Archive for Cups

Innovation At Its Finest: Helping Those You Love

Posted by Carolyn Krenzel 
· Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 
· 2 Comments

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative brain disease and a common one that effects at least 1% of people over 60 years old. Parkinson’s disease specifically causes the basial ganglia to deteriorate and so people lose the ability to control the things that area of the brain governs. The resulting symptoms are motor and non-motor but the most recognizable one is the motor symptom of tremors while the muscles are at rest which happens in about 80% of Parkinson’s cases. It is this disease that presented a problem to Lily Born’s grandfather, and 11-year-old Lily Born who developed a solution. Her grandfather was frequently spilling drinks from their cups because of his Parkinson’s symptoms. Lily experimented with moldable plastic until she came up with a design for a cup that didn’t spill. Later she made a ceramic version of the cup for her father so he could drink coffee by his laptop with peace of mind. Her father realized how useful it was and, after collaboration with a ceramic manufacturing plant in China, the kangaroo cup took off into production.

I like Lily Born’s story because she saw a real need of an individual who she loved, and that love drove her to innovation to meet that need. On the kangaroo cup website, one can see how many iterations of designs they went through before they designed a cup that didn’t spill, was comfortable to use, and stackable (picture above). These two things, problem solving and iteration, are the essence of innovation and the way Lily Born used innovation to help someone she loved fills me with hope. Hope that innovation and entrepreneurship isn’t just about making a profitable business, but about finding a way to help people and then making sure you can continue to help for the long run.

2 Comments
Categories : Beverages, Clay, Coffee, Cups, Elderly Care, Parkinson's Disease, Uncategorized

Lily Born: The Kangaroo Cup

Posted by Naomi McNary 
· Friday, September 20th, 2024 
· 3 Comments

Lily's Grandpa with his Kangaroo Cup

Lily Born is a great example of someone who sees a problem and seeks out the solution. At 7 years old, she noticed her grandpa knocking over and spilling drinks due to Parkinson’s disease. This led to her grandma constantly cleaning up after him. This inspired her to create a product called Kangaroo Cups. This cup consists of three legs that prevents it from tipping over. She made a prototype for her grandpa with plastic mold and a year later made one for her dad using ceramic. Lily and her dad traveled across the world to refine the models and find a manufacturer to get this product on the market. They got financial support from crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter. She was listed as Business Insider’s top 11 year old in tech and Mochi’s “25 game changers under 25.” She has also made various headlines. Lily Born is now 16 years old and has sold tens of thousands of Kangaroo cups worldwide. Lily is not only an inspiration for her innovative idea, but for her determination despite being a timid young girl.

To learn more about Lily and her story click here

 

Lily working on the cup in China

 

 

3 Comments
Categories : Cups, Design, Drink, Entrepreneurship, Kid Entrepreneurs

Lily Born and the Kangaroo Cup

Posted by harrimanhm23 
· Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 
· 2 Comments

Lilly Born was eight years old when she struck upon her innovation gold. Her grandfather had Parkinson’s and was constantly spilling his drink whenever he tried to set his cup down. Her grandmother had to do so much cleaning up, and Lilly wanted to do something about it. That’s when she came up with the Kangaroo cup, a three-legged cup specifically designed to be easy to set down and hard to spill.

The kangaroo cup was a simple response to a simple problem. It is a great example of the typical, “Everyone saw the apple fall, but only Newton wondered why.” The innovation was not necessarily technological, but rather a repurposing of existing technology. She created a cup with three handles, which also doubled as legs to keep the cup from spilling when set down. Anybody could have done this, but nobody had the wit or bravery to do so until Lily.

 

 

Lilly has since sold $100,000 of kangaroo cups through crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo. She founded her own company, Imagiroo LLC., to handle the distribution of the cups.

Her ongoing message is that she thought of this idea as only an eight-year-old. If she could do it, anybody can.

Where I find inspiration in this story is the fact that it was not an insane technological innovation, or social revelation. Instead, she took a typical item and applied her observation to it. It gives me hope that even if the idea I have is small, it can still be successful so long as I put effort behind it.

From this story it is apparent to me that we must observe others, not just ourselves, to get a full picture of our entrepreneurial space. Sometimes the sight of someone else struggling with a problem can either give us an idea or bring up a dormant idea we forgot about and give it new life.

 

2 Comments
Categories : Cups, Great Ideas, Women Entrepreneurs

Lily Born

Posted by ngng22 
· Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 
· 2 Comments

One of the most fundamental skills an entrepreneur can posses is the ability to see a problem, want to fix it, and create a solution. That’s exactly what Lily Born, then aged 7, did. She noticed the effects Parkinson’s Disease had on her grandfather. Easily knocked over cups caused spills and messes that often cause damage to other items in the house, be it a computer or paperwork, and extra work for grandma to clean up. After a bit of experimentation, and a few prototypes, Lily created the Kangaroo cup, a durable, ceramic cup featuring three stabilizing legs. The now 16 year-old has produced and sold tens of thousands of cups around the world.

Lily’s story is not just one of innovation, but courage. Before launching her company Imagiroo, Lily was a timid and shy girl who balked at even the idea of ordering food for herself at a restaurant. Her desire to help people and inspire others to create impact in the world helped her overcome her anxieties and reach higher than she even anticipated.

2 Comments
Categories : Beverages, Cups, Gen Z, Parkinson's Disease, Women Entrepreneurs, Young Entrepreneur

Lily Born — The Kangaroo Cup

Posted by GutierrezAH20 
· Sunday, October 9th, 2022 
· 3 Comments
  • What is exemplary or unique about these young entrepreneurs? Lily Born is a unique entrepreneur because her business solved a very niche, specific problem within her family. She dug into something she was passionate about.
  • What drives them? Lily’s need to help her grandfather with Parkinson’s is what drove her. Out of love she was able to develop a solution to her grandfather’s struggles.
  • What makes their idea or business model interesting? Their business model is interesting for a few reasons. She saw a unique way to modify cups for a select population, which gave this market a creative and useful product. People don’t ever do anything extraordinary with cups. They sort of have one purpose, and other than different styles, they stay the same. Lily was able to create a whole new genre of this product that would serve people all over the world.
  • What entrepreneurial traits do they demonstrate? According to an article, “To perfect her design, Born and her dad traveled across the world to the ceramics capital of China, JingDeZhen. There, they were able to refine the models, find a manufacturer, and prepare for a production run of ceramic cups, which come in plastic, too.” By doing this, she showed her desire to learn from the best and adapt her product from the top of the market.
  • How are they innovating? Lily Born and her business Imagiroo innovated by creating a new niche in the cup market. Her product, the kangaroo cup, has three legs and is made to prevent spills. After her grandfather, who had Parkinson’s Disease, kept spilling his drinks, she knew there had to be a way to fix this problem. Thus came the creation of the kangaroo cup.
  • How do they specifically inspire you and help you in your own thinking about entrepreneurship and innovation? She inspires me and helps me in my own thinking because instead of focusing on the problem, she only saw the solution. This reminds me of scripture, specifically with the David and Goliath story. David spoke about God nine times and only about Goliath twice. One could say that David was focused on his vision, not the circumstance. The same applies to Lily Born.
  • What principles have you learned? Lily is a great example of what happens when you see a problem as a potential solution. We say no pain, no sale a lot in class. She experienced the pain of her grandfather, and through it, was able to create a product that would not only help her grandfather, but anyone who struggles with spills.
3 Comments
Categories : Cups, Food, Household Goods

Lily Born – Imagiroo

Posted by hartmankg19 
· Monday, October 3rd, 2022 
· 2 Comments

Teen CEOs: Lily Born of The Kangaroo Cup - The Startup Squad

Lily Born came up with the idea of Kangaroo Cups to help her grandfather who has Parkinson’s Disease and was frequently spilling his drinks. What makes her business unique and interesting is that she saw a problem with a normal, everyday item that most people would not think twice about and came up with a very good solution for it. Lily exhibits the ability to research how best to solve the problem. She and her dad traveled to the ceramics capital of China, JingDeZhen, where they found a manufacturer and refined models of the cup. They made the cups out of ceramics and plastic and produced them thanks to crowdfunding from platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Each cup features three handles to keep it from spilling. Lily Born inspires me to think twice about products, even normal objects, and think of how to improve them. I also have learned that there is always room for improvement in everything. I hope that this innovation becomes normal in this world over the cups that have one handle or no handle that can easily spill. Lily is an inspiration to innovators of any age and a role model for kids all around the world.

2 Comments
Categories : Cups

Lily Born – A 7-year-old with a Desire for Innovation

Posted by abi.renee 
· Monday, September 26th, 2022 
· 3 Comments

Lily Born, founder of the Kangaroo Cup, was only seven-years-old when she had her initial idea for the business she now runs. Young Lily had a grandpa suffering from Parkinson’s disease. This disease attacks one’s central nervous system and causes muscle stiffness, difficulty with balance, and trembling hands, neck, and jaw. Lily noticed her grandpa’s issue with holding cups steady and felt bad for her grandma who always cleaned up after him whenever he spilled something. After noticing this, Lily decided to develop a cup that would stop the spillage. 

Over the next three years, Lily perfected her design. Lily and her father even traveled to China to inspect the company and materials her business would eventually use. At age ten, Lily was prepared to officially launch her company “Imagiroo”. Her company made a specialty cup called a “Kangaroo Cup” which featured a design with three legs to add stability. Her cups are made with ceramic and plastic and made in multiple colors. 

Lily Born has been able to sell ten of thousands of cups globally through her idea. She has gone on to win a multitude of different awards and has been recognized on many different platforms. This young girl is inspiring because she took a need she experienced first hand and made a solution herself. Her innovation is remarkable and she has the ability to impact the world with her solution. Not only was she able to help her grandpa, but she is now able to help others in similar situations. 

3 Comments
Categories : Cups, Engineering, Young Entrepreneur

Lily Born Innovates to Help Grandfather with Parkinson’s Disease

Posted by kriegeral21 
· Sunday, November 28th, 2021 
· 1 Comment

Ever since Lily Born was 8 years old, she saw her grandfather struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Her grandfather had trouble completing daily tasks, most notably drinking water. She set out to design a new cup that wouldn’t tip. She used moldable plastic to make a model and a year later, she made a ceramic version. She called the final version the “Kangaroo Cup”.

This story emphasizes the problem-solving nature of entrepreneurs. She even followed through past the point of helping her grandfather but helped many others who struggle to hold a drinking cup still.

Lily wants other entrepreneurs to know that innovation doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, it can be as simple as a plastic cup.

1 Comment
Categories : Cups, Parkinson's Disease, Water, Young Entrepreneur

Lily Born, Kangaroo Cups

Posted by GleasonMK21 
· Friday, October 22nd, 2021 
· 1 Comment

kangaroo cupLily is a young entrepreneur that saw a need and filled it to the best of her abilities. Her grandfather was struggling with Parkinson’s disease and she began to notice that every time he went to take a drink he would always be spilling the beverage. Lily raised a little over $6,000 on Kickstarter to put it into production and the startup of her idea. She developed a three-legged cup so that the chances of being able to spill the beverage significantly decreased.

 

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects the movement of the body. This disease can be very aggressive and progress quickly or it could be a mild case and take 15-20 to be to a point of immobility. The people that live with this disease struggle with every little thing that they do and Lily’s cup is eliminating one of those struggles. With her design, it is easier for someone to be able to less carefully place something down on a table and not have to worry about the beverage spilling. With her product, Lily is also spreading awareness of Parkinson’s disease and showing people that there are ways to make life a little easier for those that are battling the disease.

kangaroo cup

The design of this cup is almost similar to the design of a sippy cup for a child. This is almost done on purpose because the design’s of cups for children are meant to be simple and easy to use. There are a few different colors and/or patterns that are available in Lily’s cups. The Kangaroo cup started out as a ceramic piece, but with enough funding and support they were able to produce the cups in plastic. Overall though, most of Lily’s thoughts went into the actual design of the cup because that was the most important part to her.

 

1 Comment
Categories : Cups, Parkinson's Disease, Young Entrepreneur