley Endurables, Inc., only wanted to devise proper headgear for himself while enjoying his spare time cruising on his 30-foot-long sailboat.

That simple act would eventually lead to the creation of an international clothing company based in Don Mills, with annual sales of more than $25 million (CDN).

Tilley was the featured speaker of the Port Sydney/Utterson and Area Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting on Sept. 23 at Trillium Resort and Spa.

The gregarious and soft-spoken entrepreneur told the 25 chamber members about his misfortunes in attempting to succeed in the business world prior to realizing success with his innovative clothing line.

His first enterprise started when he was 12 years old living in Kitchener selling pumpkins door-to-door and later followed his father’s advice and got work with Bell Canada during the day and sold real estate during the evenings. This didn’t work out for Tilley as he was fired from Bell not long after he began working for them.

“Later I set out to create some tutoring schools to help children with their weak subjects. So I did that for a couple years, but I over-expanded and I went broke,” he said.

He also spent time working for the Bank of Nova Scotia (now known as Scotiabank) for around nine months and operated a company called Art Consultants of Canada Ltd. which rented paintings to businesses for decoration.

“I worked on a handshake deal only and the artists were paid more than for any other dealer,” he said.  

Tilley said he would work at his company from 10 a.m. to noon every day except Friday, because, in his words, “ I am basically lazy.”

During these Fridays of rest and relaxation, Tilley would indulge himself in his lifelong passion of sailing on Lake Ontario. It was during his moments of recreation that he realized he didn’t have the proper headwear.

“I knew that I wanted a good hat for when I was on my boat. I knew I could buy one for four dollars but the stitching would fall out and it was a mess. So I decided to make myself a hat that wouldn’t shrink. I didn’t know anything about this, but I also didn’t know what was impossible.”

He was told that making a cotton hat that wouldn’t shrink was impossible. But Tilley devised a method of boiling the material before making it into a hat to prevent shrinkage.

“It will contract like a pair of jeans. People liked what I had done. So I figured I would sell them for $15.50. I was selling it from my home just as a hobby. Later I got the idea of selling them at boat shows at a higher price. I then began attending more and more boat shows and selling them at an even higher price.”

Creating a simple hat for Tilley to enjoy his time on a boat back in the early 1980s would evolve from his selling the Tilley Hat from his home into a second line of sailing shorts and then trousers.

This enterprise led to the foundation of a small mail-order company, Alex Tilley and Family’s Nautical Gear, that would grow into the multi-million dollar company specializing in comfortable, attractive-looking travel clothes.

Tilley Endurables Inc. now has six stores in Canada, catalog call centers and web-store operations. The company also sells products through its wholesale division to third-party retailers in Canada, the U.S., and other countries.

Tilley thanked the chamber for having him as its guest speaker, adding he enjoyed the experience.