The difference is that Nicholls worked his way up from a very small beginning. He shrewdly associated himself with Paul Barber and John Keighley.
Apart from Artifice, Barber had not had huge success with his horses.
Nicholls spent years in the shadows of David Nicholson and Martin Pipe, but stuck with his plan of buying young horses to be trained to go chasing.
Over the years, as his talents became increasingly obvious, he has acquired more and more top owners, from Pipe et al, such as Graham Roach and Clive Smith. Today he now even has Pipe's top patron, David Johnson sending him horses, as well as Jim "Best Mate" Lewis.
Paul Barber was already a wealthy man, but he can hardly be accused of having put into Manor Farm Stables anything like the sort of investment made by the likes of J P McManus for instance.
The key is he spotted Nicholls' talents early, and the rest as they say is history.
Godolphin and Ballydoyle probably cause consternation in some because of the fact that they were built by multi-billionaires able to throw fortune upon fortune at the game and buy success.
Ballydoyle was built by a genius, M V O'Brien, who's dominance in National Hunt before he switched codes is there for all to see, and without the need for billions.
I don't think the comparison with Ballydoyle and Godolphin was very good. I think it is probably worth looking at the McManus/O'Neill saga to see how throwing money at the game is not the key to success. Raw talent is, and Nicholls has this in droves.