Many tech companies like to keep their secrets close to their chest. At Duolingo, we do the opposite—we share our secrets. Why? We want to be generous with what we have learned. We’re here to make a positive difference in the world and that includes sharing our learnings for other companies to do the same. This is why we’ve released our internal Duolingo Handbook with the world. You can read about the principles that shaped our company, examples that we’ve learned from, and our playbook for how we operate. Here's the whole handbook for your taking. #onlyatduolingo
Duolingo Imagine a world where every young leader speaks the language of change??literally! ?? Duolingo, your transparency in sharing the Duolingo Handbook reminds us of the power of open knowledge ??to spark global movements. At GYC, we’re empowering 1M+ youth across 177+ countries to lead climate literacy, sailing toward a bolder future with our???? OMW20+10 voyage to ????COP30. What if we bridged our ??worlds to inspire the next generation with language focused education? We’d love to dream up something transformative together. ?? so bad we can’t not invite ??we heard the bad news. 1200+ species are vanishing world wide. Still wondering: did the owl knew how to swim ??? ??
I wish you offered remote positions, I would absolutely love to bring my social media/event planning skills to Duo. Even though that green owl haunts me to do my Spanish lesson every day... ?? ??
Thank you for sharing this! It is truly inspiring and helpful. However, I must point out that the end of the second paragraph on page 12 comes across as a bit retrograde. How is it possible that corporations still expect people to prioritize the company over themselves? We are all replaceable in any workplace, so why is it considered acceptable to put corporations first? No employee should ever feel like they have to sacrifice their personal goals to work at a company—especially not at an innovative and forward-thinking place like Duolingo.
Duolingo, what would you consider to be your 'toppest' secret
Can we find the design system also? :D
I will work for Duo one day ?? Just putting this out there into the universe ? ??
Duo was created in a SCP lab, to educate personnel. The entity escaped and is designated "safe" as a benevolent abstract being that poses no (currently known) danger to humanity. ??
You just got to love Duo, doing unprecedented things. I am learning so much. Thank you. PS: I recommend that people save this post. You will keep coming back to it. And just so everyone knows we are all a business, you provide service to your employers that's what your job is. There are so many things you can learn for your personal life.
I've seen this when it first came out, and it's a great handbook for any startup to review and reflect on for their own future. Hey Duolingo - I’m curious, why not include the Shake to Report feature for customers also? It seems like a natural final step in onboarding: See a problem? Shake & Report It! Did user testing reveal any issues with it? Could it be optional? I saw quite a few bugs in my Japanese lessons...
Duolingo really said ‘no gatekeeping’ with this one! ???? Love how openly you share your playbook for success. If anyone is curious to dive even deeper into how Duolingo builds products, we just had Cem Kansu, VP of Product, on our podcast talking all about gamification and driving engagement. It’s a great listen alongside this handbook https://productschool.com/resources/product-podcast/cem-kansu-duolingo-gamification?utm_campaign=202502-mkt_podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin