Program Summary  

Are you a student thinking about a career as an inventor and entrepreneur? Do you want to know what the real Shark Tank is like? If so, join us for an opportunity to get academic and career advice from inventor Joe Pippins, creator of the Fishing Caddy. During this interactive Q&A session, students will have the chance to ask questions about coursework, internships, college programs, and anything else about becoming a successful inventor! Parents, teachers, and mentors are also encouraged to participate. 

Speaker Bio  

As an entrepreneur and inventor, Joe Pippins has experienced many obstacles including being homeless and losing a parent, mentor, and brother. Despite this, Joe has navigated and successfully completed several big box retail partnerships and dedicated his career to helping other entrepreneurs bring their products to market with an honest and productive process. With experience in nearly all facets of product launch, from obtaining a USPTO approved patent, to packaging design, and coordinating domestic and international manufacturing, he now serves as a consultant and speaker guiding other start up companies to success. Joe’s work has been featured in over 500 publications, including the Kansas Business Journal, Wall Street Select, Miami Herald, Black Enterprise Magazine, Small Business Magazine, and many more. 

Accessing the program

This free, online program will take place via Zoom. Registration is currently open and will remain open until the event has ended. After you register you will receive an email with a link to join the session. To help us better serve our audiences, we have included some demographic questions in the registration form. Your response to these questions is voluntary but appreciated.  Thank you! 

The Linda Hall Library encourages people of all backgrounds and abilities to participate in our public programs.  Closed captioning is provided.  If you require additional reasonable accommodations in order to participate, please contact events@lindahall.org or call 816.926.8753 at least 24 hours in advance of the event. 

Once you register for this event, you will receive email communications from the Linda Hall Library and the Linda Hall Library Foundation. You may choose to opt out of these communications at any time. Your contact information will not be sold or provided to any third parties. 

The program will also be livestreamed on the Library’s Facebook page.

This program is funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Its content is solely the responsibility of the Linda Hall Library.

Further reading at the Linda Hall Library

• Docie, Ronald Louis The inventor’s bible : how to market and license your brilliant ideas. Berkeley, Calif. : Ten Speed Press, 2015.
• Erlbach, Arlene The kids’ invention book. Minneapolis : Lerner Publications Co., 1997.
• Sobey, Edwin J. C. Inventing toys : kids having fun learning science. Tucson, Ariz. : Zephyr Press, 2002.