How Preply Built the World’s Largest Language Learning Marketplace

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Nov 27, 2025

Simon Mizzi, VP of Product Growth at Preply and former Agoda product leader, dives into the world of language learning and how Preply became a major player in the market. He highlights the unique advantages of a human-powered marketplace over digital apps, emphasizing motivation and personalization. Simon outlines the complexities of matching learners with tutors and the importance of long-term subscriptions over vanity metrics. He also discusses the role of AI in enhancing learner experiences while maintaining the human touch in tutoring.

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ANECDOTE

Joining Preply As A Personal Leap

Simon left Agoda after eight years because he wanted a new challenge and loves language learning personally.
He moved continents and joined Preply in July 2021 to combine passion with professional growth.

INSIGHT

Human Learning Outperforms Purely Digital

Learning languages is inherently human and driven by social connection and motivation.
Human tutors create personalization and accountability that speed progress beyond digital-only apps.

INSIGHT

The Holy Trinity Of Matching

Matching requires deep learner data, deep tutor data, and an intelligence layer to connect them.
Simon calls this the Holy Trinity: learner, tutor, and machine learning intelligence in the middle.

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Simon Mizzi is currently the VP of Product Growth at Preply, the world’s largest online marketplace for connecting language learners with human tutors. Since joining Preply as a Director of Product in 2021, Simon has been promoted twice from Director to Senior Director to VP. Prior to Preply, Simon spent eight years as a PM and then Director of Product at Agoda, which is an online travel agency that specializes in booking accommodations, flights, and activities, with a strong focus on the Asian market.

Key Takeaways:

Preply has built the world’s largest language learning marketplace, with an online platform that connects over 100,000 experienced tutors teaching dozens of different languages to millions of learners across the globe.
Preply’s human-powered marketplace differentiates it from language learning apps like Duolingo and Babbel that are 100% digital. While scaling to 100,000+ tutors has been difficult, it has also helped Preply boost learner motivation, increase subscriber retention, and ultimately improve learning outcomes.
Preply has run hundreds of experiments to optimize its learner onboarding flow, improve its tutor matching algorithm, and accelerate time to value. While these experiments have improved registration, activation, and trial lesson start rates, ultimately Preply focuses on subscriber conversion and retention as the metrics that matter most, because subscriptions are what drive value for the business.
In parallel, Preply has invested heavily in maintaining tutor quality as it scales the supply side of its business. This includes surfacing metadata about tutors that build confidence for new learners, as well as imposing policies that encourage tutors to maximize their availability so that learners have a positive experience.
While Simon believes language learning is an inherently human activity that will never be fully replaced by technology, he is excited about the potential for AI to boost tutor productivity and hyperpersonalize the language learning experience.

Simon Mizzi:

Website: https://preply.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-mizzi/details/experience/

Phil Carter:

Website: https://www.philgcarter.com
Substack: https://philgcarter.substack.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philgcarter
X: https://x.com/philgcarter

Podcast Production by Podders: https://podders.io