Without a Woman: Bette Nesmith Graham Turned an Office Mistake into a Million-Dollar Idea

Imagine typing away on an old-school electric typewriter, you're halfway through a letter when your finger slips. There's no backspace key. No “undo” button. Just a glaring typo staring back at you. If you've ever reached for a little white bottle to fix your mistake, you owe a silent thanks to Bette Nesmith Graham—artist, single mom, and the inventor of Liquid Paper, now more colloquially known as Wite-Out.

Born in Dallas in 1924, Bette’s life didn’t start in boardrooms or business schools. A high school dropout and wartime single mother, she worked as a secretary by day and pursued her GED by night. Her dream was to be an artist, but life steered her toward office work where she faced a growing nuisance: typos on electric typewriters that were nearly impossible to fix cleanly.

Then came her “aha” moment.

Drawing from her painting background, Bette realized artists simply painted over mistakes. Why couldn’t secretaries do the same? Armed with a blender, tempera paint, and some ingenuity, she whipped up a white correction fluid in her kitchen, matching it to company stationery. She called it “Mistake Out,” and it worked so well, even her boss didn’t notice her edits.

Soon, other secretaries were begging for bottles. By 1956, she launched the Mistake Out Company from her kitchen. When she was fired for devoting too much time to her side hustle, it turned out to be a blessing because that “side hustle” would become Liquid Paper, a brand that would eventually be sold in the millions.

Even though she had no formal business training, Bette built an empire. By the late 1960s, she was running a million-dollar company, employing dozens of workers, and shipping product around the world. And she didn’t stop at business success. She created an employee-first culture, complete with an in-house library and child-care center. She also used her fortune to launch two foundations supporting women’s advancement.

In 1979, she sold Liquid Paper to Gillette for $47.5 million. A year later, she passed away at just 56, but not before rewriting the rules for women in work, leadership, and invention.

What wouldn’t we have if it weren’t for Bette Nesmith Graham? A fix for every typo. A model for reinvention. And proof that even the biggest breakthroughs can start with a brushstroke and a blender.