Shows
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch20Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ DuolingoCem Kansu is the Chief Product Officer at Duolingo, where he leads product strategy for over 90 million monthly active learners. Since joining Duolingo, Cem has played a pivotal role in driving record user engagement, revenue growth, and product innovation, including the launch of Duolingo Math and the wildly successful Duolingo Music. Under his leadership, the company has consistently ranked as the #1 education app globally. In Today’s Episode We Discuss: 04:12 – Cem’s Origin Story: From Google Ads to Saving Duolingo’s Business 06:45 – “Mini CEO” Myth: Why PMs Need to Ditch the Ego 08:55 – The...2025-06-201h 19
The Product PodcastDuolingo VP of Product on Hypergrowth through Freemium, Experimentation & Gamification | Cem Kansu | E257In this episode, we host Cem Kansu, Vice President of Product at Duolingo, the world’s leading language-learning platform.Duolingo has experienced tremendous growth, transforming from a free translation app in 2011 to a public company valued at over $15 billion, with annual revenues exceeding $700 million. The platform now offers courses in 43 languages, boasts over 113 million monthly active users, and has expanded into math and music education.Cem has been instrumental to Duolingo's success over the past nine years, leading all core product, growth, and monetization efforts.In this episode, we'll explore Duolingo’s product and mark...2025-02-2648 min
The Product ManagerDuolingo’s Head of Product Gives a Masterclass on Product Monetization (with Cem Kansu)Pricing is a perennial hot topic. How much value should you provide for free, and at what point should users need to convert into paying customers? How much should you charge, and how often?In this episode, Hannah Clark is joined by Cem Kansu—Head of Product at Duolingo—to explore how Duolingo has navigated challenges in monetization, expansion into new markets, and the integration of cutting-edge technology.Resources from this episode:Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletterCheck out this episode’s sponsor: Wix StudioConnect with Cem on LinkedIn and Twitter/XCheck out Du2024-11-2639 min
Behind the CraftInside Duolingo Unhinged Growth to a $500M Business | Cem Kansu (Duolingo)My guest today is Cem Kansu.
Cem is the Head of Product at Duolingo. Over 8 years, he helped Duolingo grow to 100M+ monthly active users and $500M+ in annual revenue. I had a super fun chat with Cem about Duolingo's unhinged product culture, the top drivers of Duolingo's user and revenue growth, and whether AI will democratize education.
Timestamps:
(00:00) We love being unhinged with our owl
(01:26) Duolingo is a game and this is our core loop
(03:46) The top 3 drivers of Duolingo's growth to 100M users
(05:55) Passive-aggressive push notifications work!
(08:12) How Duolingo onboards new users to maximize retention
(13:11) Our winding...2024-11-0341 min
Unsolicited FeedbackCem Kansu (Duolingo) Analyzes the Implications of OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's Release StrategyCem Kansu on OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's StrategyJoin us with Cem Kansu, VP of Product at Duolingo, as we discuss Duolingo's expansion into math and music (starts immediately), OpenAI's DevDay (starts at 21:15), and Airbnb's bi-annual product announcement (starts at 1:03:05).We’re covering the highlights from our OpenAI discussion below, but join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for full episode summaries.OpenAI's GPT Store: A New Frontier or a Wild West? 🤠OpenAI's recent announcement of their GPT store has sent ripples through the tech world. But what does this mean for product and g...2023-11-141h 29
The Unlikely InnovatorsCem Kansu on democratizing language learning with DuolingoOn this week’s episode, Mike and Steve welcomed Cem Kansu, Vice President of Product at Duolingo. Cem talked about his career path, growing Duolingo’s monetization strategy, the human impacts the app has had, and what’s next for Duolingo.2023-01-2441 min
Wharton Tech ToksDuolingo: The Best Way to Learn a LanguageJoin Spandana Bhattacharya and Javier Torres as they talk to Cem Kansu, Vice President of Product Management at Duolingo. Cem is a fellow Whartonite, graduating with an MBA in 2016 who worked at Google prior to school.
We’re sure by now you’ve seen their funny, ubiquitous green owl mascot (if not, check out Duo on TikTok), but Duolingo’s mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available is no joke. Boasting over 100 courses in 40 distinct languages, including High Valyrian and Klingon, the leading global edtech platform has been downloaded more than 5...2022-11-2929 min
The Irrational Mind | With Kristen BermanHow Does Duolingo Get Us To Learn a Language?In this second episode of The Science of Change, our host Kristen Berman dives into one of the most successful apps for language learning: Duolingo. Kristen sits with Duolingo’s Head of Product Management Cem Kansu to talk about the ways this amazing app keeps people engaged and learning. From their daily streaks and batches, all the way to the length and difficulty of each exercise, Kristen and Cem unpack the behavioral science behind Duolingo App. Listen now and learn from the challenges, Cem and his team have managed to successfully solve in their commitment to education. Have you re...2021-10-1249 min
Üretim BandıDuolingo nasıl ürün geliştiriyor?KONUKCem Kansu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cemkansu/LİNKLER- Luis von Ahn: Massive-scale online collaboration - https://www.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_massive_scale_online_collaboration/transcript?language=tr- How Duolingo Built a $700 Million Company Without Charging Users - https://producthabits.com/duolingo-built-700-million-company-without-charging-users/NELER KONUŞTUK- CAPTCHA / reCAPTCHA ile Duolingo'nun ne bağlantısı var- Duolingo nasıl para kazanıyor- Oyunlaştırmanın (Gamification) üründeki önemi- Duolingo'nun bağlılık (retention) grafi...2021-01-2146 min![MAU [Talk]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/4e05ac1oofqx6ajpl76o1tb8ecq1?.jpg)
MAU [Talk]Ep. 006 Cem Kansu: Retention & Growth TacticsIn this episode, Cem Kansu, VP of Product at Duolingo, the world’s largest language learning platform with over 400 million users, chats with Adam about the tactics that have led to Duolingo’s ongoing success in user retention and growth. To connect with Cem directly, catch him on LinkedIn @CemKansu or on the MAU Vegas website, MAUVegas.com.2021-01-0531 min
Mobile Growth Nightmares PodcastMGN #2 - Duolingo, Hopper, & Tubi TV: Spine-tingling tales from MAU 2018In this episode, recorded on the road during MAU Las Vegas, Gessica Bicego and Andy Carvel talk to three growth experts about some of the darkest moments in their careers.
Prachi Snehal from Tubi TV (Twitter: @PSnehalP), Cem Kansu from Duolingo (Twitter: @cemkansu), and Simon Lejeune from Hopper (Twitter: @lejeunesimon) are not afraid to go back and revisit their biggest mobile growth nightmares.
We will talk about wrong product features, remarketing ads, and how deep-linking can ruin your birthday.2018-07-1928 min