The Purdue Women’s Network connects alumnae around the globe with opportunities to share their skills, knowledge, and leadership to uplift and inspire other women. In this ongoing series, we check in with Purdue alumnae who run their own businesses and are looking to connect with others.

Share a little about your background

I’d start by saying that where I am now is very aligned with my roots. My parents owned a small appraisal business, so financial valuation and entrepreneurship are in my blood!

I’ve been an educator since my very first job as a piano teacher. My education includes an engineering degree from Texas A&M and an MBA, master’s and PhD from Krannert. Now I have the unique opportunity to be both an entrepreneur and an educator. As an entrepreneur, I have had the chance to lead Explore Interactive, an educational technology company, for the last three years. Before that, I worked with biotech companies for about six years. I’ve raised funds for and managed projects with millions of dollars in funding and grant awards.

As a professor at Purdue and UNC-Chapel Hill, I taught faculty, alumni, undergraduate, MBA, online, and executive courses on venture capital, corporate valuation, financial policy, and derivatives. I have a strong interest in how to teach difficult subjects through interaction, hands-on experiences, and visualization.

I’ve advised companies through the Purdue Foundry and offered assistance in identifying, communicating, and estimating the value proposition of business ideas from financial and strategic perspectives. I also helped start-ups with operational plans, financial models, and valuation. Explore was one of my clients before I joined the team!

Tell us about your business

Explore Interactive is a game platform that teaches STEM concepts through fun and engaging augmented reality adventures. We have received funding from the state of Indiana through Elevate Ventures and two federal Small Business Innovation Research grants from the NSF and NIH. Through that work, we were able to launch the MindLabs product, which allows educators and parents to teach concepts of basic circuits. It recently won a National Parenting Product Award for 2020 and has been recognized as a top gift by Forbes and TechCrunch, among others. The offering is unique in that the digital environment can allow collaborative, hands-on learning in STEM whether kids are working together in a classroom, learning from home, or just playing on their tablets!

Who would be a good referral for you right now?

We hope to reach teachers, parents, or anyone interested in sharing STEM and the magic of augmented reality. Family members will find the game a great way to connect and share in nurturing STEM interest in their kids. The game is also ideal for distance learning as it can enable remote or classroom collaboration, and each child can have their own materials. We have a full unit of curriculum to allow teachers to facilitate classroom or remote learning!

How could people learn more about you and your business?

You can learn more about Explore Interactive on our website, which includes a digital demo of our product. We have a game set for home use and a 30 unit set for classrooms available at our store.

Share an invitation to a call, webinar, website, free download, etc.

My two kids, Dante and Marinda, star with me in our MindLabs STEMpossible YouTube educational series. Our characters are Dr. Pixel, Pax, and Pixie. We teach basic circuit ideas in a way that’s very friendly to kids (and adults), even if they’re beginners!

Also, follow us on social media @ExploreMindLabs.

What are some of your hobbies and other interests?

I’m passionate about helping activate women of all ages and backgrounds in entrepreneurial ventures. I have pursued this through roles in the WomenIN program at the Foundry and UNC’s MBA program for women. I also volunteer in the classroom for the financial and entrepreneurship literacy program Junior Achievement, rock climb, play soccer — and chase my two children around. This year, of course, I’ve been very engaged in their e-learning and have even signed up as an emergency substitute at my local elementary school!