How do self-made billionaires actually get into “boring” industries like food manufacturing or packaging?

I’m not a billionaire.  But built a “boring” company once.  I also used to work in a fancy building in the financial district doing finance, but have been working from home for almost the past 10 years. 

I co-founded assisted living companies, and then was an early mover in mental health transitional housing in the early innings of that sector.  Sold almost everything, a couple years ago.
 

• long term obsession to work with elders since undergrad (and I still am just differently),
• personal hardships including caring for dad, when I was in 20’s, who had vascular dementia (lost mom early in life),
• gained expertise in an adjacent skill set (commercial real estate investment and development with brand names),
• I was willing to work 7 months for minimum wage as a line staff in order to know the business at its core (primary benefit was I was different from the “out of touch finance guy” story with early industry partners and customers; secondary benefit was I learned how to connect with staff),
• obtained a Berkeley MBA in an industry devoid of such credentials,
• skill set leverage when I was on a team with nurses and sales people several years to 15 years older than me (I created the docs that formed the partnership and equity splits),
• two timely long term unemployments where I deviated from the corporate path into senior living,
• industry and market tailwinds, including some juice left in market for real estate price appreciation after starting, downfall of national senior living brands in favor of local/regional smaller companies, and increased government spending in mental health.
• Attracted and negotiated great JV’s and OpCo-PropCo arrangements,
• Willingness to pivot into attractive adjacency and bet the farm (with OPM),

• Had big balls and execution in exit, obtained “20% outcome.”
  
  
  
  I was always a top performer in my finance work, but I was unconventional.  I’d say, I was creative, detailed oriented, and fast.  Academically, I wasn’t the smartest in the school.  I made it up by work ethic, focus (long term focus on wanting to start a senior living company).  I think in a college scholarship essay I wrote that I would be operating senior living (I was 21/22 at the time), but didn’t end up doing it until 36 years old (I told my work colleagues my goal, didn’t actually happen until I became unemployed and had time).  I tell the students I mentor, if they could find an obsession early in life that is in a growth industry, and stay focused, they will be ahead of the pack. 
  
  Ironically, real money was not in senior living.  It was in mental health, but we wouldn’t have seen that opportunity without doing the senior living.  You need to be playing the game, and while in the game, you see the next big opportunity. 
  
  Just like I’m doing again now.  I was the memory video guy, now I’m the digital immortality guy.  Started this path after my 3rd long term unemployment.  I think knowing you can survive The Jungle of long term unemployment in bad economies, was also a confidence builder.  
   

  Getting back to OP’s questions: I think the chicken manufacturer was doing something conventional and then saw the big opportunity and pivoted (maybe it was frozen food, Costco or Safeway rotisserie, or something else).  1) you’re in the game, 2) market or technology shift happens, 3) pivot, 4) scale, 5) exit.