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

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

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Growth Everywhere
Single Grain
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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

 

 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices