Episode
#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
2:19:34
Published: Tue Jan 26 2016
Description
Luis von Ahn (@luisvonahn) is an entrepreneur and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He is known for inventing CAPTCHAs, being a MacArthur Fellow ("genius grant" recipient), and selling two companies to Google in his 20's. Luis has been named one of the 10 Most Brilliant Scientists by Popular Science Magazine, one of the 50 Best Brains in Science by Discover, one of the Top Young Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review, and one of the 100 Most Innovative People in Business by FastCompany Magazine. Luis is currently the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, a language learning platform created to bring free language education to the world. With more than 100 million users, it is the most popular way to learn languages in the world, and it is the most downloaded app in the Education category on both iTunes (5-star average, 3,300+ reviews) and Google Play. I first met Luis as an early investor in Duolingo, and every time I meet him, I learn something new. In this conversation, we talk about: What 2-3 books and resources he'd recommend to entrepreneurs Language learning tips The clever way he caught cheating students at Carnegie Mellon Early mentors and key lessons learned The story of building and selling reCAPTCHA How to recruit and vet technical talent Duolingo's most surprising sources of users, and much more... Enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs. I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run. This episode is also brought to you by Headspace, the world’s most popular meditation app (more than 4,000,000 users). It’s used in more than 150 countries, and many of my closest friends swear by it. Try Headspace’s free Take10 program — 10 minutes of guided meditation a day for 10 days. It’s like a warm bath for your mind. Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, and it’s had a huge impact on my life. Try Headspace for free for a few days and see what I mean.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapters
The podcast is interrupted by an advertisement for 5 Bullet Friday, a newsletter created by the host, and Athletic Greens, an all-in-one nutritional insurance product.
00:00 - 03:30 (03:30)
Summary
The podcast is interrupted by an advertisement for 5 Bullet Friday, a newsletter created by the host, and Athletic Greens, an all-in-one nutritional insurance product.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss interviews Luis von Ahn, an entrepreneur and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who is known for inventing CAPTCHAs and creating Duolingo, a language learning platform.
03:30 - 07:30 (04:00)
Summary
Tim Ferriss interviews Luis von Ahn, an entrepreneur and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who is known for inventing CAPTCHAs and creating Duolingo, a language learning platform. They discuss von Ahn's favorite books, language learning tips, and building and selling companies like reCAPTCHA.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses their experience catching cheaters in a large class by creating websites that record IP addresses and offering students a chance to confess and receive a zero on the assignment.
07:30 - 11:57 (04:27)
Summary
The speaker discusses their experience catching cheaters in a large class by creating websites that record IP addresses and offering students a chance to confess and receive a zero on the assignment. The policy of not allowing students to Google answers was enforced, leading to some false confessions.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Jeff Dean shares stories about his childhood in Guatemala, his early fascination with computer games, and his respect for teachers who can explain complex subjects in simple ways, like the late Richard Feynman.
11:58 - 22:20 (10:22)
Summary
Jeff Dean shares stories about his childhood in Guatemala, his early fascination with computer games, and his respect for teachers who can explain complex subjects in simple ways, like the late Richard Feynman.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The creation of CAPTCHAs started in the year 2000 when Luis von Ahn was searching for a PhD thesis project and partnered with Manuel Blum.
22:20 - 28:30 (06:10)
Summary
The creation of CAPTCHAs started in the year 2000 when Luis von Ahn was searching for a PhD thesis project and partnered with Manuel Blum. They created the distorted character test to distinguish between human and computer sign-ups.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this episode, the speaker discusses the topic of intellectual property ownership and how universities can have ownership over your work if you are a student or an employee.
28:30 - 34:38 (06:07)
Summary
In this episode, the speaker discusses the topic of intellectual property ownership and how universities can have ownership over your work if you are a student or an employee. He also shares his experience of digitizing the New York Times and starting a company outside of the university because they could not do work for hire.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Duolingo's interview process involves two remote interviews and four on-site interviews, including problem-solving exercises and pair programming.
34:38 - 41:14 (06:35)
Summary
Duolingo's interview process involves two remote interviews and four on-site interviews, including problem-solving exercises and pair programming. Hiring managers assess if candidates are self-starters, maintain a positive attitude and work well with others.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Founding partner of Union Square Ventures, Fred Wilson, discusses the difficulties of building a startup in Pittsburgh related to infrastructure and lack of experienced professionals.
41:14 - 51:11 (09:57)
Summary
Founding partner of Union Square Ventures, Fred Wilson, discusses the difficulties of building a startup in Pittsburgh related to infrastructure and lack of experienced professionals.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Duolingo, a language-learning app, was created to provide equal access to education for people of all social classes.
51:11 - 57:33 (06:21)
Summary
Duolingo, a language-learning app, was created to provide equal access to education for people of all social classes. The app started as a project where people could help translate popular web pages and has since grown to offer free language education to people all around the world.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Around 15 billion dollars annually are spent on English certification tests, used for university applications, multinational job positions, and work visas.
57:33 - 1:03:09 (05:36)
Summary
Around 15 billion dollars annually are spent on English certification tests, used for university applications, multinational job positions, and work visas. Duolingo has tapped into this market with an app called the Duolingo Test Center that allows individuals to certify their knowledge of English without having to go to a testing center, which can cost up to a thousand dollars.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Dualingo has partnered with Uber to conduct tests for a new Uber service called "Uber English."
1:03:09 - 1:09:45 (06:35)
Summary
Dualingo has partnered with Uber to conduct tests for a new Uber service called "Uber English." Additionally, Dualingo is working with universities to study the correlation between the standardized test and the ability of their applicants and to promote the use of their test in addition to the standard test in universities.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Duolingo surprised many when it launched its Irish language course, and has continued by teaching romanizations for learners who don't want to learn the alphabet, and may do something similar for Chinese.
1:09:45 - 1:14:37 (04:52)
Summary
Duolingo surprised many when it launched its Irish language course, and has continued by teaching romanizations for learners who don't want to learn the alphabet, and may do something similar for Chinese.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Duolingo, the popular language learning app, has announced plans to create conversation-driven, gamified apps for learning subjects beyond languages, believing their strong approach to language learning can be implemented in other areas.
1:14:37 - 1:20:45 (06:08)
Summary
Duolingo, the popular language learning app, has announced plans to create conversation-driven, gamified apps for learning subjects beyond languages, believing their strong approach to language learning can be implemented in other areas.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The key to effectively learning a new language is to listen to movies in the target language, however, limiting your sessions to 20-30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, has shown to be the most successful strategy based on available data.
1:20:45 - 1:29:22 (08:36)
Summary
The key to effectively learning a new language is to listen to movies in the target language, however, limiting your sessions to 20-30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, has shown to be the most successful strategy based on available data.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker shares his interest in learning expressions from different languages as a way to connect with people and make them laugh.
1:29:22 - 1:36:18 (06:56)
Summary
The speaker shares his interest in learning expressions from different languages as a way to connect with people and make them laugh.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The co-founder of Duolingo shares his morning routine which includes checking email and metrics on their in-house dashboard.
1:36:18 - 1:45:56 (09:37)
Summary
The co-founder of Duolingo shares his morning routine which includes checking email and metrics on their in-house dashboard. He also details some surprising sources of user acquisition, including TV appearances and St. Patrick's Day.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker expresses their admiration for the culture of companies like Google and the challenges of maintaining such culture as the number of employees grows.
1:45:56 - 1:52:09 (06:13)
Summary
The speaker expresses their admiration for the culture of companies like Google and the challenges of maintaining such culture as the number of employees grows. They also mention a personal experience with branding and using humor as a deflection tactic.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker shares insights from "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" book and personal experience in building the organization for Duolingo, including seeking advice from board members and learning from others' experience such as Alice Cooper's career-launching incident.
1:52:09 - 1:58:12 (06:02)
Summary
The speaker shares insights from "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" book and personal experience in building the organization for Duolingo, including seeking advice from board members and learning from others' experience such as Alice Cooper's career-launching incident.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The CEO of Duolingo discusses his plans to start a project to continue learning outside of work, the benefits of delegating tasks to others within the company, and the leadership principles he's learned from Genghis Khan.
1:58:12 - 2:03:23 (05:10)
Summary
The CEO of Duolingo discusses his plans to start a project to continue learning outside of work, the benefits of delegating tasks to others within the company, and the leadership principles he's learned from Genghis Khan.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The guest recommends learning about running a business in college and suggests the seven-minute workout as a decent calisthenics exercise routine.
2:03:23 - 2:10:31 (07:08)
Summary
The guest recommends learning about running a business in college and suggests the seven-minute workout as a decent calisthenics exercise routine.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this excerpt, Tim provides tips on how to get into great shape without spending hours in the gym.
2:10:31 - 2:15:25 (04:53)
Summary
In this excerpt, Tim provides tips on how to get into great shape without spending hours in the gym. He emphasizes the importance of dietary changes over exercise in losing fat and recommends kettlebell swings for building muscle, along with planks and other exercises.
Episode#135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss talks about his experience with testing products through his muse business and shares business ideas with Noah Kagan.
2:15:25 - 2:19:27 (04:02)
Summary
Tim Ferriss talks about his experience with testing products through his muse business and shares business ideas with Noah Kagan. Some key points include reaching out to customers for feedback and creating unique selling points for your products.