Over the past decade, Duolingo has sprung onto the scene as the world$$s number one language learning app. Their message is simple: they want people from around the globe to be given the chance to learn a new language or skill for free. Luis von Ahn, one of Duolingo$$s founders, grew up in Guatemala, where education is not a right that each child$/$person has; instead, they have to pay for it$,$ and most people do not have the money to afford their education. His upbringing has much to do with Duolingo$$s desire to keep the entire experience free for everyone worldwide $($Guerrero$,2024).$ Thanks to Duolingo's sincere passion for helping others, they have been able to innovate effectively, improve their product, and not alienate their consumers.$$

Being the leader at a company that has grown as rapidly as Duolingo has over the past decade brings a lot of difficulties, and sadly, neither passion nor good intentions can make these challenges any more manageable. For instance, von Ahn mentions how he doesn$$t get to meet each new employee and build a relationship with them because of their breakneck growth$$going from a handful of employees in one place to $850$ across the entire globe. Von Ahn also mentioned how difficult it is for him to fire people because he is very indirect. He told a story about how he fired someone but never actually said they said they were fired, so they came back the next day saying they saw where they went wrong and were prepared to improve upon their mistakes. Von Ahn had to fire them again, but this time, actually say it$.$ Because of this experience, he says he is more blunt with his employees and says what he needs to $($Guerrero$,2024).$

Luis von Ahn and his team demonstrate many traits that experts say are required for an organization to function to the best of its abilities. Von Ahn mentioned that because Duolingo is now a global organization, its accuracy with dialects and languages has improved immensely. Thanks to having employees from so many different backgrounds, they can get each language down properly $($Guerrero$,2024).$ Showing characteristics like giving employees real opportunities to contribute and share knowledge, creating a welcoming and professional environment, and supporting the relationships between everyone, regardless of company rank are some highlights of how they run things. When looking over the many lists drawn up by professionals over recent decades, von Ahn and the entire Duolingo company check off nearly every criterion from each of them$$making it no mystery why they are number one in the world at what they do$.$

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