Debbie Sterling (now 40) started her business “GoldieBlox,” at age 29 in 2012. GoldieBlox creates toys that introduce children (especially girls) to STEM at a young age. Their website includes categories of toys targeted at various ages ranging from 0-10 years.

As an engineering student at Stanford, Sterling couldn’t help but notice that she was one of the only girls in the department. Even worse, when it came to the hands-on part of her engineering classes, she struggled a lot more than the men did. Sterling realized the problem: boys grow up playing with hands-on, STEM-like toys (such as construction toys), but girls don’t. So, Sterling wanted to find a way to introduce young girls to STEM.

To solve this problem, Sterling created the first-ever girl engineering character: GoldieBlox. The “GoldieBlox” toy included a girl-targeted construction kit paired with a book that told a story about Goldie while guiding in the use of the toy.

Early on, Sterling faced rejection of her “GoldieBlox” toy at the International Toy Fair in NYC. Many people told her that girls “only want to play with princesses;” a STEM-related toy wouldn’t sell. However, Sterling truly believed in her idea, so she posted it on Kickstarter–and it was met with huge support. GoldieBlox received large amounts of funding and media coverage.

As GoldieBlox gained more sales and popularity, it received astounding recognition. GoldieBlox had a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, won a free Super Bowl commercial, and was honored by the President.

Debbie Sterling is an incredible example of a young entrepreneur. She encountered a true problem and realized that it doesn’t just affect her, but also all little girls everywhere. Then, she applied a unique solution that no one else had discovered. Even after facing initial rejection, Sterling didn’t give up; she stayed true to herself and persevered, as all young entrepreneurs often have to.