08-09-15 Co-Hosts Inventor Lily Born & Songwriter Niki Singh
Co-Host Lily Born: Twelve-year-old Lily Born saw her grandfather, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, struggle to use a regular cup, spilling his drink in the process. Inspired to find a solution, Lily used moldable plastic to develop a prototype that was more stable and comfortable to use. The Kangaroo Cup can be used by individuals who suffer from muscular control issues, as well as young children. With the help of her father, she launched a crowdsourcing campaign and eventually raised enough funds to help bring the Kangaroo Cup to market. She launched product directly to the market on the crowdfunding sites Indiegogo and Kickstarter, where she successfully pre-sold more than 10,000 cups. She was chosen as a member of the Independent Youth Teen Network, Selected as Business Insider’s Top 11-year-old in Tech, and was honored as a “Young Wonder” in CNN’s Heroes Tribute. She is the youngest member of the Catalyze Chicago’s Hardware Incubator. www.imagiroo.com
Lily was invited to the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/03/20/meet-exhibitors-2015-white-house-science-fair-1
The Kangaroo Cup is simply a better mug for anyone. Fewer spills on the keyboard at the office, fewer messes at home. Who wants to chase guests around with coasters?
Co-Host Niki Singh: Niki Singh is a 10-year old (4th grader) Indian American girl who has been dealing with bullying, self confidence and self worth issues. To this end, she has written a song entitled, ” My Reflection.” The song is about the importance of inner strength/self confidence (inner beauty) and less about about outward appearance. She wrote this song as she was talking to herself in the mirror. The words are truly empowering for other kids and frankly for a 10 year old, surprising in terms of her ability to express her feeling so eloquently in a lyrical form. She wrote the entire song from lyrics to melody to the arrangement. Her goal for this song, and one of the reasons she went to a studio to record it, is to help other kids realize they are not the only ones who feel insecure at times or feel “down.” Niki’s quote,” Papa, if one kid who is feeling down, listens to this song and starts to smile, I will feel like this song is worth something.” Her goal is to spread that message and encourage kids to focus on whom they are inside.
Niki also has a non profit organization she started “Just Be Me.” The goal of the organization is to help foster awareness and provide support to younger kids (grade school and middle school) to help them understand the importance of self worth and identity… celebrating both what binds us together and what differentiates us…
Her song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v0qeTiJnUg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loeKnDgQW54
