I visited Duolingo’s office
I actually didn’t, but stay with me
PS: Please note that this is solely a work of fiction based on the Duolingo handbook. Don’t go seeking a Duolingo office tour! :))
How’d I get an invite to Duolingo’s office?
You don’t need one.
Just walk in & show the security guard your Duolingo streak. If it’s more than 500 days, they’ll let you in no questions asked. (just kidding! It doesn’t work that way)
To do what? you ask. Nothing special, I was just nosy.
But it was fun & I sat with Duo’s Daddy/CEO — Luis & asked him questions about his son & how it all came to be.
Shall we?
“Our mission is to make education accessible one terrifying notification at a time”
🦉 The beginning
1st thing I asked Duo’s Daddy was — “how did this all start?”
He told me: “I had just sold my first company, reCAPTCHA, in 2009 so I had a lot of money & I was bored.
I thought of a sector that was lacking & wondered what I could do to solve a problem in this sector. So we set out to build something groundbreaking — the kind of educational tool our children and grandchildren might still be using”
Me: What guided you guys in the early days
DD: The mantra “don’t do dumb s**t”
Me: what does this mean 👀
DD: It basically means “To Take the Long View.”
We knew that to have any shot at meaningful success, we had to stay away from gimmicks and tricks that might seem helpful in the short-term but hurt us down the road
Me: what sort of gimmicks?
DD: gimmicks like running lots of ads in the app in the early days in order to make money. Sure, this would’ve helped us make profit early, but we also knew many people would run off from consistently taking lessons because of how annoying ads are.
We are a long-term focused company & that reflects in everything we do.
Me: So how did you make money early on?
DD: huhhh, we didn’t. But remember I had just sold a company? So most of the cost was out of pocket. It was worth it.
“Using Duolingo is like eating broccoli but tasting ice cream. You enjoy it and you get something valuable out of it”
🦉 The middle
Me: You guys are fun & you already know that. Question is why are you people so unserious? Why do you like playing too much?
DD: *after laughing* the thing is the Duo app is made to be sticky in the short term and transformative in the long term.
We also know that learning — particularly language learning — requires regular practice over extended periods of time, else it won’t stick. That’s why we prioritize user retention and have spent years perfecting the Streak feature.
We also know that fun & entertainment is 2nd to human nature. No matter what you’re doing, if it’s fun, it’s a better experience.
So we did not just re-design Duolingo to be “juicy”, we also included gamification features, constant notification, and a better learning experience. All to make sure that our users keep coming back & keep getting value for their time.
Me: fairs.
Next question is how do you guys maintain such a warm work environment? I’ve been looking at your colleague’s faces & I notice how everyone is all smiles & carefree. How do you all still do serious work despite all that playfulness?
DD: haha we have this mantra — Hard on the Work, Easy on the People
Our culture is famously warm and friendly, but this can also make it hard to have tough conversations.
So we focus on giving constructive, clear feedback that sharpens ideas without undermining relationships.
We stick to the “what,” not the “who.”
It also means being open to receiving feedback and not taking it personally. This candid, constructive approach allows us to hold each other to high standards while fostering trust and collaboration.
We also practice this thing called “dogfooding”
Me: que es?
DD: basically means everyone makes use of the app every day. We do this to ensure that we ourselves love the product and that bugs are spotted and resolved quickly.
To make this process even more effective, we built Shake to Report, a simple tool that lets anyone in the company snapshot and report an issue instantly by shaking their device. It’s effective, it’s fun.
Me: *gestures for his phone to try out shake to report* hmm fair enough, I see it.
🦉 The end
Me: Let’s talk hiring, what principles guide how you onboard people to work with you? Me for example. How can I come work here?
DD: It’s pretty simple really, we insist on bringing in exceptional talent — individuals who stand out not just in their skills but in their character.
Me: say more plis
DD: Okay, lemme give you an example; we once passed on a senior executive for a role we had been trying to fill for over a year because they weren’t kind.
They aced their interviews and had a strong resume but were disrespectful to the driver who picked them up from the airport. That single moment told us what we needed to know. Excellence isn’t just what you do — it’s how you treat others.
*I sat there trying to remember if I smiled & was nice to the security guard from earlier when I noticed a big green bag in the corner with tons of folded origami papers spilling out of it*
Me: what’s that? *points to the bag*
DD: *looks in the direction of my finger* oh that. That’s what we call the “99 Bad Ideas” bag.
Me: ??
DD: Some of our best features and campaigns have come from asking ridiculous, unlikely questions.
We practice this with a tradition called “99 Bad Ideas,” where we brainstorm outrageous concepts — like Duo’s latest hijinks, or changing our stock ticker to LILY.
This spirit extends across the organization, where we make space for challenging assumptions and asking bold questions like — what if you could talk with Duolingo characters? What would Duo do with five seconds at the Super Bowl? What if language certification tests could be taken at home?
Over the years, these types of questions have helped us consistently uncover new opportunities to delight our learners and advance our mission.
Me: coooool. Basically, finding quality ideas from a dump of bad ones.
DD: *gives me a thumbs up*
Me: We’ll be done soon, I have to get back to my cat. I know you also have to get back to your son.
But last question — If you could mention 5 principles guiding your…company, what would they be?
DD: Easy.
- TL: DR first. Don’t talk too much, give us the main points, then show the results
- Disagree and commit. Even if you don’t agree with an idea, commit to testing it out.
- Contribute. Everyone has a “trust battery” that charges when they contribute 🔋
- Make it fun
- Set Guardrails and Think Long-Term
Me: that’s six points but I’ll take it.
DD: you’re too kind. Can I go now? Are we done?
Hello reader, I hope this was fun to read :)
This post was originally published on my Substack newsletter, ZigZag Zee. Join in on the fun by subscribing… 👉🏼 ZigZag Zee 💤
Again, this whole conversation was born from the Duolingo Handbook.
I thought it would be a nice one to share.
If you’d like to check it out too; 🔗here you go
Also, if you’re looking for a sign to start/continue learning a new language, this is it 👍🏼
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…where the fun is more frequent ;)
