"Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn took to LinkedIn on Monday to deliver a direct message to the company's 42 newly hired graduates: Be nice, take initiative, and remember that success doesn't require sacrificing your well-being. In his LinkedIn post, the 47-year-old Guatemalan-American billionaire outlined five career tips for new hires, with his first piece of advice being blunt: "Don't be a jerk," he wrote. "Duolingo has an allergic reaction to toxic behavior, and our culture quickly identifies and rejects it.""
"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.""
Duolingo made clear new hires must be kind, avoiding toxic behavior and massive egos. The company rejects duplicitous conduct and emphasizes cultural fit. Employees should be proactive: identify problems and implement solutions rather than only complain. A concrete example contrasted two engineers, one who complained and one who started the company blog. Guidance on priorities instructs employees to consider what is best for the company's mission, then the team, then themselves. Boundaries include avoiding overwork; focusing on the mission tends to lead to better outcomes than purely selfish behavior. Employees generally have the freedom to fix issues that bother them.
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