Don't Knock the Hustle by Craig S. Watkins

Author:Craig S. Watkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beacon Press

KICKSTARTING A CONSTRUCTION TOY FOR GIRLS

As Sterling considered how to gain access to the toy industry in order to get GoldieBlox manufactured and on the market, a friend persuaded her to apply for admission to an elite tech accelerator in Silicon Valley. But when she appeared before the all-male panel of tech bros, they did not understand why the construction kit needed a book. It was not simply that they did not get her toy, they did not get why a toy like this was worth their investment. Sterling left feeling much as she had while studying engineering at Stanford: as if she did not fit in.

Next, she presented her concept at the New York Toy Fair, an international event and the biggest toy show in the US. She was excited to attend, expecting to meet creative types, kids, and people who were investing in the future of toys. “What I encountered instead,” she said, “was a bunch of old men in suits.” Again, as was true during her days at Stanford and at the Silicon Valley accelerator, Sterling did not fit in.

As she made the rounds at the Toy Fair, several men shared a well-known industry secret: “Construction toys for girls don’t sell,” they told her. They explained that princess and Barbie dolls were what sold. They thought her idea was novel, even noble, but it was not commercial.

Despite her struggles to make her vision real, Sterling persisted. She partnered with a manufacturer to produce a sample toy. The first complete set she designed included a storybook, character figurines, and construction pieces—a pegboard, a spinning wheel, axels, blocks, ribbon, and washers in bright colors and with curved edges. The stories were intentionally fun, accessible, and humorous. The goal was to make building things engaging rather than rote and complicated.

In order to go to production, the factory minimum order was five thousand toys. Sterling needed $150,000 to move forward. Lacking that amount of money, she did what a lot of young creatives we have met do: she launched a Kickstarter. Her goal? Raise $150,000 in thirty days.

In her Kickstarter video Sterling asks potential contributors to “help me build GoldieBlox so our girls can build the future.” The response was overwhelmingly positive. Sterling reached her fundraising goal in four days. Ultimately her 5,519 backers contributed a total of $285,851. The Kickstarter campaign allowed her to go into production and make her vision of a construction toy for girls real.

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