Sharmi Albrechtsen is the founder of SmartGurlz, a robotics company that engages and encourages girls to code. SmartGurlz offers a line of self-balancing robots and action dolls that can be controlled and coded from a tablet and smartphone app. SmartGurlz's award-winning products are the world's first line of coding robots for girls and have been recommended by the Girl Scouts of America and BlackGirlsCode. Sharmi grew the company from a need she identified trying to buy toys for her young daughter into a company with an eight-figure valuation that has sold more than 30,000 products worldwide. She appeared on ABC's Shark Tank, securing a deal with Daymond John, and was named to Inc. Magazine's 2021 Female Founders 100.
As a speaker, Sharmi seeks to continue and magnify her goal to diversify the workforce by encouraging women to participate in coding and other STEM activities. In addition to her passion for promoting women in STEM, Sharmi speaks on additional workplace diversity topics, startup leadership, team building, and business strategy.
