https://producthabits.com/duolingo-built-700-million-company-without-charging-users/
This is a good article on how Duolingo disrupted the language learning industry and became a $700 Million company in 9 years.
Duolingo provides free app to learn a language. Currently, they have over 25 million monthly active users learning a language each at their own pace.
The company started in 2009 tapping into hundreds of millions of people who wanted to learn a new language but couldn’t afford to shell out a ton of money for expensive software. Duolingo’s early monetization plan was to charge businesses for the content that users translated as a byproduct of studying a language.
From 2009-12, Duolingo didn’t actually partner with companies to build out the B2B translation service, but they designed their app to increase number of users and engagement. Besides web app, Duolingo created a mobile app which used pictures, video clips, and the phone’s microphone to help users learn words, write, and speak.
In 2013, for the first time, Duolingo announced partnerships with BuzzFeed and CNN. With crowdsourced translations, their effective translation cost was around 4 cents per word, compared to translation industry's average price of around 6 to 10 cents per word.
However, Duolingo realized that expanding their B2B services was going to require a more enterprise sales-driven model—which meant potentially less attention on the product and the users. So, in 2014, Duolingo deprioritized B2B translation service and instead released a testing certification service for a small fee.
In 2015 and 2016, Duolingo launched program for Schools and flashcards both of which helped improve engagement significantly.
In 2017, Duolingo started serving ads to users. It also released a subscription plan that removes ads and lets users download lessons for offline use.
Duolingo has raised $108 Million in funding in over 5 rounds with current valuation at about $700 Million.
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