Antonia Hellman is a co-founder and CEO of Toucan.

She is a senior at Stanford University studying political science, economics, and management science & engineering.

Prior to Toucan, her career experience has been in data science and political campaigning.

Last week, we hosted our second “How to build a community” speaker series event with community expert Brian Oblinger. Brian is a community consultant, who has worked with several massive companies, such as Acer, The Home Depot, Comcast, HP, PlayStation, and more to develop their community strategies. Toucan CEO, Antonia Hellman, sat down with him and moderated a Q&A session on what brought him to community as a career, what he has learned along the way, and any advice he has for community managers today.


That’s the core of community strategy. It is vitally important to be in touch with the problem your community is solving and what your members actually 

When it comes to building a community around an individual company, it can be easy to get caught up in what the company wants. But that is not the way you get a collective excited or keep them committed. You need to understand, first and foremost, why people joined in the first place and how the community can best serve their needs. This isn’t to say that the community’s wants and needs shouldn’t be aligned with the company’s - they most certainly should -, but it’s important to keep in mind that different stakeholders may have different objectives.

Internal and external communities go hand-in-hand.

Companies that prioritize building a strong community internally tend to have the strongest external communities of supporters. If a company establishes a culture that employees buy into and actively participate in, it will, effectively, have a head start when it comes to creating a following of devoted product supporters.

Brian suggested that internal communities be housed on the same platforms as their companies’ external communities. That way, employees can engage with the external folks more, and engagement isn’t dependent only on work done by community managers. Also, the ability to connect with internal team members could be a massive selling point for customers. Knowing that they’ll have access to the people on the inside whenever they have a problem or a question conveys to them that your company cares about them.

Don’t just think in weeks or months. Think years. Building a community is something that takes time. Creating one that’s long lasting takes effort, at least one unwavering champion within an organization, and a long-term strategy. And don’t be afraid to let the strategy evolve - just don’t lose sight of the overall 

For example, the decades prior to the pandemic, companies tended to hold their events and get-togethers in-person; however, they came to realize that the internet provided them with highly valuable resources that they could use to their advantage. That’s when many companies started baking both in-person and online community components into their engagement efforts. After the past year and a half, nobody is disputing the importance of virtual communities. But there is no one-size-fits-all model for community building, so it’s always important to meet people where they are and listen to what resonates with them the most.

Brian Oblinger recently hosted Toucan's second Event Series. Read to find out about forming an effective community strategy.

Forming an Effective Community Strategy with Brian Oblinger

Since the beginning of Toucan, we have seen thousands of amazing hosts grace our platform. They have hosted small events, long events, themed events, and everything in between. But today, we want to talk about large events.

At Toucan we classify ‘large events’ as having over 75 people in a single event. By talking to our Superhosts and throwing a few large events ourselves, we have put together some tricks to prepare you for yours.

This is not the first time we’ve said this, but it will save you a lot of time in the end. Preparing your guests is absolutely key. We have a few useful resources for you. Firstly, we want to direct you to the 

 page. Here, you can find a downloadable PDF to send to your guests pre-event. Also, there are quite a few useful videos on that page to get you going.

, and everything in between. If your guests have any issues, direct them to this page. If they still can’t find the answer to their question then they can contact us on 

2. Tell your guests to use the ‘About Me’ feature

This is hands down one of our favorite features, and here’s why. It’s a super quick and easy way for your guests to get to know each other. It gives others a quick understanding of who you are, what you do, and any other fun facts that you’d like to share with the group.

To add to the About Me section, simply go to your profile page and update the ‘About me’ section. For a full guide on how-to customize your profile simply click on 

3. Set up a ‘Start here’ meeting spot

Before I start talking about this tip, if you are not familiar with Meeting Spots then go check out 

When your guests enter the event, they might need some help. If they have never attended a Toucan event, they will be extremely happy to see a ’Start here’ spot. Our super host 

 gave an added tip for this. During her large events, she has someone at the ‘Start here’ meeting spot to greet the guests, just like you would in real life. This means that there will be extra information for newbies to get acquainted with the platform, the event, and how to navigate their way around.

4. Use Presenter Mode to welcome your guests

Once your guests have arrived and had a chance to mingle, you can now welcome them. Jump up to Presenter Mode to say hi and explain how the event is going to go. We’ve found that with larger events, some structure helps everything run smoothly and improves the  attendee experience.

With these 4 tips, you are ready to smash your first large event. It can be daunting at first, but we’ve found that these events are incredibly fun and natural! Good luck and we hope you have an amazing time with your guests on Toucan.

Also, if you have run a large event and have some more ideas to share with the community let us know! You can either get in touch via 

Are you thinking of hosting a large online event? We've put together a list of top Toucan tips to get you ready.

How to host large events

Have you heard?? At Toucan, we’ve recently launched our first ever speaker series. For our four-part event, we invited community experts from around the world to co-host an event with our CEO, Antonia. Yes, these are really awesome events and we really hope you

Two weeks ago, we hosted the first one with Marjorie Anderson. She is a community expert with a background in community management for nonprofit organizations. On top of this, she’s the founder of 

. Basically, when it comes to community, Marjorie knows what she’s talking about.

She and Antonia discussed her experiences starting a community from scratch and how leaders can foster meaningful connections and relationships between members. Starting with a fireside chat and followed by an audience Q & A, we learned a ton from her. If you missed it, we wanted to share three key takeaways from this event.

Before starting a community you need to stop and ask yourself, does anyone want this? I know it sounds harsh, but this advice could save hours of your time trying to build a community.

Once you decide what main topic and audience you want to build around, do some research. This can come in many different forms. One way to find out if there’s any interest is to reach out directly to people who would be your ideal members directly and find out if they would be interested. If they are, go even further. Find out what it is they would like to gain from the community.

Imagine this: you’ve got the ball rolling. Your community is set up and the first members have joined. Now what?

You have to ask yourself these key questions. What is the purpose of my community? What are members looking to gain from this community? How do I deliver what they want?

The best way to get the right answers to these questions is to go directly to the source. Reach out to your members and find out! To grow a community, you need to have a collective aim or purpose. The best way to reach that aim is to get in touch with the people right in front of you.

: this is also a great way to get the conversation started and connect with new members.

This question came from one of the event's attendees. They asked Marjorie, ‘How do I reward active community members?’.

The answer is simple, reward them in any way you can! Active, engaged, and helpful community members are hard to come by. So if you have one or a few, congrats! To show your appreciation send them a personal message, give them a public shoutout, or if you have the resources, send them some swag. They probably won’t expect it, and it may even encourage other community members to get involved.

Marjorie’s event was only the start. We’d love for you to join us on October 13th for our second event with Brian Oblinger. He’ll be discussing how to form an effective community strategy once you’ve already gotten the basics of your group nailed down. Brian’s worked with hundreds of companies like Acer, Autodesk, Comcast, eBay, The Home Depot, HP, Playstation, and more.


What are you waiting for? Sign up to learn from the best:

https://www.toucan.events/events/brian-oblinger

Did you miss our event series with Marjorie Anderson? Well luckily we put together three key takeaways for you.

Marjorie Anderson x Toucan event speaker series 

Toucan Event Series x Marjorie Anderson

One of the greatest parts about Toucan is the people we share our excitement about community with. The Toucan community is so special and has been a source of inspiration, laughter, and support since the very beginning. And one of the members of our community that exemplifies everything we love is 

Shaily found Toucan about a year ago (via Tik Tok, of all places!) and was one of our first big supporters. She is a lover of community and a pro at all things event planning, so she’s seen a lot of different technologies over the years and knows what it takes to develop a strong virtual presence.

For Shaily, Toucan provides the perfect environment for her clients to gather their community members. She is passionate about helping others develop their personas and connect with others effectively via online tools, and she does this through her work as a 

. The most extraordinary thing about her is how fast her mind works and how she can internalize information to then form creative ideas. I get to see this every week at our Toucan Social, but I 

got to see it a little while back when I attended one of her clients’ events.

The event I attended was hosted by a woman that coaches other women on how to get work as B2B consultants. In total, there were around 80 people who attended, making the Toucan space an exciting sight to behold. There were profile pictures dotted all around the screen, and among those pictures were 

of Meeting Spots with different prompts. Just a few of my favorites were: 

: Fun Meeting Spots really make a huge difference! Knowing that you’re in an environment where you can be open and silly makes any conversation flow smoother.)

Creating a welcoming environment for your guests

Something to keep in mind is that virtual events - even on Toucan - require the care and attention that you would give an in-person event. Just like how you want all your guests at an IRL networking event to feel comfortable, making sure that virtual event guests get the attention they need and a solid introduction to the platform is extremely important. There are a few key steps to giving guests a solid welcome.

First, Shaily recommends creating a Meeting Spot, regardless of the event size, that says “Start Here.” This teaches newcomers the basic action of clicking the “Join” button on a group to move there. It is also very effective to have a seasoned Toucan user waiting in the “Start Here” spot, whose role is to walk newbies through the basics of the platform. And the cherry on top is that the “Start Here” spot serves as a great place for people to meet new folks and make connections right off the bat.

Second, making an announcement at the beginning of an event is always a great idea. Just like at an IRL event, the host should say hello to everyone, thank them for being there, explain where the refreshments table is - you get the gist. 😉 On Toucan, that takes the form of the host(s) getting up on Presenter Mode, addressing everyone at the event, and explaining a thing or two about how the platform works.

Lastly, Toucan’s “About Me” feature allows everyone to introduce themselves to the other people at the event however they’d like. You can write your job description, make a joke, add some emojis. Just be you. On top of that, you can add your social media and website. If lots of people fill out their profile and share a little bit about themselves, then it makes starting a conversation that much easier, not to mention following up/connecting afterwards.


The important part is that people have a good time, and part of that is making sure that nobody feels out of place. There are so many ways to make a Toucan environment feel just like everybody’s all together in person. If you’d like any more tips, just reach out to 

weekly Toucan Social on Thursdays at 3pm ET. 

Join Toucan CEO in conversation with Shaily Hakimian. Find out how she keeps her community engaged and thriving.

Shaily Hakimian Superhost Spotlight

Want to make your event your most successful one yet? This guide is exactly what you’re looking for. Whether you’re a pro host or a first time one, these event ideas will help make your events smash successes.

Hosting a virtual quiz is fun and easy! It only takes a little prep beforehand.  Pick a theme, research some fun facts, and write as many questions as you’d like. We recommend writing about 20-30 questions and asking them at a reasonably quick pace, just to ensure that the event keeps flowing smoothly. The more prepared you are, the more fun you’ll have.

At Toucan, we did quite a few quizzes so we think we’re semi-pros now. One of the best features for this type of event is Presenter Mode! It means you can ask questions to everyone in the space while they discuss privately in their groups. It makes the whole quiz fun and easy.

This is quite a hands-on event, so make sure you’re ready to take on the challenge! When we hosted our 

 we worked out some snags so that, with our help, you don’t have to. This can be a really fun and interactive virtual event. And, on top of that, it leaves your attendees with something delicious to eat afterwards!

 it’s super fun, it’s easy to get ingredients, and it’s a great ice-breaker! Have your attendees get in groups and do it as a team. Even if you aren’t a professional mixologist, you can learn 

 and go through them with the class! Get your shakers ready for this out-there event.

Yes, virtual drag bingo is a thing and yes, it is amazing. This has been my favorite virtual event so far.

To organize this kind of event, you’ll have to find a drag queen that does these types of events to run the show for you. Find a group of friends, or even do it as an office social, and get ready to spend an hour smiling.

This can be a really amazing group activity for friends and co-workers! There are some amazing companies that run live virtual events, like 

. This will encourage your attendees to break up into small groups and actively participate. Get together, solve a puzzle, and compete for prizes!

The power of the internet paired with the future of remote and hybrid work makes this the perfect virtual event idea. With a platform like Toucan, 

. Jump from group to group connecting with other attendees. It creates a great environment to connect, network, and meet new people.

What does your network want to learn about? This is a great opportunity to engage and grow your community. Thanks to professional networks and the power of the internet, we are able to reach out to experts all over the world. Reach out and set up a 

If you’re looking for something more formal, you may be leaning towards putting together an expert panel. For this 

, you’ll need to pick a topic that will interest both your community and potential speakers. Get 3-4 experts together and prepare some exciting topics to discuss. Keep it light and interesting so that your guests feel involved, even if they’re just watching.

Now that you have a theme picked, you’re ready for your first virtual event

I hope that one of these eight virtual event ideas stood out to you! Once you have a theme picked, the rest is easy. Get your community together and don’t forget to tag us if you share it on your socials!

Are you looking to host your first event? We've put together 8 virtual event ideas to get you started.

8 virtual event ideas to make yours stand out

Toucan co-founder.
Rabbi, driving instructor, and acrobat in parallel universes.

I live in Italy where, until Covid, remote work didn’t happen. A few years ago I asked a friend – in the IT business – why he had to go into the office every day. His answer surprised me: “Because in Italy, no one believes that people will work at home.”

To me, this seemed utterly bizarre. I come from a culture where work is measured by output, not hours spent in an office chair.

If the past informs the future, I’m pretty well qualified to talk about remote work.

 I wrote about my early experiences with remote work. I hired my first remote developer in 1995. That was so long ago that we didn’t even have a term for it. We just called it “some of our developers live too far from the office to come in” work. Today, we’d call that situation 

. Some of us were in an office; some of us weren’t.

The most notable aspect of remote work in the early days is that it was solely the province of technical workers: programmers, testers, and support personnel.

Between 5 and 10 years ago, remote work for other professions became more common.

My wife’s company, for example, is fully distributed. They are a recruiting firm with very few technologists. When I asked the CEO why he’d chosen this model he told me that it was because the 

 in America are mothers of young children.

He explained that many of those women are well-educated and want to work, but they can’t afford or don’t want full-time third-party childcare. They can only work if work is flexible. The company is very flexible. The only thing that matters is output. No one cares when or how much anyone works.

My wife’s company was an exception until Covid-19 forced many white collar workers to stay home. Now, many people work that way, and many are very happy about it.

Managers are reporting improved productivity, and lots of people are thrilled to avoid long commutes. Flexible work conditions, it turns out, are generally popular.

Of course, there are problems with everyone being remote.

Some people can’t motivate themselves to work when they’re at home. This is a tough problem to solve. I suspect that in some cases people don’t have the personality to work in isolation. In others, the job is boring. Maybe they didn’t work when they were in an office either, but going in and seeing colleagues may have made them feel as if they were getting more done. It’s easy to waste time in an office!

Some people miss in-office socializing. We’re social animals. Luckily a lot of companies – including Toucan! – are working to solve this problem.

Some people don’t have enough space at home and don’t have the right setup. These problems will take time to resolve themselves. A lot of people in small urban apartments moved out into bigger houses when the health crisis hit. Others couldn’t because they were locked into long-term leases, or because they had a mortgage that was bigger than their property’s value. And finally, some people didn’t move because they assumed that working-from-home was temporary.

It’s clear from recent research that our way of working has 

. Some companies will be fully-remote (Toucan is!), some will be fully-centralized, and some will be hybrids.

I suspect that hybrid will ultimately be the most common model.

Having a centralized office is useful.  High-bandwidth interactions can be very productive. On the other hand, having some people on-site and others off-site will create a two-tier workforce. We’re going to have a tough time resolving that problem.

My wife’s company deals with the bandwidth problem by having two in-person all-hands meetings every year. She tells me that they are a fantastic way to get the whole company in sync and that an enormous amount is accomplished at every meeting.

So is this it? Is remote work going to become a permanent part of our landscape?

In some cultures, absolutely.  In others, absolutely not.

I can report my friend was right. In Italy, nobody working from home is actually working. Government agencies and private companies have become completely unproductive. And the excuse is always the same: “Things go slower with smart working.” Yes, they call it “smart working”, even though it involves no work and, in this environment, it’s definitely not smart.

Remote work in 2021 is an entirely different ballgame then it was pre-pandemic. Join Paul Murphy in exploring the new remote work lifestyle.

What is remote work and how is it changing in 2021?

We can’t talk about Superhosts without talking about Andrew Bennett.

A little while ago, Andrew found himself wondering why he couldn’t find a community of people who just wanted to practice their language skills, regardless of what languages they spoke. There were plenty of groups centered around one 

language, but none that he knew of invited people who spoke a vast array of them at the same event. What if there was a group of people that got together around a certain topic of interest and then wandered into respective groups to discuss that topic in whatever language they’d like?

He considered the idea for a while but encountered a roadblock. All the traditional video conferencing tools were terrible for this kind of group. Without the ability to move yourself around however you’d like, people would feel stuck, and an unreasonable amount of pressure would fall on the host to coordinate everything. But then he found 

When Andrew came across Toucan, he finally understood how he could make his dream online community a reality. Because Toucan lets people move around freely and lets you see everything that’s going on around you, event attendees can go to any group they want. They can practice any languages they speak or are actively learning 

having to rely on the host to move them around. He calls these events “Multilingual Monday Meetup” (MMM). MMM events, with presenters, happen about once a month. On weeks without a curated event, MMM’s 

 is open for casual chatting. This is a perpetual Toucan space, with Meeting Spots already prepared for languages requested by MMM members.

Additionally, Toucan makes it easy to have the topic-driven events that Andrew was imagining. With Presenter Mode, he can invite a speaker or several speakers that are experts in a certain field to talk to everyone. And since Toucan has a nifty little sound mixer when someone is presenting, guests at the event can even chat with each other and practice their languages while the presenter is talking. This is perfect for sidebar conversations and in-the-moment comments. Simply put, it makes the event feel more human.

Something that Andrew has noticed about MMM is that it isn’t just an educational experience. Yes, people come for the speakers, and, yes, they may come for the language practice, but they also come to meet people and make new friends. He told me that he has witnessed several groups chatting until the moment the event automatically closes, the very end, about an hour after the presentations finish. When people come on Toucan, they want to stay. And they want to stay connected with the people that they meet.

That’s where the “About Me” feature -  or as Andrew calls it, “my Toucan business card” - comes in handy. Not only can you write a little bio about yourself to give everyone at the event a sense of who you are and what you are interested in, you can also add your website and your social media accounts, so anybody you meet knows where to reach you.

I can’t finish a blog about Andrew without mentioning something he’s done that I think is 

cool. I have attended several events with him in the past, where he has advertised MMM in a creative way. He has a separate Toucan account, and he set the profile picture for that account to be a QR code that takes you to the MMM meetup.com page when you scan it. That way, anybody who’s interested can learn more about his events just like that! All he has to do is log into an event that he’s attending using that separate account from a different device. So he can enjoy the event himself, while his second account does the advertising for him. Creativity is encouraged on Toucan!


Join Toucans CEO in her interview with Andrew Bennett where we find out how he uses Toucan Events for his Multilingual Monday Meetups.

Small picture of Andrew Bennett and Antonia Hellman 

Superhost Spotlight: Andrew Bennett

We keep hearing people talk about “remote work” and “hybrid models” of work, but for many, it can be difficult to envision what that means. But Ken Newby and the Vision RE team have cracked the code. They have figured out a way to emulate their in-person office feel online with, you guessed it, Toucan.

This past year has forced many companies around the world to rethink not only how they do work, but how they engage and connect their teams. Community and togetherness has become more of a conscious priority than ever before, and that’s what brought Ken and his colleagues to Toucan in the first place.

 is a safety company based in Alberta, Canada, and that’s where their office was. Having worked together in person for quite a while, they had developed an implicit office etiquette tailored to their work style. When they could no longer work together in person, they went off in search of a platform that would support that same office etiquette, thus allowing everyone to work and interact in, essentially, the same way that they did before.

Ken Newby describes the Vision RE office space as including several “pods,” with 3 people in an office space - but with 4 desks, just in case someone from a different pod needs to pop in and collaborate. Having 3 people in a pod is perfect because it allows anyone that needs help to simply turn around and get outside input. They have been able to recreate this fluid, collaborative environment using Toucan. In their Vision RE 

, all they have to do is create Meeting Spots for each respective “pod.” That way, everyone knows exactly where to go.

In an in-person office, each individual can also have their own personal space to work. This can be done on Toucan as well. Ken describes how, within the company’s 

, each team member has their own designated 

, which serves as their personal “office.” And part of the Vision RE remote office etiquette is that, whenever anyone uses their own “office,” they provide a status: “Door open,” “Door ajar,” and “Door closed.” The first means that they are inviting others to come in at any time. The second means that they are busy but can be interrupted for time-sensitive matters. The third means that they cannot be disrupted at all. This system mimics the physical signals that one would observe in their in-person office.

. One for their office space, and one called “Connections,” where they invite people from outside their company to meet. This can be clients, and it could be potential hires. Regardless of who it is, they always come away with the same reaction: “Wow.” It’s always so easy bringing new folks onto the platform, and the casual environment speaks volumes about Vision RE’s values. Seeing the freedom that Toucan affords you instantly conveys a company culture of inclusivity, kindness, respect, and trust.

Ken Newby is interviewed by Toucan CEO to discuss how VisionRE is using the platform as their remote work space.

Superhost Spotlight: Ken Newby on the future (and present) of remote work

One thing that this past year has taught us is that virtually anything can be done online. That’s right, even networking. That’s why we’ve put together online networking event tips to guide you through your first event.

At Toucan, we’ve seen time and time again that if you get it right, online networking events can be hugely successful.

. Our tip to you is to use your strongest channels, whether this be emails, Facebook, Linkedin, or Instagram.

Telling your existing network that you are hosting the event encourages sign ups. Also, it increases the chances that they will tell their friends about the event. So don’t forget to distribute an event link that they can share.

: Publicize post-event as well. A successful event can lead to great content, connections, and new community members.

The more purpose-driven your networking event is, the more likely it is to succeed! This applies to picking out the right event name, the description, and the wording you choose when you publicize it.

. No one’s going to stop and notice a long event name on their timeline. But they will click on it if it catches their eye and has a purpose that interests them.

An important lesson I’ve learned with online events is never to assume that people have all the information they need.

Firstly, make sure your guests know how to set up an account on the platform where the event will be hosted. For Toucan, we send the newest members of our Flock to the 

 page. These types of guides should also be accessible for the online location of your choice.

Secondly, send your guests any other relevant information for your specific online networking event. This can be any number of things, whether it’s adding their Linkedin, or filling out an ‘About Me’ card, the more prepared your guests feel, the more they’ll enjoy the event! Trust us, we learned this during our 

This is key. The last thing you want is people showing up and leaving after 10 minutes. To keep it engaging, plan ahead. Have a schedule of 

 throughout the event.  For example, after 20 minutes, make an announcement for everyone to join a new group to meet other members!

Speed online networking events - who would have thought this was the future?!

Check-in with your guests! The best thing you can do is learn from your events. Find out what everyone loved and what they would have wanted more of from the online networking event.

This is a great opportunity to connect with your community and establish a dialogue.

There you go, five tips for your first online networking event. The main thing is to enjoy it. If you do, then so will your guests! Follow these easy steps and you’ll be a pro in no time. Good luck ☘️

Are you thinking about hosting your first online networking event and don't know where to start? Have a look at our 5 tips to set you up for success!

5 Tips to Host Your First Online Networking Event

We used to have physical workspaces. When a parent told a child “I’m going to work”, it was understood that he or she would be leaving the house.

Today, many of us work in “virtual” workspaces, workspaces that are accessible from anywhere. Today, the laptop class can go to work without leaving the house.

For a lot of people it’s an office, a factory, a field, a restaurant, a hospital, or even a vehicle. People work in lots of places.

 they work hasn’t changed and won’t change. But for many white collar workers, workers who mostly work at their desks, things are changing, and the recent string of lockdowns has accelerated this change.

These workers  interact with the world through four interfaces:

Until recently – a couple of decades ago – most of those things weren’t mobile. Today they all are, and this has very profound implications on the flexibility of these people’s workspace.

, although it still exists, has been virtualized, i.e., digitized. Sure, we still see lots of papers in offices, but it’s no longer necessary. I still know people who print their emails, but I personally haven’t owned a printer in 15 years.

 are just as accessible through a video conference as they are in person.

Today, a white collar worker is no longer bound to a workplace. He or she can work from anywhere: a traditional office, a shared workspace, a home, a boat, or even a beach. I’m writing this blog from a beach house in Southern Italy. I could just as well be in the mountains in France, or an office in New York.

So if a workspace has already been virtualized, what do we mean by 

When I work, some things I interact with – people and paper – have been virtualized, and others – telephones and computers – have been made portable. But I don’t work in a virtual workspace, I work virtually, in different places.

I work virtually, in whatever space I happen to be.

. In this space you can bump into colleagues, you can have lunch together, you can meet and share a whiteboard, etc. It’s just like being in the office with your colleagues.

As much as I like working virtually from anywhere, I sometimes miss working with people in a shared space. Needless to say, I’m not alone. A lot of people miss being together with their colleagues. And of course, when there’s a need, the boffins try to address it. We’re addressing it in two ways:

When designers recreate something digitally they frequently use a representation of a physical analog in order to make the transition from the physical to the virtual as intuitive as possible. Here’s an example. When you delete a file from your computer, do you put it in a trash can? Right. That works, even though we all know it’s an analogy.

If sticking to physical analogs is your design approach, you are aiming to create 

, i.e., virtual spaces in which desks look like desks and people who look like people. In these spaces you can “walk” from your desk to a meeting room, or into someone else’s office. In order to simulate all those things, you need VR. You need to strap goggles onto your face, and get to work.

I’ve done it. It’s kind of cool. It’s great for discussions and it’s great for watching media together. But it’s beyond terrible for working on a spreadsheet or for writing email. Keyboards in VR are a bit of a joke. Until we really nail voice interfaces or haptic gloves, I won’t be spending my days in a “realistic” virtual office.

Now, let’s talk about lighter weight virtual workspaces.

Sometimes we don’t need a perfect analogue to create a useful digital alternative. My favorite example is 

. An office facilitates communication. And so does Slack, even though they aren’t remotely similar. Of course an office enables many richer interactions, but they aren’t always necessary. And Slack automatically saves context in a way that isn’t possible when conversations are in person.

Slack, and other collaborative tools are able to replicate in-person workspace functions without simulating an office environment the way we do in VR.

How does Toucan support virtual workspaces?

In offices people don’t just talk to each other in conference rooms. They stop by each other’s desks, chat in the hall, sit down for lunch together, and sometimes even leave the office for a breath of fresh air and a private chat.

Traditional video conferencing tools, like 

, are excellent digital analogues to conference rooms, but they don’t allow casual connections in different places across time. 

 two people can get together for a quick sync, either personal or professional. Or a group of co-workers can get together to polish a shared document. Or the entire company can meet – in conference mode – to watch a presentation by the HR team about upcoming benefit changes. All of these modes of interaction are possible in 

 lets people move around and interact with any other person in a 

 facilitates communication, but it goes much farther. Without trying to recreate an office environment literally, 

 enables the many types of in-person office interactions.

All that without strapping a big headset onto your face.

Do we need virtual workspaces that recreate physical workspaces or do we need tools that allow us to work virtually?

Virtual Workspace: Bring Flexibility to your Office 

At Toucan, we celebrate and recognize many different occasions; however, Father’s Day is perhaps the most important. I would hope that every child thinks of their father as the greatest man on the planet. It’s too bad that they would all be wrong. I would know because I’m pretty sure my dad is the greatest man on the planet. All kidding aside, it is no exaggeration in saying that without my dad, Toucan would not exist today.

Just like everyone else last March, Antonia and I would consistently complain about being on video calls all the time and how unnatural it felt. Dinner discussions were dominated by the subject. But these were just hollow words. It was not until my father said, “you should make it better,” that those hollow words turned into a company. That’s my dad. With just a few sentences, he has the ability to change your life. From the very beginning, he has been there to push us, advise us, and help us grow. Almost every single day, I call him up with a question because I know that he will always have an answer. I would not be an honest person if I did not give credit where credit is due. He has been the coach in our corner at every step of the way. Yet, Toucan is only one example of his influence.

Though I tell everyone I am a first-time founder, truth be told, this is not my first company. Just when I was on the cusp of not being cute anymore, I decided to cash in on my remaining time as a ridiculously adorable kid and set up a lemonade stand. Every day for a summer, I would drag my cooler, pitchers, and sign to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I would poach on unsuspecting tourists who planned poorly for a walk in the park or museum visit on a hot New York City summer day. Before long, the business grew astronomically, and I had to expand operations by hiring my baby sister - my first employee. From there, the cash only continued to flow. (It helped that Arianna was also 

cute.) Production had to be managed like a real business, and soon my corner stand rivaled the likes of Minute Maid. “LEMONADE” could very well be the greatest business I ever start.

The most content I have ever felt were the times when my father would bring his colleagues around to show them the fruits of my labor. Not only did he bring good business to the table, but he instilled in me a sense of pride in myself and my project. All the singles in my toy cash register paled in comparison to hearing him boast about his son’s little business in front of his friends. At night he would encourage me to consider my business strategy and find ways to streamline productivity. Really what he taught me was a thirst for entrepreneurship.

Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to start a business. Growing up around someone who has started over a dozen of their own can inspire you to do that. As it turns out, it is more difficult than I thought it was; but it is easily the most interesting thing I have ever done, and I am all the more grateful to share in this journey with my amazing older sister. In many ways, starting a business with Antonia has brought us closer together as brother and sister than ever before. If nothing else, I would thank my father for introducing me to two of my best friends in the world - Antonia and Arianna.

To the rest of the fathers on the team, your example shines through everyday and leaves an impression on the rest of us. Whether it is Paul inviting his daughter to greet us during early morning meetings, Michel treating Antonia and me like his own kids sometimes, or Andrei calling into meetings while driving across the country to pick up his daughter from school, we see your dedication all the time - not only to Toucan but to the others in your life. Meeting and knowing you all through this platform has shown us more about each other than meets the camera. That is why we want to celebrate you today.

In many ways, I view Toucan as my own child, and I am constantly striving to be a better parent. I really was not expecting this one, so do not blame me if I have not totally figured it out yet. I am only 20. But in all seriousness, I do hope that one day I might learn what it truly means to be a father. If it means being anything like the role models around me, I can rest assured that it will surely be worth it.

They say that parenting is a thankless job, but today let’s prove them wrong. To my own father, all the fathers on the team, and the rest around the world, thank you and happy Father’s Day!

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

Toucan Blog

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