WOMAN CREATES DEVICE TO HELP PARENTS
BY TIA CAROL JONES
Tiffany McCoy was trying to find a solution to keep her daughter’s tablet charged and to keep the tablet accessible while McCoy was driving. So, she came up with the idea of creating a booster seat companion kit. McCoy, founder of Kidz Elite, wanted to find a way to make the product unique and decided to make it a charging device. There is a battery source inside of the booster seat and a flexible arm, which allows for a mobile device to charge while it is being held by the arm.
“This solved a lot of problems, a lot of parents love it,” she said. “It’s something that as a mom, it works for me. And, I said, let me share this with the world.”
McCoy said she wanted to provide safety for her child and that’s how she started. She said the process begins with writing down thoughts, drawing out the design, doing research, doing a patent search and talking to strangers, which she called market research. She said she also contacted a patent lawyer and looked for a manufacturer that met her needs. McCoy said her four-year-old daughter is the inspiration for all the products she has created. She said she wanted to bring something new to the table and share it with the world, from a technology sense.
“I love innovative things, I love smart devices and things like that. I just like to bring another way, give other options,” she said. McCoy said she does a lot of social media groups and focus groups to evaluate and make sure her company designs unique solutions. The first product McCoy created was a product for babies, called the smart child pad, which is not currently on the market because it is still in the testing phase. “It’s really important that, as a mom, I want to make sure all the safety features have been approved by the Children Association. With that product, there is a little bit more tech, than the booster seat,” she said.
The booster seat is available on the Kidz Elite website and it costs $124.99. McCoy said the feedback she has received from people has been very positive.
“It solves a lot of problems, especially if you have a child, who’s non-verbal, whatever they’re used to keep them calm at home, now on the road, when you’re in the comfort of your car, now they can enjoy and it can be a smooth, calm ride,” she said.
McCoy said the arm can be adjusted. She said she took into account the child’s posture while in the seat.
McCoy said she had to find a United States based manufacturing company because she was working with one in China and due COVID-19, parts weren’t available, and it slowed down her business.
McCoy said it is the only product of its kind on the market, which for a Black woman business owner, is huge. She said it was a challenge to have her voice heard and have people trust that she was knowledgeable because she is a woman. “But if you know what you know and you know whose you are, anything is possible,” she said. She added, she has faith, doesn’t allow anything to deter her, regardless of what the statistics say about Black women having businesses.
For more information on Kidz Elite, visit www.kidzelite.org.
