Founders Everywhere: Jessica Toh
Jessica Toh is the co-founder & CEO of Huckleberry, where pediatric experts team up with AI to make trusted guidance accessible and affordable for all families.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Parenting comes with an endless mental checklist: feeding times, nap schedules, milestones, doctor’s advice, all amongst the daily chaos of family life. It can feel overwhelming, and no one should have to figure it out alone. By combining expert guidance with human-centered technology, Huckleberry takes the guesswork out of parenting. Families get personalized support so they can stress less, sleep more, and stay connected to one another. The Huckleberry app makes it easy to track what matters and build routines that work, while getting advice for all the curveballs that come with parenting. With trusted support in hand, families can focus on the everyday moments that mean the most.
Co-founders Jessica Toh and Seng Toh, Ph.D. are a married couple and parents of three. Jessica, CEO, holds a triple major in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Math & Statistics from UC Berkeley. Seng, CTO, brings expertise in engineering and data science. Huckleberry was born out of their own sleepless nights. One of their children woke up every few hours for almost two years. With Jessica’s STEM background and experience in data and software, she started finding patterns in his sleep and realized she could help other families too.
What’s Huckleberry’s mission?
We are on a mission to build life-changing products and experiences that help all families unlock everyday magic. We’re always putting ourselves in parents’ shoes and anchoring ourselves in what is best for families in the long run. At the end of the day, we want every family to feel taken care of and to have the support they need to thrive.
Tell us about some recent milestones that Huckleberry crushed.
We recently hit 5 million families on Huckleberry, now reaching 15% of U.S. babies, 24% in the U.K., and 20% in Canada and Australia. We also have users in over 150 countries. This year alone, we earned several accolades from Apple (Editors’ Choice, App of the Day, Best Apps for Parents, Apps We Love), reflecting our impact and customer love.
How does Huckleberry inspire “customer love”?
We get notes every day from customers who say Huckleberry “saved my life,” or they “couldn’t live without it.” Parents love how much more confident and rested they feel. One parent shared that her husband is deployed in the military, and being able to see their baby’s daily activities helps him feel more connected. These moments are especially rewarding for us.
In terms of ratings, we let the numbers speak for themselves. We have a 4.9-star rating with over 120,000 reviews.
What’s on the horizon for Huckleberry?
We just launched a new 24/7 guidance feature named Berry that provides instant parenting backup, and we’ll be further expanding AI-driven personalization soon. We’re excited that AI enables us to deliver truly tailored support that wasn’t possible before, and that parents get advice and reassurance for their unique journey. We’re always looking for ways to move family wellbeing forward for everyone.
Why the name Huckleberry?
We wanted a name that felt fresh, real, and meaningful. Huckleberry has a few special associations. There’s the phrase, “I’m your Huckleberry,” which means the right person for the job at the right time, just like we aim to be for parents. There’s also an old saying, “a huckleberry to your persimmon,” where the huckleberry, a small wild berry, complements the larger persimmon fruit. That reflects how we see ourselves: parents are the heroes, and Huckleberry is the little extra by their side that makes their journey even better.
Any favorite podcasts?
My favorite podcast is Lenny’s podcast. So I was already a fan, and then he featured Huckleberry in his new-parent gift guide, and now I’m a double fan.
Fun Fact:
My husband and I once did a tandem bicycle ride from Seattle to Portland, a testament to coordination and teamwork, just like co-founding a company together.
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