The Tim Ferriss Show #135: Luis Von Ahn on Learning Languages, Building Companies, and Changing the World
Effective Engineering Recruitment
- Recruit top talent by presenting your company's hardest problems to attract skilled engineers. Use two technical phone screens and multiple on-site interviews including pair programming to vet candidates.
Must-Read Entrepreneur Books
- Recommended books for entrepreneurs: Peter Thiel's "Zero to One" and Ben Horowitz's "The Hard Thing About Hard Things." These provide insights on startups and management challenges.
Benefits of Pittsburgh Over Silicon Valley
- Staying in Pittsburgh helped Duolingo recruit top talent and avoid Silicon Valley's trend-driven culture. It enabled better focus and less distraction from fads affecting startups.
Luis von Ahn (@luisvonahn) is an entrepreneur and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He is known for inventing CAPTCHAs, being a MacArthur Fellow ("genius grant" recipient), and selling two companies to Google in his 20's. Luis has been named one of the 10 Most Brilliant Scientists by Popular Science Magazine, one of the 50 Best Brains in Science by Discover, one of the Top Young Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review, and one of the 100 Most Innovative People in Business by FastCompany Magazine. Luis is currently the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, a language learning platform created to bring free language education to the world. With more than 100 million users, it is the most popular way to learn languages in the world, and it is the most downloaded app in the Education category on both iTunes (5-star average, 3,300+ reviews) and Google Play. I first met Luis as an early investor in Duolingo, and every time I meet him, I learn something new. In this conversation, we talk about: What 2-3 books and resources he'd recommend to entrepreneurs Language learning tips The clever way he caught cheating students at Carnegie Mellon Early mentors and key lessons learned The story of building and selling reCAPTCHA How to recruit and vet technical talent Duolingo's most surprising sources of users, and much more... Enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs. I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run. This episode is also brought to you by Headspace, the world’s most popular meditation app (more than 4,000,000 users). It’s used in more than 150 countries, and many of my closest friends swear by it. Try Headspace’s free Take10 program — 10 minutes of guided meditation a day for 10 days. It’s like a warm bath for your mind. Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, and it’s had a huge impact on my life. Try Headspace for free for a few days and see what I mean.
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