The creator made (presumably) a couple of million, and has changed the way we collaborate on documents, I'd love to have that kind of success.

Your understanding of success is a bit skewed as well.

Wealth creation for a single founder based on the _huge_ edge case that a massive company came and scooped you up is extreme LUCK more than anything else.

Writely was, and Google Drive continues to be, a cost center. Is this thing making money, or losing money? That is the sole indicator of business success.