Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

World Service,24 Jun 2026,21 mins

Founders: Duolingo's billionaire boss on rejecting Bill Gates

Business Daily

Available for over a year

We hear how a childhood in Guatemala, a fascination with computers and a belief that education should be accessible to everyone helped inspire the world's most popular learning apps. Luis von Ahn tells us how he went from creating CAPTCHA and selling reCAPTCHA to Google, to building Duolingo into a multi-billion-dollar education technology company used by millions around the world. He reflects on his mother's sacrifices to fund his education, the lessons he learned as an entrepreneur, and why he struggles with conflict in his life as a tech CEO. Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Amber Mehmood If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Programme Website
More episodes