Toucan's Story

It’s safe to say that none of us would be where we are today without the support of the strong women in our lives. Our mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, guardians, teachers, friends, role models shape us into the people we are and show us that we can be anything - do anything.

It’s official; Toucan is 2 years old! Time really flies, and we’ve grown a lot. From all of us at Toucan, thank you for your support. We couldn’t be here without our friends, family, and the community around us lifting us up.

Toucan is great because it allows you to move among various groups that are happening simultaneously. That’s just to say that it recreates the feeling of being at an in-person networking event. And there’s one thing that’s always awkward when mingling in-person: leaving a conversation. Here are a couple sneaky ways to leave a group (that I’ve used successfully).

"Why Toucan?". I get this question all the time, and it’s actually my favorite one to answer because there are so many layers. So I’m going to do it here so that it can live on the internet for all to read.

In order to continue supporting our users and offering a better way to gather together online, on September 6th, we will begin charging Toucan hosts to use the platform. We look forward to taking this big step with you.

Shakespeare had something to teach me about online pseudonymity.

Rules and etiquette at public pools throughout the world are surprisingly different.

At Toucan we are committed to improving our users’ mental health. As a social platform, we understand the duty that we have to our users and hosts to make sure that the environment we’re offering is safe and conducive to supportive conversations.

Have you ever thought about your mute button from a product perspective? Well we have in Toucan's newest blog 'Please Don't Mute'.

“What’s it like co-founding a company with your brother?” Antonia Hellman writes her response to the question on everybody’s minds.

Ever wonder what's the difference between real-life events and virtual meetings?

If we can't develop virtual etiquette we're going to be stuck with moderation. Moderation leads to censorship and banishment.

How did being a full-time college student influence the way I built Toucan? In many ways. But the biggest motivating factor was what I had to live through every single day: virtual school. And sadly, attending “virtual school” was, at the time, a synonym for feeling stuck and tired of Zoom all. the. time.

Using a new video platform can take some adjusting - especially the first time. To help you, we’ve put together 7 practical and easy tips on how to host your first Toucan event fearlessly.

Toucan CEO, Antonia Hellman, explores the event that drove them to start Toucan. One bad Zoom led to founding of our company.

I’d like to settle this once and for all. No, Toucan is not like Clubhouse. We get asked about this quite a bit. As two companies starting out in the early pandemic days, people understood Clubhouse to be the closest thing to a virtual “social” app and sometimes assumed that Toucan was doing the same thing. This is not correct.

Obsessions are a prime motivator for invention. These are some of the obsessions that push my work on Toucan.

If you are a NYC school teacher, let us help you. Get a Toucan subscription for the winter - at the very least. Be prepared with a more fun, dynamic platform for group work and interactive learning.

Toucan was made for Wallflowers. Read about Paul Murphy's experience of being a wallflower and how it's shaped his view of virtual socializing.

Working remotely is a really cool concept. You can take people from all over the world, who otherwise would never cross paths, team them up, and create something great. But there are, inevitably, a few things that get lost across the virtual medium. Read this story from our CEO, Antonia Hellman.

The modern workplace is virtual or hybrid, it provides flexibility and allows you to work from anywhere. Read our thoughts on why remote socializing is so important in virtual workplaces and how you can make the most out of your virtual social interactions.

All it takes is one bad virtual call to make you want to swear off Zoom forever. This is what happened with Toucan founders.

Building a fire produces anxiety, prevents procrastination, and ultimately brings joy. That's what customer acquisition is like.

When I was asked to present to the students about my personal journey that led me to co-found Toucan, I was forced to reflect on all the entrepreneurial experiences I'd had in the past. Here they are.

At our first meeting of the year, we shared our intentions and wishes for this upcoming year. Here are a few resolutions we came up with together.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never made a friend in a breakout room. Being in a breakout room feels like you’re in another universe, far away from everyone else on the call. Floating around. Alone. But…with random people…

Toucan's co-founder, Ethan Hellman's, first blog! Wishing the father's around the world a happy Father's Day.

Getting lost is fine, as long you're prepared enough to find your way home.

Have you thought about how lockdown is affecting your mental health? Toucan was founded to increase connections and reduce isolation during these times.