ELEVATOR PITCH
Caribu helps children age 0-7 to read and draw with their parents and grandparents through a video-call when they’re not in the same location. Caribu is a game-changer for the hundreds of millions of global families that are separated by distance and need to make memories together with their (grand)children through mobile and tablet devices.
OUR STORY
We saw a picture of a soldier trying to read a children’s book to his daughter through a webcam and realized we could build something better. Today, many families are separated by distance because a parent travels for work, a grandparent lives in a different state or country, a parent is deployed, or the family is part of the 50% of couples who are divorced. Caribu’s platform opens up opportunities for children to connect with adults who can engage with them in real-time as they read and draw together.
Caribu is using tech to rapidly scale and innovate a solution for the hundreds of millions of families, across the globe, that are separated by distance and want to make memories together with their (grand)children through mobile and tablet devices. Caribu allows you to call the toddler in your life, pick out a book, and read or draw together in real-time through a shared-screen video call. An in-app library has hundreds of books from leading children’s publishers (including Highlights, Sesame Street, Mattel, Usborne, and many others) in seven languages, and interactive educational workbooks and activities that you can draw on together. The result is an engaging experience in a carefully designed, curated, and secure platform. As our users say, “It’s FaceTime that kids don’t run away from.” Today, Caribu has customers in 164 countries.
Human connection has become a luxury good. Caribu’s mission is to bring families together, and our future vision is to be the world’s premier communications tool for people to collaboratively learn, be entertained, and connect. We want to change the world by creating the best and most engaging alternative for people to learn and bond with their families even when they can’t all be there in person.
Milestones
We have been the finalist or winner in over 30 pitch competitions, winning over $100K in cash and prizes from organizations such as the 1776 Global Pitch Competition (with an investment from Steve Case), SXSW EDU, InterAmerican Development Bank, The Pitch Podcast on Gimlet Media, Teach For America, and Babson College. We have also been selected for many prestigious awards such Caribu being listed as a World Changing Idea by Fast Company and our CEO being named a Toyota Mother of Invention and one of the Top 100 Female Founders by Inc. Magazine. Caribu has been featured in Forbes for three years in a row, and has had over 90 international and national earned media mentions. We are also partnered with Blue Star Families to donate free subscriptions to all currently serving the military.
“Caribu has a novel solution to a global parenting problem,” says Ryan Gunnigle, co-founder of Be Curious Partners and CEO of Kids II, whose brands include Bright Starts, InGenuity, Oball, Disney and Baby Einstein. “I believe this technology will redefine how families communicate and we’re excited to invest in this strategic partnership.”
Maxeme Tuchman, Caribu’s CEO and co-founder, is eager to bring about the company’s future—and to do it in Miami.
“The ecosystem in Miami is still young so we can be a big dolphin in a small pond,” Tuchman says. “In the past 3 years, we’ve invested as much in the Miami ecosystem as they’ve invested in us, and I’m honored to be building and growing our company in my hometown. There is an incredibly supportive and collaborative group of women in our ecosystem who will do everything in their power to lift each other up, celebrate each other, and help each other succeed. The future IS Miami.”
Maxeme Tuchman CEO & CoFounder with Team
Her advice for future CEOs?
“Get a CTO as your co-founder. Make sure they can explain things to you like a six year old, that they have the patience to do that, and that they realize the value of having you understand their world,” she says. “Also, have a BHAV (Big Hairy Audacious Vision) and keep your eyes on the prize. If you’re building something with an inspiring vision that’s going to change the world or create solutions to real-world challenges, that will keep you motivated. Finally, keep track of the small wins. You will have them. Lots of them. Remind yourself that those will add up to big wins one day.”
