Kangaroo Cups started when a young girl, Lily Born, recognized an inconvenience in a family member’s life and sought to find a solution. When Lily was just eight years old, she noticed her grandfather often spilled his drink due to his condition, Parkinson’s disease. Lily used moldable plastic to make her grandfather a new cup that was both comfortable to hold and did not tip as easily.
A year later, Lily noticed her dad trying to save his laptop from spilled coffee so she created a ceramic version of the original plastic cup. Lily’s dad recognized it was a great invention and asked her if she wanted to bring it into production. After refining the models and finding a manufacturer, Lily and her dad prepared for production of the ceramic cups! Since the start of production, a durable plastic version of the cups has been created as well.
Lily clearly displays a drive for problem-solving. At just eight years old she saw and recognized a problem happening to two different family members and created a cup to help solve the problem. Not only does has a keen eye for scoping out problems, but Lily has the drive and the motivation to want to solve them!
Really young entrepreneurs inspire me because if someone who is eight can identify problems and have the determination to solve them, then so can I! It is really interesting to see what different ideas young kids can come up with!
My favorite part of this post is how Lily solved multiple different problems with one invention. Normally our stereotype of entrepreneurs involves a person solving a huge problem with one grand invention. However, Lily is a great example of a simple invention with many different uses and applications. I also love the point you make when talking about Lily’s age. Entrepreneurs do not have to be people with lots of capital or education. Good entrepreneurs start problem solving at a young age.
Lily really showed a great entrepreneurial spirit with her product. It is interesting to see how such a common problem, that has surely existed for years, was solved by someone who is only 8 years old. She had a different perspective on the issue than the adults around her, which allowed for her to come up with an idea that they did not.
This is a very unique product and I’m surprised not one thought of it before. If anyone did, they probably never acted on it. The best entrepreneurs try to make their ideas a reality, just like Lily did. It also helped that Lily made the product to help people, not because she wanted to make a profit. This motivation made her more determined to make a quality product.