Company Case GoldieBlox: Swimming Upstream against Consumer Perceptions When Debbie Sterling was in high school, her math teacher rec ognized her quantitative talent and suggested she pursue engi- neering as a college major. At the time, Stering couldn't figure Out why her teacher thought she should drve trains tor a living. ittle more than a week. Shorty thereafter, GoldieBlox's first two products became Amazon's top two selling toys during the industry's busiest month of December. And if all that wasn't enough, GoldieBlox beat out 15,000 contenders in intuif's "Small Business Big Game" Super Bowl ad contest, winning a $4 million spot during the big game. Today, only a few years after the launch of its first product, GoldieBlox 's toys are sold at Target, Toys RUs, Amazon, and 6,000 other retalers woridwide. The brand features dozens of play sets designed for girls ages 3 through 11, the Bloxtown interactive website and app, a collection of original music videos, a Goldie action figure, and a "More Than Just a Princess" ine of T-shirts and hoodies. GoldieBlox has won nurmerous industry awards, and its toys have succeeded in raising awareness about the lack of women in technical and scientific fields as well as the But the suggeston was enough to get her started down the nght path, After four years at Stanford, Sterling graduated with a de- gree in mechanical engneenng. But throughout the course of her studies, Sterling noticed the lack of women in her engneer ing program-a characteristic phenomenon in a field where men Outnumber women 86 percent to 14 percent. This observation ignited an obsession in Sterling. She set out on a mission to in- spire a future generation of female engineers by disrupting the pink aisle in toy stores. During the past few years, among other accolades, Sterling has been named Time's "Person of the Moment" and one of issues assOciated with the traditional pink aisle. Business Insider's "30 Women Who Are Changing the World. Why? Because Sterling is the fournder and CEO of GoldieBlox, a toy company that is making Stering's mission a reality. All That Glitters Is Not Goldie With all this Success. vou would think that GoldieBlax would be her- Why? Because Sterling is the founder and CEO of GoldieBlox, a toy company that is making Stering s mission a reality. All That Glitters Is Not Goldie A Different Kind of Toy Company Atter graduating. Stering starfed researching everything from childhood developmet to gender roles. she discovered that in order to gain interest in and pursue a given field, a person must be exposed to the right inputs at an early age. This fact became particularly bothersome as Sterling became more and more fa- miliar with the contents of the average toy aisle in stores. Toys for giris were in the pnk aisle, dominated by dolls, stutfed animals, and prince6ses, whereas toys for boys were found in the blue aisle, filled with macho action figures, various toy weapons, and a huge variety oft buidirng block sets. Most experts agree that the toys served up to young giris do little to encourage an interest in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathj. This knowledige led Sterling to develop a plan to create a diferent kind of toy tor giris. As she began developing ideas for toys, another research finding stnuck her-girls possess stellar verbal skills and tend to learn better by interacting with stores. hat insight was in- strumental in the creation of the GoldieBlox line of construction With all this success, you would think that GoldieBlox would be her- alded by aryone and everyone wanting to change gender-based stereotypes in toys. But GoldieBiox has sparked substartial debate over whether it is really helping the cause t claims to be serving. The opposition, led by many ferminist voices, claims that Gold- ieBox's approach is little more than window dressing. The debate got realy ughy after the launch of GoldieBlox and the Parade Float, a construction set based on a new challenge faced by Goldie and her friends-to create a float to transport the winner of a beauty pageant.You cannot create a toy meant to break down stereo- types when you start offt with the Kdeal that we know al giris love pincesses, argues author Melissa Atkins Wardy. Those in the op- posiion camp cal tor toys that are gender-neutral. when we use princess cuiture, pinkitication, and beauty noms to sell STEM toys to gils and tool ourselves that we are amazing and progressive and raising an incredible generation of female engineers, we continue to sell our girls short, says Wardy. Additionally, although the toys are designed to stir interest in gris by having them build and creale, critics have raised concems that GoldlieBlox toys are too simplistic. But Sterling is quick to respond to all such arguments and show that GoldieBlox isn't iust trvina to hook parents with a aim- Sets. Part erector set and bart storvbook. the comibination was to leam better by interacting with stories. That insight was in- strumental in the creation of the GoldieBlox line of construction critics have raised concems that GoldieBiox toys are too simplstic. But Sterling is quick to respond to all such arguments and show that GoldieBlox isn't just trying to hook parents with a gim- mick that doesn t deliver. There's nothing wrong with beng a princess," says the 32-year-old entrepreneur. "We just think girls can build ther own castles too. This idea is backed by many advocates who recognize that to disrupt the pink aisle, you can't start out by trying to obliterate it. To infiuence through play the types of hobbies and academic sets. Part erector set and part storybook, the combination was designed to engage girls through their verbal skills and encour age them to build through narratives that feature the adventures of Golde, a treckled-taced blonde girl donning overal s and a too belt. Aithough Goldie comes off as a bit of a tomboy, she's sti girish. Skinny, blonde, and cute, she favors pinks and purples. The toys and stores feature animals and ribbons, and characters are more lkey to hep others than to succeed on their own. After her innovative toy sets received litte interest at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, Sterling started her own comparny. That decision sparked more interest than she couid have ever imagined. To raise the $150,000 needed for the first round of production, Stering launched a Kickstarter crowd- sOuroed funding campaign. Her funding goal was reached in just helds that Women pursiue, a company first must penetrate a very competitive market. Creating toys that are voId of things that iris find appealing wil only send giris scrambing tor the nearest Bratz or Dsney princess doll. GoldieBlox toys may incorporate traditional gender stereotypes, but they tweak and refrarme them. GoldieBlox spent years researching gender diferences, seeking SIgnificant input from Harvard neuroscientists, and observing