Debbie Sterling, an engineer from Stanford University, had an idea to inspire the next generation of female engineers and address the industry's astounding gender gap: Give girls a role model.
So, she invented GoldieBlox, a book series and construction toy starring Goldie, a girl engineer and role model who is smart, curious and accessible. Debbie felt her toy hit so many marks: potential to get girls interested in engineering, develop their spatial skills and build self-confidence in their problem solving abilities. It was the type of toy she wished she'd had growing up.
But toymakers weren't interested. They said "construction toys for girls don't sell," and pointed to aisles of glittery princesses and dolls as success stories. Those are what girls want, they said.
Debbie didn't buy it. She took GoldieBlox to Kickstarter. She had 30 days to raise $150,000; 30 days to get her toy to production and prove those toy industry veterans wrong. She hit her Kickstarter goal in five days