Our Favorite Song

'Just The Way It Is' - Bruce Hornsby

Our Favorite Vacation Spot

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Our Favorite Product Besides Our Own

iPhone

Our Favorite Quote

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." -Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech

The wooden block just got better; a lot better. We all love classic wooden toys, but Tegu was getting a little bored with your grandfather’s blocks. So, we set out to update the most basic childr...

The Story of Tegu

It all started with an innocent, curiosity-driven question: “Could we create a for-profit company based in Honduras that would foster a positive social impact through its business?” Chris posed that question during a work trip to the Country in May 2006 where he reconnected in Tegucigalpa with friends dedicated to an impactful humanitarian project; seeking an answer to the question sparked the idea that became Tegu—a toy business founded to address unemployment, neglected natural and human resources, and the need for entrepreneurship in Honduras. More (+)

Tegu began with the notion that the founders—brothers Chris and Will Haughey—wanted to help a country and its people, and they quickly discovered that Honduras was home to beautiful tropical hardwoods which could be sustainably harvested. Grandchildren of an accomplished Kiwi architect, both Chris and Will grew up with a love and appreciation for woodworking, so they naturally gravitated towards the initial idea of creating high-end furniture for export. A couple months later, on a trip together in Germany, they were impressed and inspired by the classic wooden toys of Europe and started looking into the fabrication of wooden toys rather than furniture.

In March of 2007, Chris left his job with The Boston Consulting Group to found Tegu, with Will functioning as a thought partner while still working on Wall Street. Will decided to leave Goldman Sachs in May of 2008, and Tegu started to fire up. In the intervening time, as the Company moved through product refinement to marketing strategy to fund-raising to business-building, Tegu has been fortunate to attract a fantastic team to the business (see below).

In the course of 3 years since the first spark of our idea, the team has explored 4 very different and compelling product concepts. In the course of observation and ideation in a kindergarten classroom in the San Francisco Bay Area, we discovered that kids use toys to tell stories, or to help them better express the wonderful narrative at play in their heads. In that process a winning idea emerged, which evolved into Tegu’s magnetic wooden blocks. Testing the blocks yielded great results with more kids, parents and advisors in the toy space, and since then we've been off to the races. Tegu is vertically integrated and is purposefully running its own shop in Honduras.

Tegu has gone from the seed of an idea (2006) to a budding sapling (2010). Now we’re watering and nurturing, so that we can see this tree flourish for the benefit of children everywhere and for the people of Honduras. These are the little toys that could... Less (-)

Interview with Tegu

What inspires you?

Our workers in Honduras who support themselves, their children, and their extended families by working in our factory.

What is your favorite part about creating your products?

That our blocks have the power to unleash the innate creativity of children while serving struggling people in an impoverished nation.

What is the toughest part of your day?

Early afternoon. Late nights + early mornings + food = dreaming of siesta.

What was the best day in company history?

When 400 people lined up to interview for factory jobs in Honduras.

What was the biggest decision you ever had to make?

Leaving the comforts of Goldman and The Boston Consulting Group to make wooden toys in Honduras.

Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

We hope we will have taken the magnet in wood concept to children around the world. If we have, we'll have employed hundreds of folks in Honduras and delighted a lot of children with a product that will capture their attention and imagination for years.