Von Ahn’s second tip focused on proactivity, encouraging employees to solve problems rather than just complain about them. He cited the example of Duolingo’s company blog. “Early on, we didn’t have a company blog. Two engineers handled this differently,” he said. “Engineer A: Spent months complaining to me. ‘We don’t have a blog! What are you going to do about it?’ Engineer B: Came to me once and said, “I noticed we don’t have a blog, so I started one.’”
The CEO’s third piece of advice centered on prioritization and work-life balance. He told new hires to think in order: “What’s best for the company’s mission? What’s best for your team? What’s best for you?” But he was clear about boundaries: “This doesn’t mean work yourself to death. But people who focus on what’s good for Duolingo’s mission tend to do better than people who are purely selfish.”
Von Ahn’s remaining tips included using the Duolingo app regularly to understand the product and recognizing that career success requires both luck and persistence. “You don’t have to be the most brilliant person. You just have to show up and keep going until luck finds you,” he wrote.
