Will Haughey, Tegu co-founder and Chief Blockhead, shared the Tegu Story while on vacation to reconnect with his Kiwi roots.

Hello Queenstown, New Zealand!

The interview started with questions that many who hear about Tegu for the first time often wonder. Why Honduras? “Why would you establish a company in one of the least developed and unstable countries in Central America? Why are you making life so hard for yourself Will?”

Will recalled that it all started while his brother Chris was travelling through the country and felt compelled to do something about the extreme poverty and dire economy. The brothers were soon “struck by the reality that the best way to serve the poor was through the creation of a business that could stand on its own two feet and be attached to the global economy.”

Honduras is a country of 7 million people with 65% of its population living below the poverty line. As Will pointed out during the interview, it is “a difficult environment to say the least but that’s exactly why it needs businesses like Tegu.”

Thus far Tegu has created 50+ stable jobs in Honduras, pays above market wages, supports reforestation and local education, and uses FSC-certified and sustainable hardwoods. In the words of the interviewer, it is an example of “capitalism with a social face.”

The concluding question in the interview was particularly interesting: “What’s next? How big can you get?” Will answered: “our vision is to create the world’s most innovative premium toy company” and to “create hundreds if not thousands of jobs.”

Onward!