Toucan Co-Founder's guest appearances

Toucan Co-Founder

Leveling Up with Eric Siu

The Ones Who Succeed

Sam Corcos

Garry Tan

Neil Patel

Pat Flynn

Alex Banayan

David Allen

Jake Kassan

Jon Levy

Nancy Lublin

Brian Scudamore

Christina Stembel

Wade Foster

Keith Rabois

Cal Newport

Tony Robbins

OwlTail

Shaun Merritt

Today’s guest is Shawn Merritt the co-founder and CTO of Toucan, a Chrome extension that allows you to learn a new language while you browse the internet. Shaun, together with his other co-founders, found a way to level up the existing habits that people already have by creating a chrome extension that allows users the opportunity to passively learn a language without taking any time out of their day. Tune in to find out how Toucan works, and how it is different from other language-learning platforms. Shaun gives us some insight into how the company was established and how it has grown and achieved a vast amount of success in just two years. Hear about their journey thus far, how they are monetizing this product, marketing it, and how they use advertising as a deeper form of learning through their ingenious “Own The Word” concept. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:  [00:41] Shaun explains how he and his co-founders came up with the idea for Toucan. [01:29] How Toucan works to teach people new languages passively without taking time out of their day. [01:58] How Toucan is different from other language-learning platforms. [02:54] How it launched, people’s reactions to it, and how they grew and monetized it. [04:12] A case study example of how to use Toucan.  [05:05] The most common languages used and requested. [06:08] Insight into the different difficulty settings and how it adapts as you learn.  [06:57] How Toucan works as a passive form of engagement to enable people to progress quickly. [07:42] How they make money through premium features. [09:00] How they use advertising as a deeper form of learning through their ‘Own the word’ concept.’ [09:33] How partnerships with advertisers work. [10:09] How are they growing through word of mouth, ‘own the word’, and partnerships.  [11:35] The grand vision for Toucan: To find ways to teach other things passively too. [12:07] Shaun’s favorite business tool Obsidian, and favorite business book Thinking in Systems. [12:56] Bonus question: Where Shaun gets his information from.  Resources From The Interview:      Toucan    Obsidian    Must read book:  Thinking in Systems    Shaun Merritt’s email      Leave Some Feedback:      What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.   Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review  here    Subscribe to Leveling Up on  iTunes    Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed       Connect with Eric Siu:       Growth Everywhere   Single Grain   Eric Siu on Twitter 

Today’s guest is Shawn Merritt the co-founder and CTO of Toucan, a Chrome extension that allows you to learn a new language while you browse the internet. Shaun, together with his other co-founders, found a way to level up the existing habits that people already have by creating a chrome extension that allows users the opportunity to passively learn a language without taking any time out of their day. Tune in to find out how Toucan works, and how it is different from other language-learning platforms. Shaun gives us some insight into how the company was established and how it has grown and achieved a vast amount of success in just two years. Hear about their journey thus far, how they are monetizing this product, marketing it, and how they use advertising as a deeper form of learning through their ingenious “Own The Word” concept. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: <ul> <li>[00:41] Shaun explains how he and his co-founders came up with the idea for Toucan.</li> <li>[01:29] How Toucan works to teach people new languages passively without taking time out of their day.</li> <li>[01:58] How Toucan is different from other language-learning platforms.</li> <li>[02:54] How it launched, people’s reactions to it, and how they grew and monetized it.</li> <li>[04:12] A case study example of how to use Toucan. </li> <li>[05:05] The most common languages used and requested.</li> <li>[06:08] Insight into the different difficulty settings and how it adapts as you learn. </li> <li>[06:57] How Toucan works as a passive form of engagement to enable people to progress quickly.</li> <li>[07:42] How they make money through premium features.</li> <li>[09:00] How they use advertising as a deeper form of learning through their ‘Own the word’ concept.’</li> <li>[09:33] How partnerships with advertisers work.</li> <li>[10:09] How are they growing through word of mouth, ‘own the word’, and partnerships. </li> <li>[11:35] The grand vision for Toucan: To find ways to teach other things passively too.</li> <li>[12:07] Shaun’s favorite business tool Obsidian, and favorite business book Thinking in Systems.</li> <li>[12:56] Bonus question: Where Shaun gets his information from.</li> </ul> Resources From The Interview: <ul> <li><a href="https://jointoucan.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Toucan</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li> <a href="https://obsidian.md/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Obsidian</a> </li> </ul> <ul> <li>Must read book: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-in-Systems-audiobook/dp/B07FW9Z4KG/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Thinking in Systems</a> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="mailto:shaun@jointoucan.com">Shaun Merritt’s email</a></li> </ul> Leave Some Feedback: <ul> <li>What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on <a href="https://twitter.com/ericosiu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or in the comments below.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growth-everywhere/id741544976?ign-mpt=uo=4&amp;mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> here</a> </li> </ul> <ul> <li>Subscribe to Leveling Up on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growth-everywhere/id741544976?ign-mpt=uo=4&amp;mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> iTunes</a> </li> </ul> <ul> <li>Get the <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/growtheverywhere" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">non-iTunes RSS Feed</a> </li> </ul> Connect with Eric Siu:  <ul> <li><a href="https://growtheverywhere.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Growth Everywhere</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.singlegrain.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Single Grain</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/ericosiu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eric Siu on Twitter</a></li> </ul>

How Toucan Co-Founder and CTO Shaun Merritt Hacked the Art of Language-Learning

This week, I converse with Taylor Neiman, the co-founder of Toucan, a browser extension that enables you to learn a new language by surfing the web, without even trying! In 2019, the company raised 3 million in seed funding from investors, including GSV, Amplifyher Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Halogen Ventures, VitalizeVC, and Golden Ventures, to name a few. However, before Toucan, Taylor spent time at startups, including Headspace, Fair and Science Inc. I sat down with Taylor to discuss her origin story, all things startups and, of course, her ambitions for Toucan in the years to come. This conversation was recorded on October 1, 2020, thanks for listening!

This week, I converse with <a href="https://twitter.com/Taylor_Nieman" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Taylor Neiman</a>, the co-founder of <a href="https://twitter.com/JoinToucan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Toucan</a>, a browser extension that enables you to learn a new language by surfing the web, without even trying! In 2019, the company raised 3 million in seed funding from investors, including GSV, Amplifyher Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Halogen Ventures, VitalizeVC, and Golden Ventures, to name a few. However, before Toucan, Taylor spent time at startups, including Headspace, Fair and Science Inc. I sat down with Taylor to discuss her origin story, all things startups and, of course, her ambitions for Toucan in the years to come. This conversation was recorded on October 1, 2020, thanks for listening!

Own The Word, with Toucan Co-Founder & CEO Taylor Nieman | Episode 34