How Toucan Co-Founder and CTO Shaun Merritt Hacked the Art of Language-Learning
Today\u2019s 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 \u201cOwn The Word\u201d concept.\n TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:\n [00:41] Shaun explains how he and his co-founders came up with the idea for Toucan.\n [01:29] How Toucan works to teach people new languages passively without taking time out of their day.\n [01:58] How Toucan is different from other language-learning platforms.\n [02:54] How it launched, people\u2019s reactions to it, and how they grew and monetized it.\n [04:12] A case study example of how to use Toucan.\xa0\n [05:05] The most common languages used and requested.\n [06:08] Insight into the different difficulty settings and how it adapts as you learn.\xa0\n [06:57] How Toucan works as a passive form of engagement to enable people to progress quickly.\n [07:42] How they make money through premium features.\n [09:00] How they use advertising as a deeper form of learning through their \u2018Own the word\u2019 concept.\u2019\n [09:33] How partnerships with advertisers work.\n [10:09] How are they growing through word of mouth, \u2018own the word\u2019, and partnerships.\xa0\n [11:35] The grand vision for Toucan: To find ways to teach other things passively too.\n [12:07] Shaun\u2019s favorite business tool Obsidian, and favorite business book Thinking in Systems.\n [12:56] Bonus question: Where Shaun gets his information from.\n Resources From The Interview:\n \xa0\n \xa0\n Toucan\n \nObsidian\xa0\n Must read book: Thinking in Systems\n\n Shaun Merritt\u2019s email\n \xa0\n \xa0\n Leave Some Feedback:\n \xa0\n \xa0\n What should I talk about next?\xa0Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.\n Did you enjoy this episode?\xa0If so, please leave a short review here\n\n Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes\n\n Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed\n\n \xa0\n \xa0\n Connect with Eric Siu:\xa0\n \xa0\n \xa0\n Growth Everywhere\n Single Grain\n Eric Siu on Twitter