Luis von Ahn: Do not bet early on unproven new tech platforms
Luis von Ahn · Advice Line with Luis von Ahn of Duolingo · May 1, 2025 · at 26:00
Duolingo co-founder Luis von Ahn advises tech accessory founder Blair Hastie against designing for new hardware platforms like Apple Vision Pro, citing Duolingo's past mistake building Apple Watch apps.
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“What we've learned Is not to bet on these very new products, because you really never know if they're going to work. So it's not that Apple Watch didn't work. Apple Watch ended up working, but what didn't work was apps on Apple Watch. There's just. That's just not a thing. There's just, they tried to make them a thing. They're not a thing. But there was no way to know beforehand, because Apple swore to God they were going to be a thing. And so we've learned We make products for established platforms. You know, sometimes people are like, oh, you want to be there early. I don't think you do. I mean, in, especially in the type of business that you're in, you don't need to be the first ever carrier of a certain product or whatever. You just need to be one that stands out because you have really amazing materials, et cetera. So I just, for one, I would definitely not bet on new products.”
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