I met Nancy Lublin last September, when I first set foot inside the neon-clad, disco ball-adorned headquarters of DoSomething.org. She was wearing a hot-pink trench coat, tie, and black sneakers. She walked with a confidence that was inviting and quirky, but clearly meant business. Moments later, I realized she was my new boss.
I interned with the digital content team at Do Something, one of the largest non-profit organizations for teens and social change in America, last summer. Life at Do Something was unexpected and fun, complete with office-wide bake-offs, prank wars, and innovation meetings hosted in conference rooms named after superhero lairs. As an intern, I invented wacky new storylines for PSA videos, filmed ridiculous vines with my manager, and belted my face off to our office-wide anthem, the seminal ‘80s hit “Africa” by Toto. No wonder Do Something has been twice named among Crain’s “Best Places to Work.”
What I didn’t know then was that only 12 years ago, that same woman in the hot-pink trench coat had stepped in and literally pulled Do Something out of the red by sheer force of will. When she took over, the organization had laid off all but one employee and was $250,000 in debt. Over the course of her tenure, she transformed the struggling not-for-profit into the powerhouse it is now, bringing in mega-corporate sponsors (think Toyota, Coke and Google) and attracting nearly 4 million members who take part in hundreds of cause campaigns daily.
During my time at DoSomething.org, Lublin tread the line of everyone’s best friend and everyone’s boss with mastery. She was a driving force in innovation meetings, unapologetically reminding colleagues when they could do better: “Why do I care? Make me care!” I remember her saying. Often, her insight was the missing key to the success of a new campaign.
At the office, Lublin was universally adored, and her quirks made her compassionate and accessible. She switched between huge jokester and no-nonsense CEO seamlessly. She made her obsession with Hello Kitty well known around the office—the friendly anthropomorphic cat graced everything from her stationary to her bicycle parked near her desk. She was always in sight, but never alone. Her kids often zipped around the office on miniature scooters while she watched from the Fortress of Solitude, a nearby conference room.
When I had the opportunity to interview Lublin for Creator, I did a little research. It turns out that Do Something was not Lublin’s first time as CEO. Lublin is actually a bit of a serial entrepreneur. At age 23, she dropped out of law school and founded her first socially conscious organization, Dress For Success, with the inheritance from her grandfather’s estate. Now, having ensured the sustainability of DoSomething.org, she’s ready to do it all over again.
“I think I always knew I was going to do social change stuff,” says Lublin. Dress For Success, Lublin’s first startup, provides business-appropriate outfits to low-income women for job interviews. The organization is a huge success, and continues to distribute workplace-ready clothing to 850,000 women and counting.
After 12 years at the helm of Do Something, Lublin recently announced that she’ll be stepping down in the fall to focus full-time on her newest brainchild, Crisis Text Line, a texting-based hotline for troubled teens. As the nation’s first entirely SMS-based helpline, Crisis Text Line provides trained counselors that offer advice, assistance, and sometimes intervention to teens struggling with issues like depression, anxiety, and suicide. It already receives over 16,000 texts a day with almost no marketing, and Lublin hopes to bring that number to 100,000 by the end of the year.
“It’s getting bigger every day. It’s pretty amazing to be part of something growing this quickly, helping this many people in meaningful ways.” says Lublin. “Now is a good time to leave Do Something. I’m ready to go,” she adds, sending her wishes to Aria Finger, Do Something’s current chief operating officer who will lead the company come October.
As a badass boss and a mother of two, she rejects the idea that gender should have any bearing on success. “I’m not a female entrepreneur,” says Lublin. “I’m an entrepreneur.”
On filling her life with both a satisfying career and a family, Lublin offers, “Hmmm, total boss? I think I’m a half-boss. At home, I’m just mom. And I wear jammies a lot.”
Photo credit: DoSomething.org