Jackson Shuttleworth is a Group PM at Duolingo, where he leads the retention team and the powerful streak feature. The streak feature, which gamifies consecutive days of learning, has been Duolingo’s most important and innovative growth lever and a key driver of their growth to a $14 billion business with almost 600 million users. In our conversation, we dive deep into the history and lessons of this feature: • The evolution of the streak feature • Biggest insights from over 600 streak-related experiments • Biggest specific wins and misses along the way • Key principles for building effective streak mechanics • How to operate a high-velocity product team • Tips for building engaging notification systems • Much more — Brought to you by: • Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application: https://www.pendo.io/lenny • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny • Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace: https://coda.io/lenny Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-duolingo-streaks Where to find Jackson Shuttleworth: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-shuttleworth/ In this episode, we cover: Referenced: • Duolingo streaks: https://duolingo.fandom.com/wiki/Streak • How to make learning as addictive as social media: https://www.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_how_to_make_learning_as_addictive_as_social_media?subtitle=en • Luis von Ahn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-von-ahn-duolingo/ • FarmVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarmVille • Royal Match: https://www.dreamgames.com/games/royal-match • How Duolingo reignited user growth: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth • You’re on fire! Or, how we brought the streak milestone to life: https://blog.duolingo.com/streak-milestone-design-animation/ • Duolingo Doubles Down on Design and Animation with Acquisition of Hobbes: https://investors.duolingo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/duolingo-doubles-down-design-and-animation-acquisition-hobbes • Hobbes: https://www.hobbes.work/ • Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira • Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/ • Bing Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon/ • Peloton: https://www.onepeloton.com/ • Bluey on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/bluey/1xy9TAOQ0M3r • Emily in Paris on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81037371 • Multi-position ladders at Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Ladders-Multi-Position-Ladders/N-5yc1vZasew Recommended books: • A Guide to Midwestern Conversation: https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Midwestern-Conversation-Taylor-Phillips/dp/1984861336 • Fate Is the Hunter: A Pilot’s Memoir: https://www.amazon.com/Fate-Hunter-Ernest-K-Gann/dp/0671636030 Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.