Congratulations to MAAS alum Deena Shakir, on the forthcoming publication of her children’s book, Leena Mo, CEO, by Simon & Schuster! The book tells the story of a young Iraqi-American girl who builds a robot to help her family and neighbors and ends up building a company. Shakir, who graduated from MAAS in 2010 and is now a general partner at Lux Capital and a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, says she was inspired to write the book after being asked to speak during career day at her daughter’s school. Seeking a creative way to explain venture capital to preschoolers and unable to find any children’s books about entrepreneurship—let alone one featuring a girl as the protagonist—Shakir vowed to write such a book herself. “I want my kids to grow up in a world where being a CEO or investor, especially as a woman of color, is normalized,” Shakir wrote. “You can’t be it if you can’t see it.”
The book, which is illustrated by Nez Riaz, a Pakistani/Palestinian artist based in Boston, will be released this fall and is currently available for preorder. All proceeds will be donated to children’s relief efforts. You can read more about the book on the publisher’s website.