It took James Dyson five years of work and 5,127 failed prototypes to create the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner. In 1978, James Dyson had an idea for a bagless vacuum cleaner that maintained suction. But he also had "little to lose," he says, which is why he took a chance on his vacuum idea despite the financial pit. "You shouldn't do everything in life just to get big numbers, big successes," Dyson said. "Little successes are just as satisfying."