At nine years old, my biggest aspirations spun around Legos and soccer. For Caine, try building an entire arcade from practically nothing. Caine Monroy’s father owned an auto parts store in East L. A and that little garage is where young Mr. Monroy made history. Using cardboard and what was available to a 9-year-old, he made a full-blown cardboard arcade in the auto parts store for him and his father. His father was amazed by the evident and creative genius of his young boy. Hoping to create a buzz to help fund his son’s education, made a short film to promote the homemade arcade. The video had the intended effect, and the small venture attracted quite the audience. Becoming internationally known and featured on networks like ABC World News, Good Morning America, and MSNBC led to internet fame. Soon after, the lines for entry to the arcade began to lengthen. The buzz created more attraction than the auto part store could even handle; customers were waiting for four hours or more to catch a glimpse of the young geniuses’ creation.
Caine Monroy’s story was about a lot more than just success, but the inspiration of millions of other kids, a scholarship fund, and a non-profit organization designed to encourage creativity and entrepreneurship among children. Furthermore, Caine Monroy’s father was successful in funding his son’s education bringing in a $200,000 scholarship fund.
The Imagination Foundation, founded because of Caine’s story, is now trying to encourage this activity and entrepreneurship thinking that we saw from this prodigy. This story was and is an inspiration to millions of other kids and young adult entrepreneurs who are perhaps tentative to give their idea a chance. He inspired me through his dedication to creating what he envisioned simultaneously changing what most people think an arcade even is. He turned a dream and cardboard into a movement at nine years old. What is our excuse?
Such a cool story about such a young entrepreneur! It is super encouraging to hear stories like this with parents who are so supportive of their kids and help them get their ideas out into the world! It is so clear here that we truly don’t have excuses for not following through on our dreams and creations when this young man can use cardboard to make his dreams come true and affect so many people in the process.