Lily Born’s idea of a three-legged cup was created to help her grandfather with Parkinson’s disease. She noticed that he often accidentally tipped over his drinking cup and made a mess that her grandmother would have to clean. At age 8, she thought of coming up with a solution to this problem. She wanted to create something more stable that wouldn’t tip over as easily as a regular cup.

Lily sketched out several ideas for a spill-proof cup. She eventually settled upon a design with 3 equal-sized legs. Thus, the “Kangaroo Cup” was created; the name refers to how a kangaroo uses its tail like a third leg for stability.

With a little help from her dad, the first Kangaroo Cup, made of ceramic and made in China, was introduced on the market. About 2,000 cermaic Kangaroo Cups were sold.

Now, the Kangaroo Cup is sold as a plastic cup sold in the US. The new plastic design allows the cups to be stacked and prevents the use of a coaster due to its elevated base.

Lily received the Young Wonder Award in 2014 and participated in the White House Science Fair in 2015.

Lily is a great innovator because she saw a problem that no one else saw. She was not only observant enough to recongnize that there was a problem, but she set out on a journey to solve it before anyone else did. She took a risk. This is inspiring to me because at such a young age she was patient in the process of coming up with a solution. She sketched out ideas and went through a series of changes and drafts before the final product was established. She takes a pre-existing product and modifies it for individuals who need something more stable to hold their drinks.

Her store reminds me to be patient in the design process.