Young Inventors Showcase

What Young Inventors Showcase does

Young Inventors Showcase (YIS) is the annual invention competition operated by the Young Inventors Association of America (YIAA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit headquartered in Houston, Texas. The competition has been held each year since 1987 and serves children ages 6 to 18 across kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school. Participants are recruited through public schools, private schools, home-schooling groups (which must aggregate a minimum of 20 students), after-school programs, and summer camps; finalists compete at the Spring Finals held in Houston each May, with virtual YouTube participation available for remote entrants. The organization is led by founder Greg Micek, with a small leadership team that includes Executive Director Max Martin, Director of Programs Natalie C. Pumphrey, and President of Business Development Michael Campbell.

Core deliverables consist of the annual competition itself, an 85-page Teacher's Guide, a Judging Rubric, the Invention Process guide, a Display Guide, and an enrollment application/release form. In Spring 2020, YIAA added a mentorship program that connects showcase winners with patent/trademark lawyers, social media leaders, and marketing agents to commercialize their inventions, with the grand prize winner receiving a free patent. The underlying platform is non-technological — a Wix-hosted website, downloadable PDFs, and YouTube for virtual entries — rather than a software product.

The organization is funded entirely through donations at three tiers: Bronze ($100, homepage name listing), Silver ($1,000, logo with picture and brief description), and Gold ($2,500, full banner with website link). Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, relying on word-of-mouth through educators, parent networks, and corporate facilitator contributions rather than paid advertising. With 1-10 employees and no disclosed revenue, YIAA operates as a small grassroots non-profit; its 37-year continuity and recent program additions (mentorship, virtual participation) suggest incremental capability-building rather than scale expansion.

Name

Young Inventors Showcase

Legal name

Young Inventors Association of America

Website

https://younginventorsshowcase.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Young Inventors Showcase is a Houston-based 501(c)(3) non-profit running an annual invention competition for students ages 6 to 18, held since 1987. It serves K-12 schools, home-school groups, and after-school programs, funded through donations and offering a mentorship track connecting winners with patent lawyers and marketing professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth STEM Education Programs

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151)

akta.pro primary industry

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family, Kids & Education Fairs (MPAGAFAH), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Youth invention competition
• STEM education programs
• K-12 invention curriculum
• Teacher invention resources
• Non-profit education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Funded through donations and volunteers. Three contributor levels: Bronze ($100), Silver ($1,000), Gold ($2,500). Corporate facilitators can sponsor at various levels with increasing visibility benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Young Inventors Showcase runs an annual invention competition for students ages 6 to 18, held each May in Houston, Texas, with local qualifying rounds and a worldwide finals. Schools, home-schooling groups, and after-school programs enroll participants, who receive teacher guides, judging rubrics, display guides, and the official application/release forms. Winners gain access to a mentorship program with patent lawyers, social media leaders, and marketing agents, with a free patent awarded to the grand prize winner.

Product overview

Young Inventors Showcase (YIS) is an annual invention competition for children ages 6 to 18 held each Spring in Houston, Texas, operated by the Young Inventors Association of America since 1987. The program includes the core competition platform, downloadable resources such as the YIAA Judging Rubric and The Invention Process guide, an 85-page Teacher's Guide for educators, the YIS Application and Release form, and the Display Guide for constructing competition boards. Participants progress through local preliminary judging before advancing to the Houston finals, with winners eligible for mentorship programs to bring their inventions to market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Young Inventors Showcase Competition Annual invention competition for students ages 6 to 18, held each Spring with local preliminary judging and a worldwide Finals event in Houston, Texas; winners can advance to the YIAA mentorship program for market readiness.
• Young Inventors Showcase Teacher's Guide An 85-page instructional guide that helps educators set up and administer Young Inventors Showcase classes and local competitions for their students.
• YIAA The Invention Process A comprehensive guide outlining the steps young inventors should follow from initial idea to finished invention, serving as the foundation of the Young Inventors Showcase program.
• YIAA Judging Rubric A downloadable rubric used to evaluate student inventions across criteria including originality, practical value, design quality, and presentation.
• Young Inventors Showcase Display Guide A downloadable guide providing instructions on how to construct a student display board for the competition.
• YIS Application and Release Official competition enrollment application and liability release form that participants must complete to register for the showcase.
• YIAA Inventor Mentorship Program Post-competition mentorship program that connects winning student inventors with patent and trademark lawyers, social media leaders, and marketing agents to move inventions from concept toward market-ready products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grand prize winner receives a free patent for their invention

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered silver level contributor and core.

• SKS-Smart Kids Software, Inc.silver level contributorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Silver Level contributor ($1,000 donation) providing company logo, picture, and brief description on YIAA homepage. Operates multiple education-focused websites including EducationMax.com, FacesforSchools.com, and SmartKidsSoftware.com.
• IQ Biometrix, Inc.silver level contributorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Silver Level contributor ($1,000 donation). Operates FacialComposites.com. Listed with picture and brief description on YIAA homepage.
• BIJOU BUILDS, LLCsilver level contributorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Silver Level contributor ($1,000 donation) with full banner, picture, description and link on YIAA homepage.
• GCS Glass, Austin, LLCsilver level contributorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Silver Level contributor ($1,000 donation) with picture and description on homepage. Operates GCSGlassAustin.com.
• Patent and Trademark LawyerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024YIAA is working with patent and trademark lawyers to develop mentor program tracks to help young inventors move their ideas from concept to market-ready products.
• Social Media Leaders and Marketing AgentscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Professionals collaborating with YIAA to develop mentorship tracks for parents and children to take invention ideas to the next level, including marketing and promotion support.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF): Society for Science's flagship global science competition for high school students. Larger, older incumbent serving an overlapping but slightly older (high school) invention/research audience.
• MATHCOUNTS: National middle-school math competition organization with national sponsorship (Raytheon). Broader incumbent in the K-12 STEM competition space — analogous competition model applied specifically to math rather than invention.

Direct peers

• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): Operates the largest K-12 STEM competition portfolio (FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST Robotics Competition). Directly comparable as a youth-focused invention/engineering competition organizer with school-based team participation.
• Destination Imagination: Runs team-based creative problem-solving and STEM challenges for K-12 students. Directly comparable in audience (K-12 schools, home-school groups), competition structure, and nonprofit sponsorship model.
• Science Olympiad: National K-12 STEM competition with regional, state, and national tournaments across 20+ science and engineering events. Comparable in school-based team competition model and nonprofit governance.
• Conrad Challenge: Annual youth innovation competition for students ages 13-18 producing real-world solutions in categories like aerospace, health, and energy. Comparable in mentoring students from idea to commercialization.
• National Invention Convention (Invention Convention Worldwide): Christopher Harrison Foundation's K-12 invention competition culminating in a national finals event. Most directly comparable peer — same age range, same focus on student inventions, same pathway from idea to patent/market.

Others

• Tynker: K-12 coding and STEM learning platform. Adjacent to the youth STEM education market, sharing the same school-district customer base, but focused on software/curriculum rather than physical invention competitions.

Emerging players

• iD Tech: For-profit STEM education provider offering summer camps and after-school programs in coding, engineering, and design. Competes for the same K-12 STEM engagement budget, though it sells paid programs rather than operating as a non-profit.
• Maker Faire (Make: Community): Event-driven celebration of invention, creativity, and DIY making. Partial overlap — focuses on community expos rather than structured competitions, but shares the youth-invention spirit and showcase format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Inventors Showcase