Luis von Ahn, Co-Founder and CEO of Duolingo — How to Be (Truly) Mission-Driven, Monetization Experiments, 10x Growth, Org Chart Iterations for Impacting Metrics, The Intricate Path to an IPO, Best Hiring Practices, Catching Exam Cheaters, The Allure of Toto Toilets, The Future of Duolingo, and How to Stand Out in Your Career (#607)

“Whenever someone asks you to do something after a long time, change the frame and say, ‘What if there was tomorrow? Would you like to do it or not?’ Almost always the answer is, ‘No, I definitely don’t want to do this tomorrow.’ And then you should answer on that basis.”

— Louis von Ahno

louis von ahno ,@LuisvonAhn) is an entrepreneurial and consulting professor at Carnegie Mellon University, considered one of the pioneers of crowdsourcing. He is known for co-inventing CAPTCHA, being a partner of MacArthur, and selling two companies to Google in his twenties.

He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, a language-learning platform designed to bring free language education to the world. With over 500 million users, it is now the most popular language-learning platform and the most downloaded education app in the world.

Louis has been named one of Fantastic 10 By popular Science, one of the following 50 Best Minds in Science By discoverone of the following 35. innovators younger than By MIT Technology Reviewand one of them 100 Most Creative People in Business By fast company, Lewis in 2018. also won Lemelson-MIT AwardLargest Cash Prize for Invention in America

Please enjoy!

listen to the episode Apple Podcasts, Spotify, overcast, podcast addict, pocket cast, castbox, google podcasts, sewing machine, amazon music, Or on your favorite podcast platform. you can also Watch the interview on YouTube here,

offered to you by Athletic Greens all in one nutritional supplement, helix sleep premium mattressAnd LinkedIn Jobs Recruitment platform with 800M+ users. More on all three below.

transcript of this episode can be found here, tapes of all episodes can be found here,

ListenApple Podcasts

ListenSpotify

Listenovercast

This episode is brought to you Athletic Greens, I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” my answer is usually AG1 By Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutrition insurance. i recommended it 4 hour body in 2010 and didn’t get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-rich food, but AG Next covers my base with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.

Right now, Athletic Greens Giving You Their Vitamin D Liquid Formula Free With Your First Membership PurchaseAn important nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. meeting AthleticGreens.com/Tim Claim this special offer today and get a free Vitamin D Liquid Formula (and five free travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a year’s supply of vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive all-in-one Daily Greens product.

This episode is brought to you helix sleep, Helix was selected as the #1 overall mattress of 2020 GQ magazinewired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. with helixThere is a specific mattress to meet the unique comfort needs of each body. Just take their quiz-only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleeping preferences with the right mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you can try it for a hundred nights, risk-free. If you don’t love it, they’ll even pick it up from you. And now, Helix is ​​offering up to $200 off all mattress orders plus two free pillows HelixSleep.com/Tim,

want to hear When was the last time Louis Von Ah appeared on the show? listen to our conversation hereIn which we discuss why Louis left Google before the completion of his vesting phase, the pros and cons of running a tech company, Duolingo’s evolving business model, how Duolingo compares to college instruction, how Luis Computers Investigates and recruits science engineers, entrepreneurial resources, and many more,

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? please tell me in the comments,

Scroll down for the link and show notes…

Selected links from episodes

• connected with louis von ahno,

Twitter , linkedin

show notes

• [05:03] Duolingo why the owl is green
• [06:47] The main reasons behind the creation of Duolingo, and how Duolingo has evolved over the years
• [12:48] Duolingo’s Monetization Efforts That Weren’t Very Successful
• [21:06] After initial reluctance, how were Duolingo employees convinced there was a need for monetization?
• [25:06] As machine-driven translation services become more sophisticated, will humans still want to learn other languages ​​through Duolingo?
• [29:31] The most searched/influential languages ​​currently in the Duolingo system
• [39:14] The evolution of Duolingo’s org chart
• [45:40] Why Duolingo uses daily metrics
• [48:33] book recommendations
• [50:26] Lewis’s Most Worthwhile Investment
• [52:20] new beliefs, behaviors, or habits
• [55:20] Recent Life Changing Purchases
• [1:02:39] What Louis’s Updated 2022 Billboard Could Say
• [1:06:14] What does Luis mean when he refers to Duolingo’s “mission” and how the company’s tall outlook affects decision-making
• [1:12:34] How Duolingo Hires Good Candidates for the Long Term
• [1:18:50] Why and how did Duolingo go public?
• [1:25:42] The biggest challenges Louis faces as CEO of a public company
• [1:30:50] Duolingo is expanding to teach more than languages
• [1:36:18] Duolingo English test: an at-home proficiency test accepted by 4,200 academic programs worldwide
• [1:39:51] How Louis’ expertise in catching fraudsters during his time as a professor at Carnegie Mellon makes Duolingo products more trustworthy as accredited sources
• [1:43:39] Brief conversation with Louis’ personal trainer who changed his regular breakfast—into a different regular breakfast
• [1:44:38] Advice for young, motivated people entering the working world
• [1:48:07] How Louis has gotten better at saying “no”.
• [1:49:56] Louis’ request and parting thoughts from the audience

more guest quotes from interviews

“Something like 97 percent of our active users use Duolingo for free. Still, we make more money than all other education apps. We’re very proud of it.”
— Louis von Ahno

“If you’re not brushing with an electric toothbrush, you’re doing it wrong.”
— Louis von Ahno

“The attitude of simply finding a way to be useful takes you a long way.”
— Louis von Ahno

“Hopefully, most people have seen the Duolingo owl. It’s our mascot. First, it’s an owl because in most Western countries, the owl represents wisdom. Turns out this isn’t true at all in Asia. Now While we’re expanding into Asia, people ask us, ‘Why are you using owls? Owls are just vicious animals.'”
— Louis von Ahno

“Whenever someone asks you to do something after a long time, change the frame and say, ‘What if there was tomorrow? Would you like to do it or not?’ Almost always the answer is, ‘No, I definitely don’t want to do this tomorrow.’ And then you should answer on that basis.”
— Louis von Ahno

people mentioned

Related and recommended

The Tim Ferris Show one is One of the most popular podcasts in the world with over 700 million downloads. It has been voted “Best Apple Podcast” three times, is often the #1 interview podcast among all Apple podcasts, and has been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on multiple occasions. To listen to any previous episode for free, watch this page,