Duolingo: The Best Way to Learn a Language

Join Spandana Bhattacharya and Javier Torres as they talk to Cem Kansu, Vice President of Product Management at Duolingo. Cem is a fellow Whartonite, graduating with an MBA in 2016 who worked at Google prior to school.

We’re sure by now you’ve seen their funny, ubiquitous green owl mascot (if not, check out Duo on TikTok), but Duolingo’s mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available is no joke. Boasting over 100 courses in 40 distinct languages, including High Valyrian and Klingon, the leading global edtech platform has been downloaded more than 500 million times and is the world’s most popular way to learn languages. Duolingo uses a data-driven, mobile-first approach to help the ~1.8 billion people in the world learning a foreign language do so in a new, efficient and convenient way.

In this episode, we talk to Cem about monetization, Duolingo’s approach to experimentation, and their diversification to math learning. During Cem’s time, Duolingo went from $0 to $300 million in revenue, and we delve into what went into the decision to launch the subscription model. We also talk about the >500 A/B tests that are run each quarter and how these are used to drive growth. Lastly, we dive into the exciting launches of Duolingo’s new math and literacy apps, a crucial part of the company’s strategy to diversify.