Innovation

Life Gears Academy Inc. president and founder Sarah Stubbs clearly stated that from the beginning, “the purpose of [creating] this company was never for lucrative profits” but rather to provide a service that was beneficial and necessary for the many different members of society. Life Gears’ innovation starts by incorporating the four aspects of STEM into the everyday lives of participants by increasing their exposure to these concepts through fun and interactive activities. The company offers a variety of classes that empowers confidence in these fields for the young and old, male and female alike. They explore various STEM topics and provide problems that require particular ways of thinking and applying solutions. Life Gears’ innovation aims to break down the intimidating barrier to entry for everyone.

The way this innovation came about is from Sarah’s affinity with mathematics and her dedication towards helping others. In the early stages of development, she was given financial advice and aid from a relative. After they moved on, however, the innovation’s development came more solely from Sarah herself. Those partnering and working with her would give their own ideas and opinions that would influence the innovation’s direction, but ultimately it was Sarah that made the final decisions. As time passed, the innovation started not only be an asset to the business, but also a mission that they wished to achieve.

The mission defined by the innovation is not only to educate people in the STEM topics, also to foster a sense of excitement when learning about anything, regardless of age, gender, and socio-economic status. The innovation and mission of the organization completely interrelate because the goal is to help educate all types of people in topics exploring STEM, life skills, and even sustainable decision-making. Whether the participant is a child learning about the eco-system for the first time, or a working mother looking to develop her programming skills, Sarah has made it clear that her company aims to build confidence in both STEM and life.

Inspiration

Ever since Sarah was young, she claimed that she always had a love for mathematics. However, she noticed that not everyone shared the same drive she had towards learning more about it. “I found that there wasn’t really that passion amongst others and so I didn’t know what to do with myself.” She often felt like the odd one out because she could not share her passion with anyone and did not get the chance to explore the fields she found interests in. Her childhood experiences and long standing passion for STEM motivated and inspired Sarah to create an organization where mainly children could explore their interests in STEM and do so with other like-minded individuals. Sarah was “the kid asking for math questions from the backseat of the car,” and therefore her goal was always to genuinely help kids and adults feel the same excitement that she does when it comes to the fields of STEM.

Sarah seriously considered a job in the teaching field, but the amount of time it would take to become a permanent teacher dissuaded her. It was during her various volunteering opportunities and educational jobs that she came to the realization that “I was in charge of dealing with a quarter of a million dollars, so I’m practically running my own business anyway.” Due to this realization, Sarah decided to start Life Gears Academy Inc., despite “having no business background.” She did this in order to fulfill her dreams of helping others and society in the same situation that she was in as a kid. She realized it was her opportunity to explore her innovational ideals and change the way people learn.

Overall impact

The innovation of Life Gears Academy Inc. positively impacted the business. It allowed for more opportunities for partnerships and gave them even more exposure. Customer attraction also increased, bettering their economic status. The innovation proved to be a beneficial force for Life Gears, and its impact could possibly change the industry if success continues to go their way.

Life Gears Academy Inc. is a relatively new business. Its impact on society has only been observable at a smaller scale. Educating kids, helping parents and low-income families, opening the eyes of the youth to the endless opportunities in STEM, and building self-confidence are ways that this innovation has improved society.

According to Sarah, a lot of Life Gears Academy “classes revolve around science” and so the conservation of the environment will be an integral concept for students. The organization has made a lot of improvements on society, one of them being to raise awareness and consciousness to environmental sustainability. Sarah Stubbs said that in their activities, they often limit items because “it teaches that there aren’t limited resources in nature and the environment.”

The short-term effects of Life Gears Academy Inc. revolve around the concept of helping adults and children build confidence and comfort with learning new ideas, regardless of how difficult they may seem. As a result of this organization, participants from Life Gears have become more confident with who they are and what they can contribute to society because they are able to work with like-minded individuals. However, although the long-term effects have not yet come into existence, Life Gears has the potential to make a very positive impact on the world. The long-term effects are to build self-confidence, aid in personal development and to increase social skills such as leadership, teamwork and communication, all things necessary and prevalent in school, work and so on.

Business benefit

The innovation has definite benefits for Life Gears Academy Inc. Sarah has stated that “[it] allows support to come forward. We’ll be targeted and given sponsorships, or we will be told that [other companies] want to partner with us.” The innovation gives the company more opportunities through exposure events and more consistent sponsor responses when looking for them. As Sarah explains, “Our innovation allows our business to build new partnerships and build some additional funding and support.” Thus, it can be detracted that positive economic effects have occurred to Life Gears Academy Inc. because of their innovation.

Social and environmental benefit

As known in the community, Life Gears offers various programs that are integrated into society. At Life Gears, “innovation allows more opportunities.” Society consists of a variety of demographics and Life Gears is incorporating as many as they can into their business technique. With senior camps, sex education development and they are also striving towards integrating aboriginal communities into their programs. When a company achieves greatness, it can be seen in many forms but at Life Gears, achieving greatness is having a positive effect on society.

Life Gears Academy Inc. proposes the potential for future environmental benefits by offering environmental courses and by being there to support kids that are trying to make environmentally conscious decisions and changes. The programs and camps highly limit the use of paper, reduce wastes, and increase the use of recycled material, unlike most camps. Sarah simply wants kids to recognize that there are “multiple ways of disposing your stuff, we can re-use items” and hopes that Life Gears will expand their studies on environmental sustainability.

Interview

Sarah Stubbs, President, Founder