INSTASHIELD

Invention and Entrepreneurship Run in the Family

INNOVATIONS

OF THE WORLD

As Featured In:

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

As Featured In:

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

INSTASHIELD FILLS PPE SHORTAGE, DONATES 1 MILLION SHIELDS TO PEOPLE IN NEED
InstaShield™ is a new kind of face shield that ships flat and is folded to fit over a cap or visor. The company was founded in March 2020 by Dan Brown Jr. to help fill the nation’s PPE shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan Jr. collaborated with his father, inventor Dan Brown Sr., to develop a high-quality, American-made face shield that could be quickly mass-produced and efficiently distributed to essential workers and consumers.

Within seven months, InstaShield sold over 1 million shields directly to customers through website sales and then donated 1 million shields to people in need through its Million-Shield Challenge. The company partnered with UPS, United Way, and other organizations to distribute 1 million face shields through 24 non-profits in nine states. “It was rewarding to work with the United Way and UPS to help so many communities in this time of crisis,” said Dan Jr. InstaShield won a 2020 Chicago Innovation Award for its response to COVID-19.

In addition to running InstaShield and LoggerHead Tools, a handtool company founded by Dan Sr., Dan Jr. is an advocate for patent reform. He regularly meets with legislators and other influencers to propose changes to patent law. He also recently created a petition to encourage Amazon to provide a “Made in USA” search filter so consumers can easily find American-made products on its site (wewantmadeinusa.com).