Duolingo’s Post

Since I joined Duolingo in 2015, we’ve grown from 20 engineers to a team of almost 400. I came across our first-ever employee handbook and our rules and expectations have grown quite a bit in the last 9 years 🤣🤣🤣 As we’ve grown, we naturally have had to implement processes that are necessary for any company of our size. Whether it was a simple thing like “come in before noon” or bigger changes, like career ladders and project retros, growing almost twenty-fold requires figuring out what engineering needs at each new stage of growth and maturity! But there are also things we wanted to preserve no matter how big that we got: 1. Gathering a range of perspectives 💡 In the very early days (before my time) the entire company met together every day (there weren’t many of them!) to decide what to work on that day. Since we’re far too big to take in everyone’s opinion when we make a decision that impacts all of engineering, we’ve tried a few things to ensure we’re getting diverse perspectives. One is the Engineering Council, a cross-functional group made up of 12 engineers in different levels, tenure, specialties (with rotating membership). The council can bring forward topics they want to discuss. It’s really great way to keep a pulse on what matters to the engineering org, with council notes shared publicly over Slack. 2. A culture of collaboration 🤝 As we get bigger and have more and more teams, we wanted to ensure that people continued to help each other out and mentor each other, whether it’s via code review, tech spec review, or architecture review. We do this in a few ways, one of the best being our “Peer Bonus” system. Any Duo can nominate another Duo for a monetary bonus for “going above and beyond” to help out, taking the time to teach and share knowledge, or making a key process improvement. The bonus and recognition is sent to their entire team so that we’re incentivizing this kind of positive, collaborative behavior. 3. Time away from the desk 🥪 Social time is really important at Duolingo. I think one of the coolest things we’ve managed to preserve as we grow is that we all eat lunch together every day. New Duos are always so surprised to see Luis von Ahn in the cafeteria! It’s such a special hour and people really respect it—if someone schedules a meeting over lunch, it must be a really urgent meeting. These are just a few examples! Since engineering is the biggest org at Duolingo, we’re often the testing ground for new processes and changes (our experimentation culture is literally everywhere!) For the most part, I think we’ve done a good job… though maybe some Duos miss coming into work at noon 🤣 #workplaceculture #engineeringculture #changemanagement

I have a 478 day streak on Duolingo. Here's what they've taught me about building an audience and how to keep people engaged with your content: 1. Give everything away for free. There's a reason they have more than 21 million daily active users. You can go through multiple courses on Duolingo, never pay a single penny, and have a great experience. They show up with value, and people gladly keep giving their attention. And attention is more valuable than money in the long term. 2. Community learning doesn't have to look like DMs and discussion boards. I follow fewer than 20 people on Duolingo. They're all my family and friends. There would never be a scenario where I would even remotely care to be able to DM one of them in-app. But it's fun to be able to work on challenges together asynchronously, and to see & celebrate their progress. The result: Duolingo is a frequent topic at family gatherings and social events. It makes me think about what other powerful ways there are to facilitate community and connection that go beyond networking and discussion forums. 3. Play the long game. In a sea of apps that require a purchase just to get basic access and 3-day free trials that ask for a subscription fee immediately after-- Duolingo is giving everything away for free. They didn't get any money from me for over 6 months, even though I was using their app every day. But at some point, their free plan wasn't enough for me anymore. They didn't ask for my purchase. I sought it out on my own. When free content is valuable enough, people will eventually ask to pay to get more. 4. Give people something to lose (or gain). I would genuinely grieve if I lost my Duolingo streak. Daily language learning has become a discipline for me. Losing my streak would feel like falling off the wagon. And seeing my streak increase feels like a daily affirmation that I'm moving forward. It's a reminder of how small actions compound over time. As I work to build my own brand, and those of others, I'm constantly thinking about what Duolingo has built. They've inspired me to: • Show up with value for free as often as possible • Create a sense of community and belonging in out-of-the-box ways • Build with the long term in mind • Give people quick wins that compound into life-changing habits P.S.- I'm considering throwing myself a 500 days of Duolingo party. Will post pictures if it actually happens. 🤣 🎉

🔥 Just hit a 1-year streak learning Japanese on Duolingo! 🇯🇵 This milestone made me reflect – How does Duolingo manage to keep me, and so many others, consistently engaged in learning? As someone in Product Management, I dived deep into Duolingo's features and retention tactics. During my research, I stumbled upon a TED talk by Luis von Ahn, the CEO and co-founder of Duolingo, which shed light on the story behind their vision. The insights gained led me to a broader reflection on the role of a sincere and honest vision in driving a product's success. I've compiled all these thoughts and findings in an article. Check it out!

I’m in a feature piece for a side project I’ve been working on! (outside of my work responsibilities at Segment) My brother Will Penman and I have been working on various projects at the intersection of ChatGPT and academic research writing, and they’ve culminated in a web app for improving your research papers, no prompt engineering required. Will’s a true master of prompt engineering, and he brought his academic background to the table to help users generate consistently improved revisions compared to just asking ChatGPT to “improve this paragraph” (IYKYK). I’ve been the technical lead and have enjoyed exploring the serverless ecosystem with NextJS on Vercel; the site component & logic code, managing deployments, Stripe payment processing, integrating with OpenAI’s API, authentication, and all the other small things that have to happen to actually launch a web project. I’m lowkey exploring what a career change to being a software engineer could look like, and this project is another experiment for me as I continue learning what excites me about writing code. One thing I’ve been learning is that I don’t really want a frontend-only web role; I don’t find the UI design challenges are scratching the itch that I need scratched by themselves. Still, there were a lot of things I really enjoyed while building this app, and I’m proud of what we’ve built and I want to share it! [Caveat - in many ways its still a demo (e.g. an unwelcoming landing page login experience, limiting users to only 5 paragraph revisions and no mechanism to upgrade to get more revisions, some choppiness with element loading and renders), but it’s one that makes me proud. ] Check out the article and the app at [app.writingproprompts.com]

Learning a new language is quite the adventure, and Duolingo often feels like the right companion with its timely nudges. These alerts are designed to spark engagement, but their impact can be a double-edged sword. While these notifications are meant to nudge users towards productive behaviors, they may invoke aversion and demotivation for some. I've managed to keep up a 100-day streak, but it’s the encouragement, not the fear of falling behind, that keeps me going. Such early morning alerts can feel overwhelming and lead to a sense of never being able to 'switch off'. In the industry, such nudges are a balancing act—meant to engage, they can sometimes overwhelm. Ultimately, the efficacy of these nudges hinges on individual preference. So, I'm curious, what kind of motivation cuts through for you, words of encouragement or the fear of falling behind? #Duolingo #LanguageLearning #DailyMotivation

People always ask me about the "secret" to growth at Duolingo. There's not one single thing that propels our growth, but an overall sense of urgency drives all of our teams to find success. A great post from our Senior Director of Engineering Sean Colombo on how we move quickly without sacrificing excellence: https://lnkd.in/eqnnAQhi #engineering #growthmindset #growthstrategy

🌟 Letting go 🌟 It can feel like January comes with pressure to take on new things. I'm pretty good at picking up new habits, but not so great at breaking old ones. Up until 12/30/23, I had a decent Duolingo streak—1073 days! Keeping the streak became a daily habit, but somewhere along the way, my focus shifted and I had completely lost the spirit of learning. I was opening the app each day and revisiting the same story again and again, not to work on language skills, but to keep the streak flame lit. 🙄 I knew I had to give myself permission to abandon the streak. After a few weeks of mulling it over, I decided I'd break up with Duo on the last day of 2023. Resisting Duo that last day was agony, but my mini-rebellion also came with a bit of a rush. The minute I turned off the notifications and removed the app from my phone's home screen, I felt lighter. It's now 8 days into 2024, and although part of me can't help but feel like I'm missing something, it feels great to be free of that pesky owl! The thing is, I KNOW that gamification can quickly turn sour for me. I've built compassion into my other habits so I don't lose the intent in the name of keeping momentum. For example, I have a sheet that I color in for each day that I hit my movement goal. I'm an easy grader, and I've set a low bar for what amount of movement qualifies. My goal isn't a perfect streak, it's not having two "gray" days in a row of no movement. I've had THIS habit for over three years, and the compassion I've built into it helps make it a sustainable one. So what did my run with Duo teach me? —It gave me a chance to recognize when something isn't serving me. —It reinforced that *I already know* what doesn't work for me (and to trust that). —And it gave me the opportunity to practice letting go more quickly. Letting go is HARD. Over time, I hope to get better at letting go sooner. Practicing letting go more quickly when the stakes are low will help me let go more quickly when it's tougher to do so. It's a muscle I'm trying to strengthen, so I welcome more reps and sets. —How hard is letting go for you? —What are you holding onto that doesn't serve you? How do you know? —What do you need in order to let it go? #letitgo #selfawareness #growth #coaching #lettinggo

Mentoring is one of my favourite things to do and it helps me develop as well.

Intro: Greetings LinkedIn community! 🌟 During my journey through Automobile Engineering, a passion for learning German emerged, fueled by dreams of pursuing a Master's degree in Germany. Traditional language classes provided a foundation, but it was Duolingo that truly ignited my language-learning odyssey. The app’s ingenious blend of bite-sized lessons, gamification, and clever notifications not only engaged me but also made the learning process a delightful adventure. As I delve into this week's theme of App Notifications for the Learning-In-Public Challenges at NextLeap Product Management Fellowship, Duolingo stands as a prime example of effective notification strategies. This post marks the second in a series of six product teardowns, and I am thrilled to share the insights I've gathered. Product Breakdown Deck Highlights: In this breakdown, we explore how Duolingo, with its innovative use of gamification, personalized learning, and astute notification system, creates an immersive language learning experience. From dissecting its engaging user interface to unraveling the data-driven growth strategies, every facet of Duolingo's approach is meticulously examined. We unravel the secrets behind its organic growth, the impactful use of notifications, and the nuanced user segmentation strategies that keep learners hooked. Why Duolingo Matters: Duolingo is not just an app; it's a bridge to dreams and opportunities. For me, it made learning German not just a task, but a passion. The smart notifications system ensured my consistent engagement, making my dream of studying in Germany feel more achievable. This breakdown isn’t just a deep dive into an app; it’s an exploration of how technology can transform aspirations into tangible achievements. Join the Conversation: I invite you to join the discussion! Share your thoughts, experiences, or questions about Duolingo, language learning, or app notifications in the comments below. Let's engage in a vibrant conversation about how technology can empower our dreams and bridge cultures. Thank you for being a part of this learning journey! Stay tuned for more exciting product teardowns and insights. Together, let's decode the magic behind our favorite apps. 🚀✨ #NextLeap #ProductTeardown #LearnInPublic #NextleapFellowship #AppNotifications #Duolingo #LanguageLearning #TechInEducation #EdTechInnovation #TechProductAnalysis #UserEngagement #ProductManagement

🤔 Why is Scrum important? Scrum is a lot like a metronome in a music ensemble setting. 🎶 A metronome is a time-keeping device that makes a click sound at a specific interval. It’s a tool that works well in two scenarios: 1️⃣ An ensemble of musicians who are still working on mastering their individual techniques. 2️⃣ An ensemble of expert musicians who haven’t played together a new piece of music and haven’t yet built chemistry for working with one another, or with the new music. Similarly, Scrum can help create a pulse for newly forming teams, or teams that need to level up their talent and find a common beat. It initially requires well-written tickets 🎟️, thoughtful criteria 🤔, lots of planning 📅, and ceremonies carefully executed. But as the team matures, there is less and less need for the process and too much detail. Similarly, musicians who play together a lot, hardly use a metronome. They also hardly write elaborate music charts (i.e. requirements). A lot of things get executed in an unspoken way and people see eye to eye more often. 👀👥 The manager of a heavy Scrum team could feel a lot like the high school band teacher 🎷🎺, if that is what is called for in a specific team. But ultimately, as the team matures, they should strive to become an orchestra conductor 🎻. A conductor may still hold a baton, but it is not a metronome. At this stage, musicians know the music by heart ❤️🎵, they don’t need someone to guide them through every passage, note by note. They are the experts of the piece. However, many ask: if the musicians know the music, why do you even need a conductor? 🤷♂️ The role of the conductor is to bring the musicians together as one voice 🗣️🎶 and tell one story 📖🎭 in the most captivating way possible to deliver the best possible performance. You also want your musicians to be happy doing what they do 😃🎼, the audience wanting to come for more 👏, investors getting their returns 💰💼, and everyone else involved feeling rewarded, recognized, and appreciated. And that can be a very difficult job to do. Deepa Venkatraman, Kathryn Piskura, Shellon Williams, Jeanne Kemper #scrum #agiletransformation #agilemindset #leadership