The Power of Experimentation and User Engagement

Jackson Shuttleworth is a Group PM at Duolingo, where he leads the retention team and the powerful streak feature. The streak feature, which gamifies consecutive days of learning, has been Duolingo’s most important and innovative growth lever and a key driver of their growth to a $14 billion business with almost 600 million users. In our conversation, we dive deep into the history and lessons of this feature:

• The evolution of the streak feature

• Biggest insights from over 600 streak-related experiments

• Biggest specific wins and misses along the way

• Key principles for building effective streak mechanics

• How to operate a high-velocity product team

• Tips for building engaging notification systems

• Much more

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-duolingo-streaks

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Where to find Jackson Shuttleworth:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-shuttleworth/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Jackson’s background and an overview of Duolingo’s streak feature

(06:00) The impact of streaks on Duolingo’s success

(09:58) The origin and evolution of streaks

(14:50) Key experiments and insights

(24:38) User psychology and engagement strategies

(28:36) Duolingo’s product review structure

(33:07) Designing for clarity and adaptability

(46:59) Developing the Streak Freeze feature

(50:47) Balancing monetization and retention

(54:08) Notification strategies

(58:15) The Perfect Streak feature

(01:00:40) Enhancing the user experience 

(01:04:47) Team operations and experimentation

(01:18:57) Who can benefit from streaks

(01:21:00) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• Duolingo streaks: https://duolingo.fandom.com/wiki/Streak

• How to make learning as addictive as social media: https://www.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_how_to_make_learning_as_addictive_as_social_media?subtitle=en

• Luis von Ahn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-von-ahn-duolingo/

• FarmVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarmVille

• Royal Match: https://www.dreamgames.com/games/royal-match

• How Duolingo reignited user growth: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth

• You’re on fire! Or, how we brought the streak milestone to life: https://blog.duolingo.com/streak-milestone-design-animation/

• Duolingo Doubles Down on Design and Animation with Acquisition of Hobbes: https://investors.duolingo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/duolingo-doubles-down-design-and-animation-acquisition-hobbes

• Hobbes: https://www.hobbes.work/

• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira

• Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/

• Bing Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon/

• Peloton: https://www.onepeloton.com/

• Bluey on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/bluey/1xy9TAOQ0M3r

• Emily in Paris on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81037371

• Multi-position ladders at Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Ladders-Multi-Position-Ladders/N-5yc1vZasew

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Recommended books:

• A Guide to Midwestern Conversation: https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Midwestern-Conversation-Taylor-Phillips/dp/1984861336

• Fate Is the Hunter: A Pilot’s Memoir: https://www.amazon.com/Fate-Hunter-Ernest-K-Gann/dp/0671636030

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

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