In 2019, the USA Golf Association adjusted its rules for tournaments, requiring golfers to drop their ball more specifically.  When it comes to relief (a golfer placing their ball due to abnormal course conditions), the Rules of Golf now specify that a legal drop is within 20 inches of the ball’s position.  But how can a golfer determine if a drop is within this 20-inch mark?  

     This is the problem that 16-year-old Peyton Robertson wanted to solve, and he, therefore, created the DropStick.  This innovation is a rod that acts as an alignment tool but collapses into a diamond shape to create an outline that shows the golfer if their drop lands within the legal 20-inch zone.  Because the distance of a drop factors into the legality of the golf game, many golfers added the DropStick to their equipment bag to check the accountability of themselves and their competition.  

     The new rule that was created in the golf world created a new opportunity, and Robertson was one of the first people to identify a problem with the rule and immediately came up with a solution.  Additionally, he created a product that solved not one, but two problems:  fixing the alignment of a golfer’s shot and determining whether a drop was legal.  

     Robertson’s innovation acts as an excellent example of a mash-up of two different tools.  He took an existing object, combined it with a new one, and changed the mechanics so that they were cohesive.  The problem was clear, and though it wasn’t considered by many golfers, Robertson has inspired me to find small problems that make a big difference and then present the problem in a meaningful way. 

Click Here to Learn More: https://www.si.com/golf/news/feature-2018-02-21-teen-inventor-helps-golfers-measure-up

     Hillary Yip was 10 years old and struggling to learn Mandarin.  Her mother sent her to Taiwan to improve her language skills, where she attended a camp that she absolutely fell in love with.  With the help of her parents, teachers, and entrepreneurial networkers, Yip had the ability and willingness to create MinorMynas. The app aims to educate others to learn different languages while making friends with those in other countries.  The unique twist on this platform is seen through the use of video calls that help people engage in conversations with those from different cultures around the globe.  Additionally, the platform reaches over 60 countries and extends to subjects beyond language, assisting children to further learn about a passion that they may have.  Yip took her interest in promoting technological learning and combined it with her struggles to learn languages in an in-person environment.   She also created her platform with the larger purpose of creating fewer misunderstandings between cultures as well as negative stereotypes.  

     Yip had struggles with learning languages like most people.  But she innovated by taking the format of a language learning camp in Taiwan and reframing it for an online environment, making the problem of learning languages more manageable.  Therefore, she used modes of innovation by applying a common problem to a different process.  Personally, I am inspired by Yip’s observance of identifying types of teaching methods that worked for her and then applying those methods in a different and more beneficial environment.  While many people can complain about or compliment teachers and their methods, Yip was able to spot a good idea at a young age, and simply remarketed and reworked the idea to make a great product.  

Click Here to Learn More: https://internationaljournalofresearch.com/2022/04/24/meet-the-youngest-ceo-in-the-world-hillary-yip/

Lily Born is the 16-year-old creator of “Imagiroo”: the invention that helped Born’s grandfather who had Parkinson’s Disease.  This young entrepreneur identified a pressing problem throughout the elderly community at a very young age by observing how easy it is for people like her grandfather to spill their drinks.

The love for her grandfather and the problem at hand drove Born to be even more observant.  She began to draw inspiration from the objects around her.  In doing so, she learned to reinvent the concept of the cup so that it had three legs attached to it.  The modification would improve the stability of the cup when it was placed on the table, which was a massive benefit to people who physically shake like Born’s grandfather.  She called her invention “The Kangaroo Cup”, and even saw its use when it came to her father, who almost spilled his cup of coffee on his laptop.

Even at a young age, Born has inspired me to identify even the most common problems that everyone faces, and how one can use inspiration from other objects in life to “mash together” and create a working product. (In Born’s case, this would be a mash-up between a mug and a stool).  Though the new cup looks a bit crazy, the innovation in itself was incredibly simple, and Born showed how one can produce a prototype with very limited supplies, like how she did with her project in a ceramics studio.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.imagiroo.com/about

For 16 years, Babur Jahid was raised in Afghanistan, leading him to see some incredibly challenging things during his youth.  He observed as the people of his country fell from being in a democratic government to suddenly be in a country ruled by the Taliban.  But after Jahid fled his country, he was still able to reflect on his past, giving him a unique perspective on the problems in his homeland.  Jahid then had a new mission in life: to become Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health.

But this 21-year-old realized that the problem of fixing the public health of a war-ridden country was a huge project.  So, he decided to start with one piece at a time by creating the Resolution Project, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable eyeglasses to Afghans.  Because this enterprise is targeted toward the people of Afghanistan, Jahid’s brand stands out because it primarily focuses on the eyesight of people in developing countries, and with less access to facilities that address proper eye care.  In addressing this issue, Jahid hopes to improve the country of Afghanistan by attending to the people’s basic needs, education, health, and equality for all in the workforce.

Jahid has inspired me to look at how I can take an item and focus on its accessibility, rather than reinventing an object that already works well.  The problem wasn’t the product, it was the process for certain people in certain countries around the globe.  Shifting the focus on a personal experience that stemmed from Jahid’s past certainly improved his business and helped it flourish and grow.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://resolutionproject.org/fellows/babur-jahid/