Many of us recognize how fragile life is and we may think about our legacy on Earth, which is likely our children.
When the Young family lost both parents recently, they became painfully aware of that factor. They wanted to keep their late father’s memory alive and make his dream a reality. He invented a household device that is brilliant but he never got to take it to market.
They decided to go on Shark Tank but that show is not all about the product, it is about the pitch. These children made one that was irresistible.
Christian, Kiera and Kaley Young have been through some difficult times recently. They introduced themselves to the panel and then told their story to them and to the world.
Their father, Keith, worked as a firefighter in New York City. He was never afraid of running into danger but on September 11, 2001, he found himself at Ground Zero.
He survived that day and later dreamed up an idea for a new type of cutting board. He was making the prototype when tragedy struck. It was more personal this time, because his wife, Elizabeth, died of breast cancer.
Keith and his children had to lay their mother to rest when she was only 47 years old in 2012. It took him some time to recover and in that period, he found his passion for cooking again.
Keith had even tried out for the food network series, Chopped and he was at the top of the heap two times on that show!
It was then that he remembered his product idea and began working on a prototype. He had filmed a video of it in action.
Kaley revealed the information in an interview with Inside Edition:
“Our dad’s dream was to go on Shark Tank with this invention.”
Unfortunately, the entry video would be as far as he got with the process. Even though he survived September 11, he succumbed to cancer and lost his battle in 2018.
The Young children honored their father by following through with his dream and presenting the story to the judges on Shark Tank.
The show is very competitive and one of the judges will choose to support a product in some cases. When they heard the story, they were so moved that they all decided to invest.
It is the Cup Board Pro and it sold out on Amazon with over a million sold.
You can see the emotional pitch in this video: