We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luke St. Amand a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Luke, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

For most of my life, I was convinced STEM wasn’t for me. From middle school through high school, no matter how hard I studied, science and math were always the classes I struggled in most. I’d tell myself what so many students still do today: “I’m just not meant for this.”

That belief stuck – until COVID. With summer internships canceled, I spent most of my time playing video games with friends… until one of them, a software intern at Snapchat, asked if I wanted to learn to code. He showed me how to make a simple app – a button that popped up a message – and I was hooked. That one moment flipped a switch in me. It wasn’t just that coding felt like magic – it was the first time STEM made sense. I finally wanted to learn, and more importantly, I believed I could.

I poured everything into it. I picked up Python, SQL, data science, and somehow landed an internship – and eventually a full-time role – on one of Amazon’s most prestigious AI and data science teams. I was the youngest on the team by a decade. I was the only one who didn’t have a master’s. But I worked hard, earned two promotions in under two years (which usually takes 5+ years), and got to work on projects that most engineers wait their whole careers to touch. It was my dream job, and the salary reflected that.

But then, something unexpected happened.

My college best friend Jared – who had taught himself engineering as a teen by building and selling electric skateboards – gave his young nephew one for Christmas. Instead of riding it, his nephew asked, “How does it work?” So Jared took it apart under the tree and explained it all – motors, gears, batteries, the works. His sister turned to him and said, “Do this for kids!”

And that was the spark that became Lectec.

Jared and I believed that more students deserved the same spark we had – that moment of discovery that flips the switch from “I can’t do this” to “I love this.” So in late 2023, I walked away from the security, the salary, and the comfort of Amazon to go all in on Lectec – a hands-on STEM education company where kids build real electric vehicles and learn real-world science.

We took the ultimate leap. No paychecks. No guarantees. Just belief.

And here’s how it turned out: within a year, our kits were in classrooms and afterschool programs across the country. It wasn’t an easy road, but it is worth it. We got our first emails from teachers telling us our kits had completely changed their students’ engagement. Students who once said “STEM isn’t for me” were now building with real tools, learning about gear ratios, and testing their own electric skateboards. It was truly amazing to see all the sacrifices – the weekends, holidays, couch surfing, and skipped commitments – to engineer these kits was having an impact that we wished for.

Then in February 2025, we achieved something that had once felt impossible – we walked onto the set of Shark Tank, shared our story with millions, and walked away with an investment deal that would help us grow even further.

But more than any TV moment, what’s made this risk worth it is the kid who says, “Wait, I built that?” Or the one who, just like me, goes from struggling in science class to dreaming of becoming an engineer.

That’s how it turned out. And we’re just getting started.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Luke, co-founder of Lectec – a company that was built to fix the way STEM is taught.

Growing up, I struggled in every science class. No matter how hard I worked, the concepts never clicked. It wasn’t that I didn’t care – I just couldn’t connect with what was in the textbook. STEM felt abstract, intimidating, and disconnected from the real world. I assumed it just wasn’t for me.

My co-founder Jared felt the same way. He was always asking, “When am I ever going to use this?” It wasn’t until he discovered electric skateboards that he started learning without even realizing it – teaching himself mechanical and electrical engineering just to build something he was excited about.

That disconnect – between how STEM is traditionally taught and how students actually want to learn – is what Lectec is here to solve.

At Lectec, we design hands-on electric vehicle kits (like skateboards and scooters) that students build from the ground up. Alongside the hardware, we provide NGSS-aligned curriculum that blends science, engineering, and coding with creativity and real-world relevance. Students don’t just learn about batteries and motors – they install them. They don’t just read about energy transfer – they test it themselves. And when they finish, they ride what they built.

What sets Lectec apart is how real it is. These aren’t abstract science kits meant to be left on a shelf – they’re full-size, rideable electric vehicles. Kids see e-mobility devices like these in their neighborhoods every day, so there’s an instant connection and excitement. The goal isn’t just to build something – it’s to take it outside, test it, have fun with it. That’s the payoff. It’s what we wish we had growing up. Because when students realize they built something real – something that moves – that moment becomes a powerful entry point into STEM.

What we’re really offering isn’t just a product – it’s a moment. A moment where a student who never saw themselves in STEM suddenly says, “Wait… I can do this.”

What makes us different is that we’re not educators-turned-entrepreneurs. We’re students-turned-engineers who remember what it felt like to be on the other side of the classroom – confused, bored, disengaged. That’s the perspective we bring into every lesson, every build, and every student experience.

Today, Lectec is being used in schools, afterschool programs, and summer camps across the country. And in 2025, we were lucky enough to share our story on Shark Tank and secure a deal to help us grow even further.

But what I’m most proud of? Seeing a student who thought they’d never be good at science tighten a bolt, plug in a wire, take their first ride – and realize they’re capable of more than they ever imagined.

That’s what Lectec is about. Helping students learn by doing – and showing them STEM isn’t just for a select few. It’s for everyone.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my cofounder – and best friend – Jared in one of the most fitting ways possible: riding an electric skateboard.

It was around 1 AM on campus. I was a full-blown nerd at the time – double major, a minor, valedictorian status on the line – walking back from yet another late-night study session. Jared had just wrapped a long day at the warehouse he ran for his electric skateboard company, plus classes, and was cruising through campus to unwind.

I stopped him and asked if I could try his board. Most people would’ve brushed me off – especially that late – but Jared smiled and said, “Yeah – I’ve got another one in my trunk.” He taught me how to ride, and we ended up skating around for two hours that night. That was the start of our love story / bromance!

What I didn’t know at the time was that Jared had actually built that board himself – every part of it – and had been running a business since he was 15, selling custom electric skateboards from his parents’ basement. Over seven years, he scaled it to over 6,000 riders in 30 countries, supporting himself through college.

We became the best of pals fast and ended up traveling the world together. Years later, after I landed my dream job as an engineer at Amazon, Jared was the one who convinced me to leave it behind to build Lectec with him. He had sold majority share of his previous company, and had invested every penny he had ($300,000) into starting Lectec. It was never a hard decision for me – how many opportunities do you have in life to build something you are passionate about…with your best friend? Probably not many.

And honestly? Best decision I ever made.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When we started Lectec, we had no idea what we were doing. We weren’t educators. We were two engineers trying to reimagine how STEM could be taught, which is easier said than done! Launching a hardware startup in education, especially with a product that’s not cheap to manufacture, was anything but simple.

We had to figure out everything from scratch. That meant flying out to China to build relationships with suppliers, iterating the product design over and over again to make it both classroom-ready and cost-effective, and doing it all on a budget that most hardware founders would laugh at. We’ve spoken to other hardware startups who raised millions just to get their first units out the door. We didn’t have anywhere close to that – but we still found a way to make it happen.

There were countless moments where we didn’t know what to prioritize – marketing, manufacturing, curriculum, logistics, sales – so we just attacked every opportunity we could, one by one. The stress was (and still is) real. There’s a reason people say “hardware is hard.” But we believe in what we’re building. There’s nothing that replaces the feeling of learning by doing – and that’s what makes the struggle worth it.

Even getting onto Shark Tank was a grind. They get tens of thousands of applications every year. We were rejected for Season 15 and had to keep pushing, rewriting our pitch, practicing with friends, tweaking the story over and over until we finally got the shot in Season 16.

It’s never been easy. But resilience isn’t about knowing what you’re doing – it’s about showing up anyway, figuring it out, and not letting go of the vision. And that’s exactly what we’ve done since day one.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lectec.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/golectec/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/golectec
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lectec/
• Twitter: https://x.com/golectec/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lectec
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@golectec

Image Credits

[Shark Tank Photos] Picture by Disney / Christopher Willard