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How an Old Coin Bank Inspires My Entrepreneurial Journey The homemade coin catchall (from third grade!) reminds me to look for simple solutions.

By Pablo Casilimas

This story appears in the January 2021 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Courtesy of Pablo Cailimas

When I was in third grade, my teacher assigned our class a project. We all had to take an item from home and repurpose it to fulfill another need. I took an empty container of Planters nuts, washed it out, cut a little slit into the cap, and called it a piggy bank. It wasn't the most ambitious project in the class, but I'm proud of my 8-year-old self. The way I see it, I had a hacker's mentality. I was thinking: How can I get maximum output for the least amount of input?

Related: 5 Ways to Keep Yourself Inspired to Achieve Your Goals

Back then, "maximum output" meant getting a good grade for very little work. But 18 years later, this ragtag container still continues to provide.

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