Gazelle 14 Spring 25-48_Gazelle Magazine 4/17/14 8:18 PM Page 35
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By ERIN WILLIAMS
ne of the best ways to start making a
difference is to solve the problems
that directly affect you first.
For Maxine Clark, the idea of creating a company that revolved
around teddy bears came from a failed
shopping trip when she couldn’t find the perfect
stuffed animal. The one-of-a-kind idea turned into
Build-A-Bear Workshop, a business that eventually
stitched its way to 400 stores worldwide and 380 million dollars in revenues in 2012, fifteen years after it
was founded.
Prior to that, Maxine spent two decades working
in retail, and had just left her job as president of Payless ShoeSource, after admittedly falling “out of love”
with the business. She wanted to start a company for
children, but was waiting for the right moment to
come along.
“I always feel if you are unhappy, you should examine the root of the unhappiness and solve for that.
If that means leaving one job to go to another, so be
it,” she said.
Maxine feels that she has always had it in her to
be an entrepreneur, even during her college days,
when she was originally a pre-law major at the University of Georgia. “If I had become a civil rights attorney, perhaps I would have used my entrepreneurial
skills to open my own law firm,” she said.
Her journey to the top was not without guidance,
however. “I had many mentors, including my teachers
and bosses. I had examples that I learned from -
things I noted I wanted to replicate, and other habits
I swore I would never do. You need real-life experiences and examples in order to learn,” she said. Stepping down as CEO at Build-A-Bear in 2013, she plans
to put more of that same practice into place, as she
focuses on dedicating her resources to educating, as
well as mentoring entrepreneurs. “I have no desire to
be the CEO of anything, but rather to inspire the CEO
inside of others through financial investment and
mentorship,” she said. “That includes people creating
products and reinventing schools or classrooms. Educators are some of my favorite entrepreneurs, inspiring and educating kids and fixing social inequities.”
So far, she has cast her net far and wide. In addition to investing in Sheex Bedding, GoldieBlox Toys,
and myedmatch.com, a job placement site for educators, Maxine recently became an investor in Monster
Coats, a company that creates fun, faux fur winter
coats for kids, started by a couple in St. Charles, Missouri. All of these businesses were founded by women.
“I am loving the excitement of being engaged in
startups and the new ideation, learning and growing
that happens daily,” she said. “The world needs ideas
and new businesses, and women are part of that economic vitality. We have to use all talents to move our
country forward.”
When she looks back on her career and the path it
has led her, she wouldn’t change it at all. “I have had
a great career and life. I would not change anything.
It is the journey, not the destination,” she said. “The
journey has been, and continues to be, incredible!”
“I have had a great career and life. I would
not change anything. It is the journey, not
the destination. The journey has been, and
continues to be, incredible!”
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