[orb_yt]

I understand this article is a bit outdated, but companies like Duolingo or Clever seem to prove a few of the author's arguments wrong.

One would think there would be a market for Duolingo style apps for other subjects, such as mathematics, where the user is simply charged on a subscription bases. Could such a business not survive?

[azinman2]

People want/need to learn another language for a very wide variety of reasons. While it is “teaching,” it’s also squarely in its own domain. I’m not sure they’d have an easy time transitioning to Duolingo for math. While I don’t have their demo stats, language learning often extends well into adulthood... many corporations will pay for employees to learn a new language, and English schools are popular world-wide. Not as many adults are motivated to learn calculus, which then leaves a younger market with less ability/willingness to pay.

[orb_yt]

I do think that the overwhelming majority of Duolingo users are likely learning on their own volition, rather than for their job.

> While it is “teaching,” it’s also squarely in its own domain

Could this idea simply be because, for the most part, language learning applications have been the most successful? Other than Khan Academy, which is mostly videos, i've never heard of another company building similar products for other subjects.

I'm not sure whether it's because the market doesn't exist or that it hasn't been tried.

[azinman2]

Language is pretty unique. You can be interested in, marry into, befriend, worship in, born from, work in, read in, watch in, move to, befriend, and be moved to a new language.

As humanity requires language, learning a new one can happen at any stage of life. Rarely do people spend casual time learning what is typically taught in youth. Yes there are always people interested in TED talks but that’s effectively TV. Yes people go back to school but that’s focused structured time. Language is better if learned interactively, in both casual and formal settings. I can read a history book and feel accomplished. Reading a French textbook without application won’t work as well. Language requires active learning, where as many other subjects do not. Language apps such as duolingo are well suited accordingly (even better would be a really great conversational bot that could help you better pronounce your words).

I’m not saying there aren’t other markets, but I am positing it’s def not evenly distributed across subject matter.

[tonypace]

English Central attempts the conversation bot but it is fairly terrible. Competition would be welcome.

[mbesto]

> but companies like Duolingo or Clever seem to prove a few of the author's arguments wrong.

Except we have no idea whether these companies are actual businesses or not (i.e. have profits). Anectodal - Clever has just as much funding and number of employees as another EdTech business I know about that also interacts with "millions of students" but is barely pushing beyond a few million dollars in revenue. This isn't enough to sustain a business with 100+ employees in the bay area.

[brettcvz]

Clever has a slightly unique business model (we sell to edtech companies, not to consumers or schools), but we do have a healthy, growing, sustainable business.

Source: I work at Clever

[orb_yt]

Yea, i'd love to know what their revenue numbers are.

[malloryerik]

Is Duolingo actually making money?

[orb_yt]

They started off with a business model which entailed having users translate documents for partners. Last I read, they have pivoted to using ads and in app purchases, along with charging for certifications. I don't know whether or not they are turning a profit with these methods.

[askvictor]

Is uber actually making money? Is Twitter actually making money?

[richardknop]

Facebook, Airbnb, Stripe, PayPal, Hulu etc are making money. I think the point is that if education is a good area for entrepreneurs to make money, there should be some example success stories already. So far, nothing worth mentioning in education segment.

[askvictor]

My point was that you can be big (and successful for some definitions of success) without being profitable.

[richardknop]

How? Other than non profit / charity, how do you get money to pay expenditures?