CHAPTER 1:
How The Qball Began
Brilliant ideas from the classroom
After six years of installing technology in schools around the country, Shane Cox noticed some problems.
Although classroom audio systems often benefitted teachers, the microphones weren’t functional for students—they were either too fragile or too difficult to pass around in a timely manner. Additionally, the systems tended to be cost-prohibitive for individual budgets, meaning teachers didn’t have the ability to choose the option that worked best for them.
“I saw a lot of teachers using a talking stick to manage the classroom discussion and thought, ‘There has to be a better solution.’ I want to take my technological expertise and provide teachers a fun and engaging way to invite their students to participate,’” says Shane.
Taking matters into his own hands, Shane designed the Qball, a throwable wireless microphone, wrapped in durable foam and soft enough for students to toss back and forth during classroom activities. Importantly, Shane released the Qball at a price individual teachers could actually afford—empowering them to have more control over the technology they used.
Meet Shane
“Qball is a safe, hands-on way to give every student a voice. The quiet talkers can comfortably speak up, and the talkative students know to yield the floor to the person who holds the ball.”
–– Shane Cox, Qball Inventor
Swimming with Sharks
Proof that doing scary things can lead to awesomeness
In 2017, Shane decided to try his luck with the billionaire investors of the hit ABC television show, “Shark Tank.” Immediately after the opening pitch, one shark dropped out, due to concerns over the scalability of a product designed for the classroom.
“I really started sweating at that point, but I just stuck to my guns, because education is what I am passionate about,” says Shane. “It is the area where I feel my product could make the biggest impact.”
In the end, his persistence paid off, as not one—but three—sharks put offers on the table. After joining forces with Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban and Rohan Oza, Shane walked out with a $300,000 deal, and a platform to continue promoting classroom engagement through active listening and having fun.
Watch the segment, here!
CHAPTER 3:
Where we are today
New ventures and a Qballin’ team
Since landing the deal with Lori, Mark, and Rohan, Shane realized that the Qball has *so* many more uses than he ever dreamed, and has expanded its reach beyond the classroom to Trainings + Corporate applications.
It’s a wild ride, complete with the ups and downs that come with inventing, manufacturing, and scaling a product company, but Shane loves this work, and genuinely feels gratified with every connection he makes on this Qball journey.
Our Mission
We believe every class, meeting, and event is an opportunity to change lives. But that’s only possible if people can hear and learn from each other. Our mission is to give everyone a chance to participate in a fun and exciting way.
