My first inkling that I was an entrepreneur was at about age six. I loved sawing wood and hammering nails. I found some boards in a shed and went to work. As other kids came over, I assigned them tasks – I think we were trying to build a go-cart. As they were all sawing and hammering away, I thought – they’re working for me.
And then there’s Caine’s Arcade. Have you seen the Caine’s Arcade video yet? Here’s a nine year old who loves arcade games, has a skill with cardboard, a very loving dad and a lot of creativity. Caine turned his Dad’s auto parts store into Caine’s Arcade, outfitted with a variety of homemade cardboard games. Despite having no customer, Caine worked at it every chance he got and waited for someone to walk in the door. Then one day filmmaker Nirvan Mullick happened upon Caine’s Arcade and became its first customer. More importantly, Nirvan decided to create a wonderful film, and both the arcade and film have gone viral.
Since then, the Caine’s Arcade Foundation has raised over $170,000 to help foster entrepreneurship and creativity in children.
So much good stuff came out of this. Caine’s Arcade even has a theme song: http://cainesarcade.bandcamp.com/
If a 9 year old kid can be that inspired, how powerful can we be?