Why We Built It
Remote teams often suffer from low morale, lack of connection, and poor visibility into how people are actually doing. Regular 1:1s help, but they're time-consuming. Games and check-ins feel forced. And Slack gets quiet unless someone makes a conscious effort to spark conversation.
We built FunPelican to change that—starting with humor, but aiming for something more ambitious.
What It Started As
At first, FunPelican was a light-hearted Slack AI agent that randomly dropped jokes, weird polls, sarcastic compliments, or oddly specific encouragements into your team's Slack. It had a customizable personality—users could make it chill, loud, passive-aggressive, or overly motivational.
It worked. Teams laughed. People engaged. Channels came back to life.
Where It Could Go
Very quickly, it was clear there was a bigger opportunity. What if this wasn't just about jokes, but about creating a full AI-powered layer for managing culture in remote teams?
We began to explore a roadmap toward a more complete culture platform:
- Track team sentiment using passive signals from chat and activity
- Analyze emotional tone and mood patterns over time (sentiment analytics)
- Schedule and suggest 1:1s with useful prompts and prep materials
- Recommend moments to celebrate wins or check in on someone
- Introduce small, spontaneous games that don't feel forced
- Help HR and team leads spot burnout or disengagement early
All of it powered by AI, running quietly in the background, and fitting naturally into Slack.
Tech Behind It
- Slack API
- GPT-4 for message generation and mood analysis
- Custom backend infrastructure
- Web dashboard for team leads
- JSON-configurable personas and interactions
Outcome
We built the MVP, tested it with our own projects and internal teams, and then sold it to a new team to take it further.
FunPelican is now independent from Bandits, but it's one of our favorite examples of how a playful side project can lead to a much bigger product vision.
What We Learned
- Culture tools don't need to be boring to be useful
- Humor builds trust—fast
- AI + Slack is an incredibly powerful combo when used with restraint
- Even the smallest products can unlock bigger platform ideas
We're proud of where FunPelican started—and excited to see what it becomes next.