One Year of GirlsGrow!

Celebrating this major milestone with all the highs and lows

It's hard to believe and harder to digest that it has already been one year to GirlsGrow. We started off as two software engineers wishing to impact at least one girl's life. One year later - we are at a much larger number which is both exciting and daunting. I thought, why not use this opportunity to reminisce and share all the highlights and lowlights that have helped us grow.

Learnings and Challenges

- We all can make an impact and it really doesn't take much. Impacting lives often has a butterfly effect - the help you generate for one person might be the trigger that goes on for generations. For the potential high reward, it is really an effort anyone and everyone can make.

- Girls are scared of STEM. As exciting as the prospect of independence and working makes them, they inherently see maths and computers as a male-dominated field. While it will take a much bigger reform for girls to get comfortable with these subjects from the get-go, I see that having positive female role models really helps them envision a future in these fields.

- It is impossible to do it all. I cannot be more thankful to the team of people - a bunch of them working professionals and the other college students - who take out their time and contribute to the cause. They really do run the show.

- It is hard to manage with a full-time job. With just the post-work hours and weekends left, it is hard to manage all aspects of content, outreach and mentorship. There are times when we do pull down on the efforts and it slows the progress. Having a co-founder is paramount in keeping things going ahead - where one slows down, the other picks up :)

- Finding partners is tricky. All schools and organizations we have worked with have absolutely loved the initiative and wanted us back. The first connection on the other hand is hard to make. We keep thinking of ways to expedite the process and the ‘solutioning’ truly is fun - stay tuned for some creative GirlsGrow outreach!

- Connections can open incredible doors. One of our most memorable moments was conducting a hackathon for working professionals, where Dhruv Atreja graciously joined us as a judge. It was a powerful reminder of how valuable good connections can be if built correctly. Collaborations like these not only enhance the experience but also broaden the impact we can create together.

After one whole year - do we see value in it all? Yes, absolutely. Young girls deserve to feel seen and heard. At GirlsGrow, if nothing else, we enable girls to identify themselves as someone who someday will be independent and trailblazers in whichever field they choose to pursue. With the continued support of our absolutely wonderful team members, we wish to accelerate our journey with newfound enthusiasm. 

GirlsGrow for me, as a person, isn't a passion project but a 'purpose project'. With each workshop and mentorship session, I feel more invigorated towards what we have set out to do and I am sure that with the right cards in our hands, we will continue to foster healthy growth in the right direction!