Debbie Sterling

As an engineering student at Stanford, Debbie was outnumbered. The vast majority of her professors, and classmates, were male. In class, the students prototyped with construction toys. While the boys had played with these toys as kids, she never had.

This led Debbie to have a lightbulb moment. To interest girls in engineering, they need hands-on play AND role models in which to see themselves. Determined, Debbie created construction toys designed specifically to get girls into STEM - introducing the world's first girl engineer and coder characters - Goldie Blox and Ruby Rails.

Rejection met Debbie's first prototype at The International Toy Fair in New York City. Girls want princesses, the men told her. Deep down, she knew they were wrong. So she put her idea on Kickstarter. It blew up.

Thousands of people, including celebrities, tech CEOs and political figures crowdfunded her campaign. Nearly every major media outlet from The Atlantic to The New York Times to The Guardian began writing about GoldieBlox.

After winning a free Super Bowl commercial, having a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and being honored by President Obama with an Ambassadorship for Global Entrepreneurship, it became clear that Debbie wasn't just starting a company - she was starting a movement.