Kelly Shea has always had an inventor’s mindset.
By seventh grade, she had amassed more than 100 invention ideas in her phone, a list she continues to grow to this day. To be fair, some of the ideas were, well, out there.
A device to staple together falling cakes with chocolate staples, for instance.
Or her “glue gun” filled with cheese so she could make grilled cheese in a dorm that did not allow griddles.
“It was just a funny idea, there were laughs,” said Shea, 23, about her decision to pitch it at an idea competition. “But then afterward, people came up and said I should do it. I gave them permission to take it.”
Well, consider her latest idea off-limits.
A childhood spark ignites a new education venture
Today marks the official launch day for “Innovation Station,” a series of kits made for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade to learn the entrepreneurial journey.
Each kit covers specific stages of that journey, including identifying a problem, creating solutions, invention and pitching.
Shea said she noticed most classes related to business at that young of an age focused on entrepreneurship.
“So, I had the idea, ‘What if I made a program to teach kids to invent?’” she said.
The lessons are framed through the eyes of two young inventors, Bella and Toby.
Beyond the surface-level of each lesson, they also dig deeper by introducing the term “elevator pitch,” providing an idea notebook and creating activities that get students to think deeper about invention.
It’s a resource Shea didn’t have while growing up in Lithia, a small unincorporated area near Tampa.
As part of a high-performing school, she occasionally dealt with self doubt, despite having encouraging parents.
“I was never the smartest,” she said. “I always kind of discounted myself academically. But I always had this creative mind where things just made sense to me, even if school didn’t all the time.”
But an unlikely source set her on her way to becoming an inventor: “Shark Tank.”
The incredibly successful TV show that brings budding entrepreneurs in front of a panel of high-profile, high-worth judges like Mark Cuban, lit a fire in her even at a young age.
It was must-watch TV for her then.
As she learned more about the process, Shea realized that just about anything we have in society had to be invented.
So when she hatched her idea for “Innovation Station,” which helps young inventors create a framework to pursue ideas, she wanted to see it come to fruition.
“Sometimes we have to go back to the basics and realize there are building blocks to that,” she said.
The entrepreneur’s unseen grind: battling doubt with determination
As she launches her latest venture, Shea admits to the occasional bouts of self-doubt.
However, she credits a combination of her network and her own experience for helping push through them.
“It’s really cool to have people around me to help with this journey,” she said. “But I’m also a very determined person.”
Ultimately, Kelly Shea’s relentless drive is fueled by a profound belief in the boundless potential of young minds, especially before the world imposes its limits.
Her work with Innovation Station is a direct reflection of this philosophy, meticulously designed to nurture the innate creativity that thrives in early childhood.
“When you’re in K through 6, that’s when you are the most creative because you’re not thinking about colleges yet,” Shea said. “You’re not necessarily thinking about what you want to be. You’re still told you can be whatever you want to be.”