“If I can do it, other people can do it, too.” – Lily Born
When she was in 1st grade, Lily Born was taking care of her elderly grandfather, who had Parkinson’s disease. Because of his condition, every time he would try and pick up a cup of water to drink, it would spill because of his shaky hands. This struggle with an everyday task caused Lily to think outside the box. She wanted to create a cup that would be easier for her grandpa to use.
Because his greatest struggle was setting the cup back down, Lily knew that she needed to design something that would be stable. After sketching out a few options, she decided that a cup with legs coming off would be a fun and simple cup for her grandpa, and she got to work on a physical model of what she was envisioning. Lily creatively took an ordinary cup from her kitchen and used moldable plastic to make her first prototype. She took it to her grandpa, and he loved it! He used it for many months and Lily was overjoyed at what she created and the way it was making a difference in his life.
When Lily’s dad saw the impact her cup had on her grandfather, he brought to her attention the idea of turning it into an actual product. She decided to give it a shot and traveled all the way to China to find someone who would create a ceramic form of her cup. Not long after Lily came back with her product, she was able to launch her website, Imagiroo, to sell her “Kangaroo Cups” and tell of her business journey.
To this day, plastic Kangaroo cups are being sold online in many colors, and Lily is inspiring young people across the country. She has spoken on many stages to inspire other entrepreneurs, made it into the White House science fair, and was recognized as a CNN Hero.
Lily is an inspiration to all, and she hopes kids believe they can invent things that will make a difference in the world just as she did. She even said in an interview, “I want teenagers and kids to know they can have the experience I did,” and that is incredibly encouraging as someone who is curious about innovating myself. Who knows what she will go on to invent next and who she will inspire like me!
I loved this article! Lily was already having entrepreneurial tendencies in FIRST GRADE!! Her quote “If I can do it, other people can do it too” is great because she obviously was not planning on having a business, she just wanted to help her grandfather. Now she is in the White House and on CNN.
Great job! I’ve never heard of this product before but this was so interesting to read about. I can’t believe how young Lily was when she created this idea. I also think it’s really cool how her dad encouraged her to take her little idea and see if it could become a real business!