Hi guys. Hi Lily. Hi Duo.
We see that people already make jokes about Duo looking very similar to another brand, Smashbox.
Oh, I know. I know that one. Free flow chocolate.
Your latest product, is it?
Hi guys. Hi. Can I join here?
Okay. So, I learned that you're actually the one who invented CAPTCHA, is it?
Yes, I am. Sorry. [laughter]
Okay. [laughter] I like that I'm making you laugh for some reason. I don't know why.
Super Robot Wars PlayStation.
Boy, I do.
Active BTS and line.
York.
Founder and CEO. Let's go.
Okay.
Disney NYC, New York City.
Let's go.
Hi guys. Hi Lily. Hi D. Thank you for wearing. High five. High five. High five. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
Okay. Okay.
High five. Oh. Okay. Salam. Yeah.
Duolingo.
Stuffing.
Daddy.
Where to get coffee?
[laughter] [laughter] Okay.
Asia. So, I need a coffee here. Can you just show me how to order one here in Duolingo office?
Yes. Yes. So, we can order a lot of like great, you know, drinks here. There's also like small bites for everyone in case you're hungry.
And also sometimes we do love to work here as well because you see this amazing view, right? How about the pastries? Can I just like take one out?
Absolutely. You are a guest today.
Okay. Sure. You don't want one?
Yeah, I had breakfast. You have breakfast, huh?
Oh, welcome. Nice to meet you.
Yeah. One hot Americano, please.
You can choose what you want.
Is it like for the for the cups or?
So, what's Duolingo's approach in coming into Indonesian market?
We really try to understand the Indonesian audience first, like how they interact online, what maybe lands on them as a joke, what really makes them smile, you know, because we want to make sure that the brand will show up in a way that's truly, truly local and then can put a smile on everyone's face, but then it still keeps like the Duolingo essence. It still sounds unmistakably Duo.
Okay. So you constantly need to get updated on Indonesian trends. Then do you actually keep in touch?
Yes, we do a lot of trend-jacking in Indonesia and also we keep up with the trends every day, like what really makes people talk about.
Oh wow. Is there any learning that you get into approaching Indonesian market? Any interesting stuff to share?
One thing that I remember is when we entered the Indonesian market, we see that people already make jokes about Duo looking very similar to another brand, Smash.
Oh yeah, I know. I know that one. [laughter] I know which one. Yeah, I know which one.
So yeah, I think the jokes are there everywhere. So we just feel like yeah, it's a great chance for us to actually make something about it because people already like it and want to talk about it, right? So why don't we just like champion what people are already talking about and make something fun together.
So yeah, so we did like a great campaign with Icha, and then we leveraged the existing jokes of how similar Duo and then Tapa is, and then put them together in a lot of occasions and it drives a lot of buzz and fun. And I'm glad that you know it because it seems you know like a very viral campaign that...
Yeah, it's very viral. Wow. Looking forward for more Duolingo stuff back in Indonesia.
Thank you, Radit. Yes, please enjoy your coffee.
Sure, sure, sure. I'm going to enjoy my coffee, eating the pastries, and going to look around the office.
Zoom call meeting online.
[laughter] Four.
Pack six-pack.
Okay.
Hi Zan.
Can you introduce yourself to my viewers?
Yeah. Hi, I'm Zan Galani. I'm a product director working on video call.
What's your favorite thing about work these days?
Probably my colleagues. I really like working with them.
And I've been at Duolingo 11 years and I'm from Karachi, Pakistan.
11 years. Yes. Oh my. So, you're from the start then?
Pretty much. Yeah, we were just a very small team back then.
How many people back then?
30 people. It doesn't look this big in the office.
No, it's like more than a thousand now.
Wow. Okay. What can you tell us about your latest product, video call? Is it?
Yes. Well, number one, it's with more characters now, actually. So, you can talk to Lily, Eddie, Lucy, and Fal. And we've made a few changes recently.
So, first off, the feature, what it is, is it's a conversational AI.
And basically, speaking is like a muscle, right? So, you have to put in the reps. And this is a way that allows you to put in the reps.
Otherwise you can spend a lot of time learning, but when you actually meet someone you know in real life, you freeze and you get a little nervous. Video call allows you to put in those reps to prepare you to be confident with a native speaker when you talk to them.
And what we have added recently is, one, you can talk to more characters now. So, people, some people really like talking to Lily, but for others, she's so sarcastic, she's so moody, you know, it's like talking to a cat, you know, and sometimes people want to talk to a dog as well, [laughter] you know.
Free flow chocolate.
Let's go.
Okay.
For free.
Okay.
Hi guys. Hi. Can I join here? Is it okay?
Hi, I'm Raditia from Indonesia.
Nice to meet you. I'm Joy and I'm...
Okay. Just one letter missing, huh? [laughter]
Okay. So, which division do you work in?
Um, we're all in marketing. I'm in influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing. Okay.
Oh, you should do some influencer marketing in Indonesia.
I feel like this is it. I only manage the US, but [laughter] um yes. No, I would love to expand. I would love to travel to work with different countries and cultures.
So, what can you tell me about working here? How's the working hours here?
It's 9-5. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's very varied. Like people from my team, we're not morning people.
So we come here usually around like 10-ish.
And then we leave around like 5 to 6. There are also people who come like, I believe Kevin, you were here like pretty early or maybe like 9-ish.
Leave when like 5 to 6, like depending on what we need.
So, it's not really strict as long as you finish the work.
Oh, wow. How about the leave days for vacation stuff? How many days can you have for a leave?
I think first year you have 20 days.
20 days. Yeah. Later you get more, right? Like you have how many years?
You get like two or three more.
Uh-huh.
They have like a two-week winter break where you basically, with Christmas and New Year's, like you don't even have to worry about taking leave because the whole company is shut down during that time, like a holiday break.
Nobody works during those two because it's like a school.
Is it a common thing for other companies as well?
I just started here and when I heard about that I was like shocked because you normally have to like use your vacation days during that time even though everybody else is off. But yeah, this is crazy.
It's really crazy.
I started in December. I literally like did my training and then like just like went home early to do like a week remote and I had like the last like three weeks just like free basically. Yeah.
It's really nice. How long are you here for?
Don't worry. I'm going back.
What's the time difference?
It's 13 hours difference. Well, you should be asleep by now.
Yeah, but I got so much coffee like today.
Raccoon dance.
Okay.
Sushi, sushi.
[laughter] Mind game.
[snorts] Can you say PVP? Player versus player in MMORPG game online.
Okay.
Okay.
Strategy.
Oh.
Deal.
Come up. One more.
New Yorkers.
Hello, Luis. Hello.
Thank you for inviting us here. It's been a great pleasure to take a tour of your office and seeing stuff around and taking the chocolate out of the... [laughter]
Thank you very much for coming. I hope you like the chocolate.
We take so many chocolates. [laughter] And nice view as well. It's good weather today.
Yes, it's excellent weather.
Yesterday was raining. Yeah.
Okay, let's start with why did you start Duolingo and what kind of problem are you trying to solve with it?
Yeah. So we started Duolingo about 15 years ago.
I wanted to do something that would give equal access to education to everyone.
I grew up in Guatemala, which is a poor country. It's, you know, right underneath Mexico and it is a poor country. And I was fortunate that when I grew up, I got the education of a rich person even though my family was not rich, but I happened to go to a school that was, you know, for rich kids and it was much better education than everybody else was getting. So I could see the difference between the education that somebody who has a lot of money gets versus somebody who doesn't have very much money.
And that always stuck with me. And then when I came to the United States, what I wanted to do was start a company that would give equal access to education.
We decided that, you know, education is very general. We decided to start with teaching languages and the reason for languages is because in particular English, in most countries in the world, if you know English you can make more money.
And so we decided to make a way to learn English for free. But not just English. If we're going to teach English, may as well also teach other languages. So, you know, that's when, you know, we launched basically an app that would teach many languages, not all languages, but many languages for free. I'm very happy that by now, you know, Duolingo is extremely popular all over the world and that it is used by all kinds of people. So, from children to very old people, and also from, you know, refugees to billionaires. I mean, Duolingo is really used by everybody. So I'm very happy that a lot of people are learning on Duolingo.
Can you tell us more about when you were growing up? What was your favorite subject in school?
Math. That was my favorite subject.
In fact, I was never very good. I still am never very good at learning languages. I now know multiple languages, but I am not particularly good at it. What I am good at is something like math or physics. That's what I was...
I grew up in Guatemala City. And one of the things that happened and probably the thing that changed my life the most is when I was 8 years old.
I wanted a Nintendo. I wanted my mother to buy me a Nintendo and she did not buy me a Nintendo. Instead, she bought me a computer, a used computer, and she came back with a used computer and I was very angry because I wanted...
That's exactly what I wanted and I was very angry.
You wanted to play Zelda?
Yes. I wanted to play Zelda and Mario and all my friends were playing Zelda and Mario, but instead my mom bought me this computer with a keyboard and I didn't know what to do with it.
But I had to learn how to use it and that's, you know, that changed my life in the end. I learned how to use computers at an early age.
Oh. As in you learned to code or...
I started... basically at first, so this was in the late 1980s. Computers were much harder to use.
So the first thing I just kind of learned how to navigate the computer. But then eventually I started having to learn how to code. I bought a book about how to learn to code and I learned at age maybe nine.
You learned coding at nine years old?
I did, which today is not that impressive because they were much younger, but back then that was very impressive.
Wow. That's very impressive.
And what did you do with all those?
I tried to make games for myself because I didn't have a Nintendo.
You didn't get a Nintendo and then you just decided, I want to make my own game.
Yes. They were not very good.
They were very bad games, but at least I made my own games. Yes.
Well, but the takeaway is you have this constant hunger for learning. I can say...
I do. I do. I mean, I have two things that are related to Duolingo. I always want to learn more things and the other thing is related to Duolingo.
Most of my life I live with streaks. So for example, the first time I really exercised was about 15 years ago. I have not missed a single day of exercising.
Exercising in 15 years. Sorry. I have exercised every single day in 15 years. It doesn't look like it, but [laughter] I have not missed a day.
Yeah. Yeah. So most everything I do, I'm very constant. I'm a very routine-based person.
So you can say you're a very motivated person. Then...
It's the opposite. I mean, I end up doing that. But in order to continue doing it, I do things like I keep a personal streak, as in like I just kind of don't allow myself to miss a day.
Okay. Going back to your younger years. So what did you do for hobbies then during those years?
Coding is your hobby?
Coding. Lego. Lego. Yeah.
Those when I was young. Yeah. Coding and Lego. Those were my main hobbies.
Okay. So I learned that you're actually the one who invented CAPTCHA. Is it?
Yes. I am sorry. [laughter]
But you actually made reCAPTCHA.
This is true, right? And then you sold it to Google if I remember. You sold to Google.
Yes. Yes. And I am not sorry for that. [laughter]
It seems like you're in this streak of making successful products. Can you share what is the secret sauce on doing it?
Many people have asked me what the secret sauce is and I don't think there is one other than working really hard.
Yeah. I mean, generally, you know, with Duolingo, we've been working on Duolingo for 15 years. The first few years it was not that big of a success. We just kept on working on it. I think if you work on something that solves a real problem for people, and you work on it really hard, you have a higher likelihood of success. You may still not succeed, but you have a higher likelihood of success. By the way, at Duolingo, we have launched a few things that did not work. So it's not like we succeed at everything we do. We've launched a few things that didn't work.
Okay. So it depends on how you view those failures and then what you can learn from those failures.
Yeah, learning from failure is really important. I think every time that whenever something does not work at Duolingo, one of the things we do is we have a meeting that's called after-action review where we all sit there and we try to figure out what we can learn from it. What did we do wrong? And if we were to do it again, how would we do it differently?
And that's actually quite valuable. I mean, we've learned a lot from our failures, and that matters a lot.
Okay. Me, I really like free stuff.
You like free stuff. Okay. I think most people do. I like free stuff, too.
Most people do. I like free stuff, right?
So, what can you share about Duolingo's framework and how to make people who use it for free want to pay for the premium version?
At the highest level, what we want is that if you use Duolingo and you get value out of it, and you can afford to pay, we want you to pay. So if you can afford to pay and you get value out of it, it is only fair that you pay us because running Duolingo costs hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
So if it is fair, but if you cannot afford to pay or for some reason have a difficulty in paying, then we actually want you to use it for free. That is at the highest level.
And what we do is basically we offer a very good free product where you can actually learn without having to pay us.
But we do have to offer certain things for those who pay to encourage them to pay.
In our case, if you pay, you turn off ads. So if you don't pay, you have to see ads.
That's one thing. And then another big one is if you pay, you get conversational practice. And that helps you learn better. And by the way, the reason we charge for the conversational practice is because it's not free for us to give you the conversational practice. It's actually expensive to use the AI to give you conversational practice. So you have to pay.
The conversational practice is video with Lily.
Yeah, video call with Lily. I mean, if you talk with Zan, he's the product manager for that. He's the leader.
I think it's a very cool innovation.
It's very cool.
I'm very happy with that. You know, before, we've only had that feature for maybe two years. Before that, we could not get people to practice conversation.
Because the only way we knew how to get people to practice conversation was to pair them with another human.
