Max Tuchman

Post-pitch story

Maxeme Tuchman's pitch for a video-calling app that lets grandparents read bedtime stories with their grandkids turned into one of the show's genuine success stories. Caribu was named one of Time's Best Inventions of 2019 and one of Apple's best apps of 2020 — and then the pandemic hit. With families separated by lockdowns, Caribu's user base grew tenfold in a single 24-hour period. All told, the startup raised nearly $6 million, including a $2 million round funded entirely by female and minority investors. The story culminated in November 2022, when toy giant Mattel acquired Caribu and folded it into its Mattel Future Lab. Tuchman and co-founder Alvaro Sabido both joined Mattel to keep running the platform, which now features Barbie, Thomas & Friends, and other Mattel characters in its virtual playdates. From a Miami startup pitching storytime over video to a seat at the biggest toy company in the world — this is about as good as a post-pitch ending gets.