My guest tonight is a supermodel,
an entrepreneur, and founder of Kode with Klossy.
Please welcome Karlie Kloss.
(cheering and applause)
Hi, guys.
Thank you.
-Hi. -Welcome to the show.
-Ooh, the hot seat. -Yeah.
Well, it's not a hot seat. It's just a seat.
-Yeah. Thank you for having me. -And now it's hot.
-Oh. -Welcome to the show.
-Thank you. -Um, your journey
is one that is genuinely fascinating to me
because of where you've ended up in your career
but also how you got started.
You have one of those fairy tale stories
of being discovered as a model. Is it true...
-In a mall. In a mall. -In a mall. You were just...
you were just walking through a mall.
I was 13 years old, and I was with one of my good friends,
and I was walking through a mall
-and was discovered. -Right.
And it-it started my modeling career.
-Like, how does that happen? -Uh... (stammers)
Yeah, it's, like, not a typical, uh...
typical day at the mall.
But I was stopped, and I was asked
if I would be interested in walking in a runway show.
And I said, "I don't even know what that means, but sure."
-And... -But, like, how does the person do it
without being creep... Like, how do you know it's not, like,
a Roy Moore-type person who's just in a mall
asking 13-year-olds if they want to model?
-Like-like, do you... -It could've been that.
-I mean, thank goodness it wasn't that. Um... -Right.
But, no, I-I feel like I have had a bit of a Cinderella story.
-I feel really, really lucky, um, that it wasn't that -Right.
and that it-it was the beginning of a career.
And I-I grew up in the Midwest,
and I had no idea that someday I would be a model.
And it happened really fast.
Right. You've been on this journey
that's been really fascinating,
and most would be happy with that.
Most would say, "I am a model now.
I've-I've killed the game."
You're a model, and then in-- I think it was 2013-- you go,
-"I want to learn how to code." -Yeah.
It's not probably the most linear path,
but that's kind of just been my life.
Um, I... So, yes, I-I started modeling at-at 15
and have had, like, the most amazing journey through it all.
-Right. -And I still love my day job.
But at a certain point, I was really interested
in getting back into classes,
and I was really just fascinated by the tech industry.
-Right. -And I was so confused about what the rest of the world
didn't understand that these tech entrepreneurs did.
(stammers) Like, this-this "code."
-I wanted to understand what that was. -Right, right, right.
So I took a coding class,
and that just opened my eyes to understanding,
like, that it is a language that can be learned
and that you can build, like, things that can scale
to billions of people.
Um, but it starts with learning to code.
When you're in that class--
I don't want to stereotype the class--
but I don't believe there are many models in that class.
There aren't many women.
I mean, that's the thing.
And that's what I really realized,
that I wanted to share this learning
and this access to learning to code
and kind of getting girls excited about learning to code.
Um, because it actually is a really creative skill set.
And so I-I started Kode with Klossy,
which is my foundation, uh, to teach girls
-to learn how to code and become leaders in tech. -Right.
But you decided to get women into coding,
-to get young girls into coding. -Yeah.
And now you have this program, Kode with Klossy,
and it's, what... girls from the age of 13 to 18...
-13 to 18 girls, uh, across the country. -Right.
And this is a big summer for us,
because we're actually gonna teach 1,000 girls
to learn how to code in our camps
-across the country. Yeah. -That is amazing.
-So we're gonna be... It's really exciting. -(cheering)
We're gonna be in, uh, 25 different cities,
and we have 50 camps.
And we're-we're training teachers.
And we are really excited.
So any girls that you know or that are watching
who are interested in learning to code,
apply to come join our camps.
Wait, so-so what do people need?
They-they just apply and then they join? Do they need to know
-about computers... -You don't need to know anything.
-Do you know how to code? -No.
-You should come to our camps. -But I'm not a 13-year-old girl.
That's okay. We'll still... Well, you can come watch
-the 13-year-olds... -No! That... You're just trapping me!
You just said I must come watch 13-year-old...
I am not gonna watch 13-year-old girls.
-But what I do find fascinating is what you said -Yeah.
just a little bit ago. You-you said
-you're also going to be training teachers. -Yeah.
That-that seems like something I haven't heard of much before.
A lot of kids are learning how to code.
-Yeah. -But what is the teachers' aspect of it all?
So-so... You know, I think, like, thinking bigger picture
about how to really make impact in this space,
how to get more girls in, you know,
having access to learning these skills
but also to really create, um, bigger impact,
investing in teachers and training teachers
how to learn how to code and also how to teach how to code--
that's kind of this amazing way to-to kind of scale the impact.
And so that's something we're-we're focusing on.
And teachers are... I mean,
they're the unsung heroes of the world.
-Definitely. -And you got... You...
I heard about your foundation. The Trevor Noah Foundation.
Yeah, but we-we're not... we're not doing code.
-We-We'll team up. -You should be doing code.
-We're gonna teach the coding. And then I'll be there, -Yes.
and then I'll bring the kids. I'm not... This is a trap.
I'm not gonna bring the kids. I will...
I will give the kids access to the coding, and then we will...
You know what, sign up. All you guys have to do is sign up.
-Sign up at KodeWithKlossy.com. -Sign up. Girls ages 13 to 18
-have until April 22 to apply -Yes.
to one of Karlie's free two-week summer coding camps.
-Yes. -For more information, go to KodeWithKlossy.com.
-Yes. -Karlie Kloss, everybody.