Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Lowey Bundy Sichol On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Acknowledge small steps towards big goals. “I saw girls who never thought they’d be interested in coding build apps and websites solving issues that tugged at their heartstrings. I want to give girls the opportunity to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. I won’t be satisfied until I get every company in America to sign up and until I reach every girl in America.” — Reshma Saujani, founder Girls Who Code
As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lowey Bundy Sichol.
Lowey Bundy Sichol is an award-winning children’s author with an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is a leading expert in teaching business and entrepreneurship to kids. Lowey’s nonfiction series, From an Idea to… (HMH, 2019), is the world’s first business and entrepreneurship book series for kids. Her latest book IDEA MAKERS: 15 Fearless Female Entrepreneurs (Chicago Review Press, 2022) shares the start-up stories of 15 of our nation’s greatest female founders. Awards include: 2019 Best Children’s Book, 2019 Best Children’s Nonfiction Book, 2020 Best STEM Book, Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, 2020 Best Children’s Book Council book, 2020 International Literacy Association Book, 2020–2021 Texas Bluebonnet Award master list.
Prior to writing children’s books, Lowey worked in brand management and also founded Case Marketing, a specialized writing firm that composes MBA case studies for some of the top business schools in the world. Her case studies have been read by business school students across the globe and are included in the internationally best-selling marketing book, Marketing Management, by Kotler & Keller (Pearson, 2016).
Lowey received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BA from Hamilton College where she played softball and rugby. She lives in Chicago with her husband, three children, and two big dogs.
www.LoweyBundySichol.com | @LoweySichol
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Back in the early 2000s, I was your typical MBA grad with a degree from the Tuck School of Business and working in a traditional CPG brand management job. Then, as it often does, life took a left turn. My twin daughters were born and a month later, my husband and I moved back up to Hanover, New Hampshire so he could attend business school, also at Tuck.
Back in Hanover, I connected with a few Tuck professors and asked them for a two-year job. Interestingly, they all said they needed help with the same bit of work… writing MBA case studies. I understood the business world and knew personally what made a good MBA case study so, I agreed. My two-year stint soon turned into a full-time writing company that produced custom MBA case studies for many of the top business schools and best-selling business school textbooks.
Meanwhile, my now three children were growing up and one thought kept lingering in my mind… ‘There should be books for kids that shared the same stories I write about in my MBA case studies, stories of how these great companies came to be.’ Early on, I ran the idea by my mother, a nationally recognized early childhood educator, who proceeded to tell me business books for kids was a horrible idea! I believe her exact words were, “No one would ever buy books like that.” And while I tried to shelf my idea, it wouldn’t go away.
Then one day in the Fall of 2016, while I was writing an MBA case study on Google, I walked into our local bookstore and ask the saleswoman if there were books for kids about how Google or Nike came to be. She must have known I was a writer because she looked up from her computer and said, “No, but you should go home and write it.” So, I did.
I gave myself a six-month goal to write a children’s book, sign with an agent, and get a publishing deal. Fortunately, it happened that quickly. By March 2017, I had a manuscript, an amazing agent, and a publishing deal for the book series, From an Idea to… Disney | Nike | Google | LEGO. (Lesson learned… don’t always listen to your mom!)
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
Overall, it’s been wonderful to see how many educators, parents, entrepreneurs, and business leaders have embraced my vision to introduce entrepreneurship to kids. Here’s a perfect example of the type of support I’ve received in recent years…
One night while I was in Texas on book tour, I emailed Aaron Krause, the founder of Scrub Daddy, which is one of the most successful products to come out of Shark Tank. In my email, I explained who I was, what my books were about, and how I use his Shark Tank pitch at my school author visits so kids ages 8–12 can analyze his product and talk about why his idea is so entrepreneurial and innovative.
Before I knew it, my phone rang, and Aaron was on the other line! He told me he rarely answers unsolicited emails like mine but had never heard of someone teaching entrepreneurship to kids! The following week, multiple cases of Scrub Daddy sponges arrived on my doorstep, which I now hand out at my author visits to teachers and kids. The Scrub Daddy story and his free samples are a fan favorite!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I want to inspire kids to dream big, believe in their ideas, and be brave. And usually, it’s the quiet kid who surprise you. For the past three years, I’ve also run an entrepreneurship competition for kids ages 8–13 called Kids Idea Tank. It’s a chance for kids with ideas to pitch them to some of the top business leaders in the nation for a large cash prize.
After the event each summer, my inbox swells with notes from parents who say my books and Kids Idea Tank are some of the best things that have ever happened to their child. For example, here’s one parent’s email; “Because of the IDEA TANK journey, a quiet boy with a mind that can’t stop creating feels supported and empowered to come out of his shell, find his voice, share his ideas, and believe in himself!” Emails like this make it all worth it.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I am so excited for the release of my new middle grade book Idea Makers: 15 Fearless Female Entrepreneurs on February 15, 2022, which features the incredible startup stories of 15 of our nation’s most inspirational female founders.
Who’s featured? Kathleen King — Tate’s Cookies; Stacy Madison — Stacy’s Pita Chips; Christina Tosi — Milk Bar; Lisa Price — Carol’s Daughter; Payal Kadakia — ClassPass; Alli Webb — Drybar; Anne Wojcicki — 23andMe; Morgan DeBaun — Blavity; Jasmine Crowe — Goodr; Sandra Oh Lin -KiwiCo; Reshma Saujani — Girls Who Code; Cindy Mi — VIPKid; Heidi Zak — ThirdLove; Jenn Hyman — Rent the Runway; Sara Blakely — Spanx
Kids will learn who these women are, what they were like as children, how their passions led to big ideas, and perhaps most impressively, how they went against all odds to create incredible companies that have gone on to change the world. Today, it’s crucial to tell kids, including girls (!!), that successful, powerful, innovative, and kind leaders look like them.
Along those same lines, many of these women featured in this book told me the same thing when they agreed to be interviewed for Idea Makers. They said, “I wish I had a book like this when I was a kid. I wish I had a book where the person in it looked like me.”
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
I would have to defer this question to what I’ve learned about the women I write about who are some of the great leaders in STEM today. Payal Kadakia, Anne Wojcicki, Reshma Saujani, Morgan DeBaun, Sandra Oh Lin, Heidi Zak, and Jasmine Crowe come to mind immediately. I won’t speak for them but here’s what I believe and what I’ve learned from them in my research and interviews.
We need to raise girls to be strong, independent, and brave. This can be accomplished in several ways, including through athletics, the arts, academics, and the way they are raised by their parents. Then those who are drawn to STEM will see no barriers and will find careers in it.
Take for example, Anne Wojcicki. She was raised by her parents to be fiercely independent both academically and athletically in hockey. Payal Kadakia’s passion for traditional Indian dance meant she spent endless hours training, which also lead her to build up a wall strong enough to deflect those who doubted her. Reshma Saujani found strength from her parents who immigrated to the United States and the stories they told her of great American leaders. Sandra Oh Lin had a mother who encouraged STEM in the house through crafts while also supporting her passion for soccer. Morgan DeBaun grew up surrounded by a strong black community and a father who encourage her entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. And Jasmine Crowe’s parents taught their daughter about homelessness, hunger, and giving back at a young age. I believe how kids are raised makes all the difference.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
Many of these women talked about being the only woman in a room or the only person of color in a room when pitching to investors. Often that meant these investors might not get their idea or understand where they are coming from.
Consider Heidi Zak whose idea for an online bra company meant that the men in the room had no idea what it was like to shop for a bra in person at a place like Victoria Secret. Often, they would go out into the hallway and call in their female assistants to ask what they thought. What a horrible experience for everyone involved! And consider Jasmine Crowe who heard “no” so many times for her business Goodr that she considered giving up altogether.
It all comes back to windows and mirrors (see below for my inspirational quote). If others know there are success stories out there, women will feel strong and brave enough to persevere.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
I’m going to combine my lessons with quotes from my new middle grade book: Idea Makers: 15 Fearless Female Entrepreneurs.
- Build a great team around you. “You can’t possibly do it all. Find great people to help you.” — Alli Webb, founder DryBar
- Learn from failure. “I had the gift of dying and coming back… learning what didn’t work in that lifetime, and what will work in this lifetime…. The biggest disaster of my life became the greatest gift of my life,” — Kathleen King, Tate’s Bake Shop
- Recognize when you are the leader. “I asked myself, if I can work this hard for someone else, why can’t I do it for myself?” — Stacy Madison, Stacy’s Pita Chips.
- Know who you are and embrace it. “I’m a dancer and a businesswoman. I am short but I am powerful. I’m Indian but I’m American.” — Payal Kadakia, founder ClassPass
- Success and failure aren’t defined points. “People tend to look at success and failure as black and white. For me, it’s like you’re always moving. I come from the science world. You’re like an atom. You’re constantly vibrating.” — Anne Wojcicki
- Acknowledge small steps towards big goals. “I saw girls who never thought they’d be interested in coding build apps and websites solving issues that tugged at their heartstrings. I want to give girls the opportunity to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. I won’t be satisfied until I get every company in America to sign up and until I reach every girl in America.” — Reshma Saujani, founder Girls Who Code
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
Be Brave. Be Fearless. Don’t give up. And read how others did it — learn what works and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t work.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
As I mentioned previously, I had the idea for these children’s books for a decade before I finally sat down and wrote my first children’s book. I am very grateful for my first agent, Jill Corcoran, and my first editor, Elizabeth Bennett (who ironically is now my agent), who embraced my vision from the start and gave me my first publishing deal.
Authors are a lot like entrepreneurs… sometimes you just need one or two people to believe in your idea early on to make your dream come true.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
During my first book tour, I recognized that there are underserved communities and school districts that have never hosted an author and many of their students can’t afford books. But these children also need to hear the stories I tell about entrepreneurship, innovation, and perseverance. I mentioned this to a friend who is also the founder of PL$, a company headquartered in Chicago, and he felt the same way. Before long, we teamed up — I gave free author visits to Title 1 schools in Texas and PL$ donated books to all the children. I’d like to find more companies who would sponsor me to go into underserved neighborhoods and help me inspire these kids. They need to hear the messages I bring… messages of dreaming big and entrepreneurship.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I think we need to do more to introduce business and entrepreneurship to kids! If we take a step back and look at the statistics, there are 31 million entrepreneurs in the United States, approximately 16% of the adult population (that’s about one in six adults who work!). If we knew that 16% of the adult population was going to be a specific job, we would train children to be the best in the world at it. Yet, most kids are never exposed to entrepreneurship and only the lucky ones learn about it in high school or college. I’m trying to change that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
On children’s books… “Children need windows and mirrors. They need mirrors in which they see themselves and windows through which they see the world.” — Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
I write children’s books to give children a window and a mirror. The window part of my books introduces the concept of entrepreneurship and business to kids so they can see what’s possible when they combine their ideas with hard work and perseverance. The mirror part of my books means that when kids read my book, they say, “That person looks like me,” or “That person thinks like me,” or “That person has the same passions as me.” And then they say, “And if they can do it, so can I.”
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
My dream would be to get all 15 of the women featured in my Idea Makers book — Alli Webb, Stacy Madison, Reshma Saujani, Payal Kadakia, Sandra Oh Lin, Kathleen King, Heidi Zak, Sara Blakely, Christina Tosi, Lisa Price, Anne Wojcicki, Morgan DeBaun, Jasmine Crowe, Cindy Mi, Jenn Hyman — together in one place with a group of girls from all backgrounds and interests. Can you even imagine what that might inspire?
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
