Women in Philanthropy: Tania Mulry, Founder and CEO, DDx Media and edRover

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“There’s security in staying with what you know. But there are a lot of other interesting pursuits out there,” said Tania Mulry, Founder and CEO of DDx Media and edRover. “Take a chance and do something you’ve always dreamed of doing.”

Mulry took the plunge herself – leaving her career at a mobile marketing strategy company to pursue her dream of doing something that would help the world – and eventually founded edRover, a mobile app that helps families direct donations from businesses to a school of their choice.

She continued, “It’s about taking a risk. At the end of the day, you don’t want to say “I really wish I had…”

Taking Risks from Coast to Coast

Mulry, who calls herself “a New Yorker at heart” studied Economics and Near Eastern Studies at NYU. She said, “I’ve always had a desire to think about the world and a mindset to think about solutions,” she explained. After graduating, Mulry went to work for Baring Securities, and hopped to a few different investment banks before joining Mastercard, where she built the majority of her career.

“I spent ten years there – it was a great experience and I learned a tremendous amount, including the rules and regulations for keeping a healthy franchise alive. Then I got into major IT projects. For my last five years there, I worked in information products and mobile phone products – and I became infatuated with mobile phones.”

But, Mulry soon realized she wasn’t totally fulfilled – and she needed more freedom. She said, “I wanted the feeling that what I was doing was helping the world.”

She moved her husband, three boys, and father to California and joined a VC funded start-up in Santa Monica. “This was right before the big crash,” she said. “And our backers did not decide to move forward. Everyone got laid off. And I thought, ‘what are we going to do now?’”

Mulry began consulting and got hired into a marketing role – working with companies like AT&T, JCPenny, GameStop, and more, working on mobile and digital market strategy.

“But after two years, I thought, I moved to California for a reason, and I was not fulfilling my dream.”

That’s when Mulry took her first steps toward creating edRover.

“I’ve done a lot of interesting things I’m proud of,” Mulry said, “like winning awards from Microsoft and AT&T on the same day. But the number one thing has to be acknowledging the risks I took to start this company.”

Founding edRover

“Education is the root of so many societal issues,” she began. “If we solve the gaps in education budgets, and support teachers and children in classrooms, we can address so many issues down the road.”

“It all comes down to training kids to be successful.” With three boys (aged ten, eight, and six) and having done a bit of moving around, Mulry explained, “I’ve seen the same issues everywhere. No matter where you are, every school is facing the same funding challenges.”

She continued, “Parents are burnt out, too.”

That’s how Mulry got the idea for edRover, the new mobile donation application she created for smart phones. It is currently available for the iPhone and Windows Phone, and is expected to come out for Android and Blackberry platforms by the end of the year. EdRover is a location aware mobile app that enables consumers to “check in” to participating businesses, which triggers a donation from the sponsoring business to the educational program of the consumer’s choice.

“It does three things,” Mulry explained. “First, it helps fill American classrooms with supplies. Second, it helps businesses attract families to shop at their location. And third, it gives families the satisfaction of helping schools and getting special offers at nearby businesses.”

Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship

“Entrepreneurship looks really cool, but there are a lot of risks associated with it,” Mulry said.

“As someone coming from corporate America, you are not always prepared to have to really roll up your sleeves. You have to have your finances in order because you don’t have a safety net.”

She continued, “You have to be sure you’re not putting your whole family at risk – maybe that’s why so many young people do it.”

She added with a laugh, “It was rewarding for me, but it was a little scary.”

As for her experience in technology, Mulry said there is a serious lack of visible women. “I go to a lot of trade shows, but I don’t see any women. I know there are women in technology, but I wish they would be more visible.”

Women are using new technology in rapidly growing numbers, she continued. “I hope more women take stock of what they find useful in their lives and take part as a creator.”

Importance of Authenticity

“When I started my career on Wall Street, there was definitely a mold I felt I needed to fit into. There were rules – how you dressed, how you acted, how you presented yourself. I wish I had known that it’s more important to be authentic and present who I really am – rather than who my boss wanted me to be,” Mulry recalled.

“I think I would have been a lot happier with my career choices.”

She advised young women beginning their careers to be authentic. “Take an honest look at who you are and what you want and what you need. A lot of women are shy about asking for what they need. You need to get over that to get ahead.”

In Her Personal Time

“I do a lot of family travel,” she said. “Part of my journey was finding a job to support me and to take my family to interesting places.”

Her love of travel is related to her interest in education issues, she explained. “Education is about taking your family on an interesting adventure, experiencing life. Sometimes the best part is going on a drive and popping into the places you find along the way.”

While she’s traveled to Rome, Rio, Brussels, and many other places, she said, “Its more fun to have those unscripted adventures with my family.”