“You cannot teach creativity; all you can do is let it blossom, and it blossoms in play.” Recognizing that children can build motor skills, creativity, sharing, and even fractions and scale simply though play, Tegu set forth on a mission to create a toy with hidden lessons. The wooden building blocks come in various shapes, all of which are set to a 30mm scale so as to i
nsure that they all work with one-another, are designed with strategically placed magnets on the inside completely concealed from sight. With this cool feature, children can use the blocks to build animals, cars, houses and much more. However this is not the most compelling fact about Tegu.
The company is based out of Honduras and has quite a unique story. Setting it apart from both charity’s and multi-million dollar company’s, Tegu took a unique approach to starting their business. While most companies think of ways they can make money 
and a desired product, and charities think of ways to help people, Tegu does both. When Chris and Will Haughey, the founders of Tegu, were starting their business they began by asking the question “Could we create a for-profit company based in Honduras that would foster a positive social impact through its business?” They began by finding an issue, framing it, and working from there. The issue was not the lack of an innovative magnetic building blocks however. The issue the brothers discovered was 30% unemployment in a struggling economy in South America.
Tegu could have built their thriving company in America, closer to friends, family, and their primary market, but that was not their mission. The factory in Honduras is self-sustaining and employs otherwise jobless Hondurans giving them the chance to make a living and earn promotions. Tegu discovered a new way of charity combined with business and they are thriving. They were the first of their kind, making them the best of their kind, and they are proving it.
The product is brilliant! The way that they came up with it is even more fascinating! I think that this should be an example to many people, that often times setting a charity and giving stuff to people is not the best option. Rather, helping foster an economy does wonders for the community.
I love that that this company is so dedicated to helping the country of Honduras. It is very common for entrepreneurs to find a charity to support after they create a successful product. Chris and Will Haughe were different because their sole purpose for starting Tegu was to benefit their chosen cause. I am happy to see that these two have been successful and hope that their business continues to grow.
That’s really cool that their product is an indirect form of workplace innovation. They looked beyond the basic charitable aspects to a business that can eventually benefit the whole country by improving the economy. Its also a cool product too.
So cool to see such a creative and fun idea be used for a social cause as well. I especially love how you showed that they COULD have chosen the US as a base but consciously chose Honduras instead.
When Professor Sweet mentioned this company in class I was so intrigued. I love that they took something as simple as building blocks and re-imagined them. It is also amazing that these brothers didn’t set out to create a company that makes blocks. They set out to improve the lives of Hondurans and came up with the idea of how after! So awesome!
Great product and good job at looking at the thought process of the entrepreneurs from their point of view, which led them to their idea.
I love so many aspects of this idea! The crafting of the blocks, the design and simplicity, and the fact that they employ people from Honduras. This is such a cool way of incorporating a social cause into a very successful business.