Make It Marathon revisits how On and Duolingo grew from ideas to $7 billion companies.

On is a Swiss running shoe company that is the brainchild of Olivier Bernhard, a six-time Ironman champion and former professional triathlete. In just over a decade, the upstart company went from zero to a valuation over $7 billion. This is the story about how a two time world champion and his friends landed Roger Federer to help create one of the fastest growing shoe companies in the world.

By the time Luis von Ahn turned 24, he was already a millionaire several times over. The 43-year-old may not be a household name, but you’re probably one of the hundreds of million people who use his technology everyday. Luis and his business parter founded Duolingo to teach language and "democratize education." The company went public in 2021 and prides itself on employee retention and treating people with respect. He actually pays his drivers to give feedback on their interactions with potential executive level hires on their way to the office from the airport to weed out toxic personalities.

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
00:45 – How I Built A $7 Billion Shoe Company Called On (Published November 2021)
15:28 – How I Built A $6.5 Billion App Called Duolingo (Published February 2022)

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How On Sneakers & Duolingo Grew To $7 Billion Companies | Founder Effect Marathon