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Masters of Scale

A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Startups, Business, Mindset, Management, Bob Safian, Entrepreneurship, Diversity & Inclusion, Reid Hoffman, Jeff Berman

4.64.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 October 2021

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Crowdsourcing is more than a group of people interested in the same cause, it’s a way to tap skills – and scale – that you don’t have. And when it works, it can be the rocket fuel that launches you to scale further than you could have ever imagined. No one knows this better than Luis von Ahn, founder and CEO of Duolingo. Duolingo is a language app with over 300 million users worldwide, who complete over 7 billion exercises a month. It’s their passion for learning that drives them to create even more content for the app – igniting the rocket fuel that Duolingo needs. Cameo appearance by Elizabeth Sampat (game designer and author). 

Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/luis-von-ahn/

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Real leaders don't back down when the stakes are high. They innovate. They push forward,

0:07.5

and then they take the stage at the Masters of Scale Summit.

0:11.6

Join us in San Francisco, October 7th to 9th to hear from the CEO of the New York Times,

0:17.1

scientists using cutting-edge technology to find cures, the leader of crypto powerhouse

0:22.0

Coinbase, a retired four-star general, and many, many more.

0:26.7

Apply now at mastersofscale.com slash apply 25.

0:31.7

That's masters of scale.com slash apply 25.

0:36.9

Your company's data is everywhere in systems, in silos and across teams. But if your

0:42.8

AI can't reach it, then that data isn't working for you. Every business has unique data,

0:48.0

what really makes a difference is how you use it. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever

0:53.4

it lives to change how you do business.

0:56.5

Let's create smarter business, IBM.

1:04.0

I was going to make a gym.

1:08.8

That was going to be free.

1:12.1

Anybody could go there. Imagine it's a free gym. It's amazing.

1:16.8

That's Luis von On, founder of language learning app, Duolingo, describing a game-changing idea he had at the age of 12 to disrupt the fitness world.

1:27.4

I thought this was a unique idea that was going to completely revolutionize the world.

1:32.3

What was it that made this idea so revolutionary?

1:36.3

It would harness the power of gym goers to generate electricity.

1:44.6

We're going to connect all the exercise equipment to the power grid, and we're going to sell

1:49.0

that electricity to the power company, and that's how we were going to make money.

1:53.0

Young Luis feverishly doodled weird and wonderful designs for his free gym.

...

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