This Mickey Mouse Piggy Bank Reminds This Entrepreneur to Hustle Hard, Every Day What once housed his summer savings now reminds this CEO to build a strong team and focus on shared goals.

When I was nine years old, I overheard my parents arguing about the rent. They didn't have the money to pay it. I had a Mickey Mouse piggy bank with $30 saved up, which was a lot of money to me, so I thought I had the solution and offered it to them. "Thank you; that's sweet, but it won't cut it," they said, "and it's not for you to worry about anyway." I remember thinking, If that's not enough, I can get more.

I grew up in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood in the early '80s. Friends and I spent summers skateboarding all over. We also had a casual business operation: We'd wash neighborhood cars for $5 each, then immediately spend that money at McDonald's. When I heard my parents arguing about rent, I set out to grow the operation.

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