Ruth Amos

Award winning entrepreneur starts business in the classroom

Ruth Amos (born 1989) was Young Engineer for Britain 2006, with her idea, The StairSteady. The StairSteady is an aid to enable people with limited mobility to use their stairs confidently and safely. The StairSteady was designed as part of her GCSE resistant materials project as a response to a teacher’s challenge to design an aid to enable people with limited mobility to use their stairs. The company StairSteady Ltd was set up in 2006 to protect the product and bring it to market which was achieved in 2008 while Ruth was studying for her A-levels. Ruth now runs StairSteady Ltd full time and organise the distribution and fitting of the StairSteady across the UK, looking at distributing abroad in the near future.

Ruth works on projects to help promote enterprise in school, and talks in schools regularly. She is a 'Make Your Mark' ambassador, was Young Entrepreneurs (runner up) 2006, Derbyshire Young Achiever 2006 and Intel Science and Engineering Fair finalist 2008, a Cragrats ambassador, and enterprise Role model in South Yorkshire and speak at events across the country promoting engineering and enterprise.

In 2006 she was a guest speaker at IET (Institute of Electrical Engineers) national conference alongside Sir Robin Saxby- chairman of ARM holdings. In 2008 she attended the Intel ISEF science and engineering fair in Atlanta representing the UK in mechanical Engineering. She has spoken at both local and national events promoting engineering and motivating both young and old.

Ruth is the youngest person ever to be on Management Today’s 35 women under 35 (she appeared in their 2009 list), and winner of the women of the Future ‘Young Star’ Award. Ruth was part of the pilot for ‘Teenage Tycoon’. She is passionate about education and is a STEM ambassador as well as being part of the Bloodhound SSC land speed record ambassador scheme.

In May 2010 Ruth was on the Yorkshire 42 under 42 and in September of that year she was recognised as a ‘women of achievement’ by the Women of the Year Foundation. IN 2011 she was the Network of Aspiring Women’s Young Business women and Overall Winner. In June of that year Ruth set up SteelTV a media company run by young people, which specialises in capturing live events, sponsored by O2. In December 2011 Ruth set up Drols Ltd a Children’s brand that focuses on education and life skills through play aimed at 3-10year olds. She is a Trustee of Sheffield Youth Theatre and Greenbelt Festival