About Us

Fittingly, the story of Top Hat Monocle all began on—wait for it—a university campus. It started as a graduate school project in 2009 when students  (and future co-founders) Mike Silagadze and Mohsen Shahini recognized that mobile devices (cell phones, smartphones, tablets, iPods and laptops) were affordable, powerful, and totally under-utilized in the classroom. They saw this as a perfect opportunity to develop a platform for interactive learning using technology students already own.

When professors were asking to use the tool in their classrooms, Mike and Mohsen quickly realized this was more than just a school project—Top Hat Monocle provided a whole new way of learning. Following extensive market research, Top Hat Monocle evolved from a simple polling system into the sophisticated platform it is today. Professors continue to inspire us with new and exciting ways to use the tool, so we are constantly building out new features to make the classroom experience even better.

When using our tool, professors report significant improvements in attendance, retention and grades. In one case study, a professor saw attendance rates double and also observed an overall grade increase of 5% as compared to the previous year when not using Top Hat Monocle. Another observed comprehension for material increase by 23% when using Top Hat Monocle to explain a concept as compared to not using it at all. Given these statistics, our near-perfect renewal rate among professors isn't too surprising! Although we only launched in 2010, we are proud to say we are already profitable and are used by more than 60,000 students in over 70 universities around the world. And we’re just getting started!

We're excited to be a part of the new wave of companies looking to revolutionize the classroom experience and bring it into the future. Students deserve a better classroom experience. They deserve one that is collaborative, dynamic and inspires curiosity. Higher education is ready for change, and we're proud to help make that change a reality using tools that students already own.

Our headquarters is in Waterloo, Canada and we also just opened a US office in San Francisco. We pride ourselves on creating a tool that is inexpensive, easy to implement and that makes the learning process more interactive and effective. We’re confident Top Hat Monocle has the potential to unlock a whole new learning experience for students and professors alike.