GoldieBlox Will Be First Small Business to Have Super Bowl Ad

Jan. 31, 2014— -- Goldieblox is a small company that makes toys for girls, but its entry into a unique contest was just right - earning the young firm a free television ad during the Super Bowl, something beer companies and other commercial giants spend millions on.

That Super Bowl spotlight is the result of company founder Debbie Sterling, 29, taking an engineering class at Stanford by chance, and finding her true calling.

"Growing up as a little girl, I had no idea what engineering was," she told ABC News. "I fell into engineering almost by accident … That's what GoldieBlox is for me, giving girls that opportunity to know what it is, build those skills from a young age and develop an interest."

Sterling's definitely going to get that chance to introduce engineering to millions of young girls around the country as her San Francisco-based company GoldieBlox will become the first small business to have a bona fide commercial air during the Super Bowl.

Read More: Super Bowl 2014 Commercials: Cute, Hilarious, Sexy and Weird

GoldieBlox is a series of books and construction toys, founded in 2012, with the goal of getting young girls excited about engineering.

Intuit QuickBooks announced on Thursday night that Sterling and her burgeoning company won the "Small Business Big Game" contest and will get a 30-second spot in the third quarter of Sunday's game, which would normally costs millions.

"When I was started it was just me alone in my apartment in San Francisco, doing research and testing toys on kids," she said.

During the past six months of the contest and more than a million votes later, GoldieBlox now has 15 employees, including her husband Beau Lewis – who will stand right next to her in New York City when the commercial airs live this weekend.

"Intuit gave us an award of $25,000 and we are using that to fly out our whole company, so all 15 of us are going to be there. I'm also flying in my parents," she said.

Read More: Yes, GoldieBlox Is Cool, But Have You Heard About Dairy Poop?

She continued, "My mom is the kind of mom that will walk around and have a drawing I did in her purse and she'll show it to the waiter, so you can imagine her reaction."

Being a finalist and a winner in Intuit's competition hasn't hurt sales either.

"We sold out this Christmas. We are now in over 1,000 mom and pop toy stores. We just launched in Target. We are in Toys R us," she said.

Not bad for a company that went on Kickstarter in October 2012 and ended up raising $285,881 with more than 5,000 backers.

Along with hitting the lottery as a finalist in Intuit's competition, GoldieBlox also attracted some unwanted attention in a legal battle with rap group "Beastie Boys." The music group's copyright dispute over GoldieBlox's online ad that parodies the 1987 "Girls" song is ongoing.

Read More: Beastie Boys Disputes GoldieBlox Over Song Use: 'YOU sued US'

Sterling said she was "disappointed" that the dispute with "Beastie Boys" was attracting attention away from the message of her company.

She said GoldieBlox is more than toys and numbers. Contest ambassador and mentor to Sterling and the other three finalists Bill Rancic said GoldieBlox has the potential to really make an impact.

"When you go to an engineering class, it's 90 percent male," Rancic said. "This game is inspiring some social change, so that's really incredible."

Ten years ago this month, Rancic got his big break on "The Apprentice," as the show's first winner.

"Trump changed my life," he said. "Ten years later, here I am. It was a life altering moment. I met my wife, I got several businesses going, my speaking career and I've written three books. It changed my life. Now, I am able to pay it forward. I am able to change the life of a small business owner."

In Photos: The Evolution of the Super Bowl Ticket

GoldieBlox beat out compost producer Dairy Poop, organic egg farm Locally Laid Egg Company and dog-treat maker Barley Labs to win the contest.

"It was up to America and America voted," Rancic said. "I'm predicting her office is going to double or triple a year from now. She will have 40 or 50 employees. The real story begins on Monday, to watch what happens to her over the course of the next 12 months after the commercial airs."

Sterling couldn't agree more.

"I'm hoping I can make engineering accessible and cool and relevant to girls," she said. "If you walk into any toy store, there's the pink aisle and that's the girl's section. It's just inundated with dolls and princesses and baking sets and little vacuums. It feels like 1950's domestic housewife."

Maybe GoldieBlox can create change Sterling said, "we will be able to see in our lifetime."