Rich Gilliam grew up in Philadelphia, in what he described as the inner city. When he later embarked on a career in STEM—two years as a scientist and eight as a robotic engineer—it struck him that a lot of kids with similar backgrounds might not be exposed to this kind of career path.
“A lot of kids growing up in urban communities or the inner city may see STEM as so different from everything in their everyday life,” he said.
Gilliam wanted to bridge that gap, and it was this thought that led him to found STEM PLUG in 2022.
At that time, the startup revolved largely around Gilliams’ first educational children’s book. Titled “Diversed in STEM,” it’s a book about 10 different characters—each one a child of a distinct background and personality—and their teacher, Ms. Joy.
Ms. Joy teaches the children to embrace their imagination and leads them to explore potential career paths in STEM based on their interests and personalities. For example, Gilliam described the character Domingo as a child who is quiet and likes to draw; Ms. Joy suggests that he could have a career in architecture design.
“The idea for that came from me wanting to help connect children to different areas of science, technology, engineering, and math,” Gilliam said.
“Diversed in STEM” sparked a 10-book plan dubbed the “STEM Solvers” series, with each installment following a specific character from the original on a distinct STEM learning journey.
Beyond the books
Following the publication of “Diversed in STEM” in 2022, Gilliam worked with educators to identify solutions that would both help K-12 students gain confidence in STEM and connect teachers with effective, hands-on learning methods.
These efforts led to the first of the “STEM Solvers” series books—”Robotic Adventures,” published earlier this year—as well as the creation of STEM Plug’s hydraulic robot. This is a 220-piece robot that kids can build (a build takes about six hours) to learn engineering, design, and design thinking alongside characters in “Robotic Adventures.”
Once a child builds the robot, they can test out its different features (such as a grabber arm and suction arm) and work on challenges designed by Gilliam’s curriculum developer.
“The books are funnels into our robotics,” Gilliam said, “because [the kids] are able to see how this specific robot is used in everyday life and see the application of it; kids can be able to see it and be able to build it.”
In addition to creating these hands-on tech builds for readers, Gilliam and his team are in the process of creating what they call “The STEM Solvers Game.”
Like the robot, this forthcoming product is being built to work alongside the books, essentially by gamifying STEM-related lessons. As an example, a vocabulary-focused mini-game will challenge students to pair the correct terminology with visuals in “Robotic Adventures.” The game is being developed in Unity with plans for both web and app versions.
The business of STEM PLUG
Gilliam believes STEM PLUG is unique in its space. While established companies such as LEGO and Sphero provide functional robotics for children to build and learn from, STEM PLUG sets itself apart with its link to storytelling.
“Not only do you have a robot that you’re able to build, not only do you have a game [for learning] vocabulary, but it’s connected to characters,” Gilliam said. “Children have that emotional connection… you’re able to see the character and feel connected with it and feel more confident.”
Gilliam is selling that vision in multiple ways. STEM PLUG initially operated on a B2C model, and books and products are still available for direct purchase. However, the startup has also begun to prioritize a B2B model, selling packages of books and accompanying robots to camps, school districts, and even large organizations such as the YMCA and 4-H.
Gilliam also recently organized a deal for an event package with the YMCA. This was essentially a four-day camp at which children were given books and assisted with their robot builds.
QUICK BITS
Startup: STEM PLUG
Founder: Rich Gilliam
Founded: 2022
Team size: 4
Location: Triangle
Website: www.stemplug.com
Funding: Bootstrapped / crowdfunding
STEM PLUG has established reach up and down the East Coast, having gained clients and/or relationships with relevant entities in Georgia, South Carolina, Norht Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York to date. Gilliam said that revenue in the past 12 months has more than doubled that of the previous two years combined.
The startup has also been busy on the accelerator circuit. Gilliam recently participated in the LAUNCH Chapel Hill accelerator and will be part of the LevTech Accelerator’s demo day this month. STEM PLUG is also a semi-finalist in the 2025 Black Ambition initiative (a program founded by Pharrell Williams).
Gilliam asked that anyone involved in school districts or toy drives who may have an interest get in touch through the STEM PLUG website. Those interested should also keep an eye out for a Kickstarter (possibly to support a second robot product).
He also wanted readers to be left with his signature quote: “Your imagination is the biggest nation.”
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