Norm Goldstein of By Kids For Kids

Inspired by his daughter Cassidy’s inventions, Norm Goldstein founded By Kids For Kids to motivate and stimulate the innovative spirit within all young people.

BKFK, a youth marketing and media company, cultivates, celebrates, and commercializes youth-created ideas.  Through its Web site (www.bkfk.com), social entrepreneurship community (Idea Locker), online competitions, a TV show (Think Big), and corporate partners, his company engages America’s youth and stimulates creativity, inventive thinking and problem solving.

His company has filed 26 patent applications free of charge for young inventors (in their name only) and has received five issued patents to date.

In addition to filling patent applications, BKFK also works with leading manufacturers to license these inventions. The company has 10 youth-invented products sold by many leading retailers such as Walmart, Staples and Barnes and Noble, to name a few. Youth inventors earn royalties on these licensing agreements. BKFK receives a share of the royalties, if the product is successful.

In 2004, BKFK worked on a problem-solving and inventive thinking curriculum created by the USPTO called Project XL. With a $1 million grant from Xerox Corp. and a partnership from Scholastic Inc., BKFK updated the materials and distributed them to schools in all 50 states. The “Inventive Thinking Toolkit” targeted underserved and under-represented youth.

For this effort, BKFK received recognition from the Congressional Black Caucus Education Brain Trust.

Moreover, the toolkit is modified and educationally themed to accommodate Fortune 500 companies’ objectives to reach and stimulate youth. BKFK runs corporately sponsored national invention competitions for youth to invent products or services utilizing these educational materials. The winners win cash prizes, national acclaim and most important an exposure to business realities.

The company has run national invention competitions for leading retailers including Staples, Best Buy and Toys R Us. Manufacturers include Mattel, Newell Rubbermaid, Electronic Arts and Tommy Hilfiger. Foundation and education companies include the Kauffman Foundation, Intel Foundation, Pearson Foundation, Do Something.org, and K12 Inc. TV networks and magazines including The Weather Channel, WGBH (Design Squad) and Cosmo Girl Magazine have worked with BKFK.  The company has co produced a TV series called “Think Big,” about youth inventors in North America currently being aired in Canada.

The company has an agreement with the Maryland Science Center (the nation’s oldest, founded in 1796) to open the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, pending funding from sponsors.

Norm is passionate about helping young people commercialize their innovations. Inventors Digest has regularly featured his young clients in the magazine’s Brain Child section. He also serves as a sounding board for creative and business ideas with the magazine’s executive staff.

As a well known expert on youth marketing,  Norm addressed a joint session of Congress on youth empowerment,  and was recognized by Congress as a Champion Leader. BKFK also been featured on CNN, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Montel Williams, CBS News & more.

Prior to BKFK, Norm was a highly successful entrepreneur in fashion, licensing and Internet businesses.