Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenevek on Bloomberg Radio.

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenevek on Bloomberg Radio.

Well, looking for outperformance in today's equity trade and really the equity trade for the last year. Check out the more than twenty three billion dollar market cap language learning app. It's the most popular in the world. We are talking about Dual Lingo. The stock up sixty percent year to date, up around two hundred percent, Carol in the last year.

Well, looking for outperformance in today's equity trade and really the equity trade for the last year. Check out the more than twenty three billion dollar market cap language learning app. It's the most popular in the world. We are talking about Dual Lingo. The stock up sixty percent year to date, up around two hundred percent, Carol in the last year.

Yeah, and you know a.

Yeah, and you know a.

Lot about this company. You actually talked with Our next guest, delighted to have with us, the CFO of the company, Matthew Scarupa. He is chief financial officer of due Lingo, joining us from Pittsburgh. He is featured in the upcoming episode, as is my co host Tim Senovek, chief Future Officer. It's on Bloomberg Television this evening at nine thirty pm Wall Street Time. I got to say, first of all, Matt, nice to be talking with you. Tim, host of the episode. He's been talking about you and the company so much. I mean, you guys are on fire. Talk to us about the growth at the company, where it's coming from. In an environment that you know, there's a lot of pressures on companies and leaders at this time.

Lot about this company. You actually talked with Our next guest, delighted to have with us, the CFO of the company, Matthew Scarupa. He is chief financial officer of due Lingo, joining us from Pittsburgh. He is featured in the upcoming episode, as is my co host Tim Senovek, chief Future Officer. It's on Bloomberg Television this evening at nine thirty pm Wall Street Time. I got to say, first of all, Matt, nice to be talking with you. Tim, host of the episode. He's been talking about you and the company so much. I mean, you guys are on fire. Talk to us about the growth at the company, where it's coming from. In an environment that you know, there's a lot of pressures on companies and leaders at this time.

Well, it's great to be here, Thanks for having me, and you're absolutely right. You know, we've done a great job of growing this year. Our Q one performance was strong top to bottom. We saw really strong user growth. That user growth translated into a really strong top line and bookings and revenue, and we were able to keep control of costs like we historically have been able to to expand margins and it wasn't just a Q one story. As we guided on our last earnings call, we believe we're in a really strong position for the rest of the year. We feel good about Q two and the rest of the year, and it's going to continue to come from the same sources. We're a company that grows primarily organically by word of mouth, and we expect that to continue.

Well, it's great to be here, Thanks for having me, and you're absolutely right. You know, we've done a great job of growing this year. Our Q one performance was strong top to bottom. We saw really strong user growth. That user growth translated into a really strong top line and bookings and revenue, and we were able to keep control of costs like we historically have been able to to expand margins and it wasn't just a Q one story. As we guided on our last earnings call, we believe we're in a really strong position for the rest of the year. We feel good about Q two and the rest of the year, and it's going to continue to come from the same sources. We're a company that grows primarily organically by word of mouth, and we expect that to continue.

Hey, Matt, good to have you join us. Thanks for doing this today, and thanks again for participating with us for the CFO Show premieres again tonight. Ten point three million paid subscribers as of the end of the first quarter of twenty twenty five. It's growth of forty percent year over year. How much can how long can you continue that growth? I mean, when we're talking the growth at that percentage, like that's pretty substantial.

Hey, Matt, good to have you join us. Thanks for doing this today, and thanks again for participating with us for the CFO Show premieres again tonight. Ten point three million paid subscribers as of the end of the first quarter of twenty twenty five. It's growth of forty percent year over year. How much can how long can you continue that growth? I mean, when we're talking the growth at that percentage, like that's pretty substantial.

No, I appreciate. It was great to do the show with you, and I look forward to seeing that. In terms of growth, we've done it for several years. I mean, we went public in twenty twenty one, and if you look back from then to now, we've grown the top line really nicely. So i'd say that you know, you look back and you think that we have a strong path going forward as well. I'd also just call out that the ten point three million subs is great. We're excited about that. We feel really good about that growth. But we're also seeing really nice diversification of subscribe So we have continued strength in our Family Plan, which is a subscription where multiple friends and family can join, and as of the last quarter, seven percent of our subs we're on our Max tier, which is our highest tier service, which has features like video call with Lily, and it's doing really well. So it's it's a great story not just on the overall top line numbers, but on how we're growing the subscribers.

No, I appreciate. It was great to do the show with you, and I look forward to seeing that. In terms of growth, we've done it for several years. I mean, we went public in twenty twenty one, and if you look back from then to now, we've grown the top line really nicely. So i'd say that you know, you look back and you think that we have a strong path going forward as well. I'd also just call out that the ten point three million subs is great. We're excited about that. We feel really good about that growth. But we're also seeing really nice diversification of subscribe So we have continued strength in our Family Plan, which is a subscription where multiple friends and family can join, and as of the last quarter, seven percent of our subs we're on our Max tier, which is our highest tier service, which has features like video call with Lily, and it's doing really well. So it's it's a great story not just on the overall top line numbers, but on how we're growing the subscribers.

I mean, that's.

I mean, that's.

Wild almost fifty percent year every year growth Matt, I am curious, who are these people that are signing up? How long do they stay with you? And what's the cost to acquire an individual user?

Wild almost fifty percent year every year growth Matt, I am curious, who are these people that are signing up? How long do they stay with you? And what's the cost to acquire an individual user?

Yeah, so one of our core business model advantages is that when we acquire a user, we acquire them mainly for free. We do spend on performance marketing and some brand spend, but it's relatively small as a percentage of revenue, and so most of our growth comes from people tell telling their friends and family that they've had a great and engaging experience with our app.

Yeah, so one of our core business model advantages is that when we acquire a user, we acquire them mainly for free. We do spend on performance marketing and some brand spend, but it's relatively small as a percentage of revenue, and so most of our growth comes from people tell telling their friends and family that they've had a great and engaging experience with our app.

That's why Luis is so focused.

That's why Luis is so focused.

On engagement as a core driver of growth for us, is that if you have this wonderful, joyful experience, you're going to tell people about it and they're going to try it. And then the other way is we have a really amazing social first marketing strategy where we, you know, insert ourselves into viral moments on online TikTok, Instagram, other platforms, and users create their own content which goes viral, and so on any given.

On engagement as a core driver of growth for us, is that if you have this wonderful, joyful experience, you're going to tell people about it and they're going to try it. And then the other way is we have a really amazing social first marketing strategy where we, you know, insert ourselves into viral moments on online TikTok, Instagram, other platforms, and users create their own content which goes viral, and so on any given.

Day, a lot of what people are.

Day, a lot of what people are.

Talking about on dual Engo isn't generated by us. It's generated by our you know, beloved fan base. You know, when you have that type of user acquisition, and it is global. We're seeing strong user growth around the world. We get a lot of opportunities to then convert folks from free subscriber to paid or from free user to paid subscriber. And they stick around on the platform and they come back frequently, and so we get multiple chances to convert them. And while we're doing, while time is progressing, we're making the subscription product even better and better.

Talking about on dual Engo isn't generated by us. It's generated by our you know, beloved fan base. You know, when you have that type of user acquisition, and it is global. We're seeing strong user growth around the world. We get a lot of opportunities to then convert folks from free subscriber to paid or from free user to paid subscriber. And they stick around on the platform and they come back frequently, and so we get multiple chances to convert them. And while we're doing, while time is progressing, we're making the subscription product even better and better.

So that's how we grow the subscriber base.

So that's how we grow the subscriber base.

Well, we'll talk a little bit in a minute about the social first marketing because something kind of wacky seems to be happening right now if you look at the social channels for Do a Lingo. But I'm wondering specifically, mad about growth and about you know, at the end of the day, the efficacy of the product. And I'm wondering how you measure to what extent the product actually resonates and works for people who are trying to learn English as a second language, for example, to be able to do business in the US or to be able to do business in English. How do you measure that?

Well, we'll talk a little bit in a minute about the social first marketing because something kind of wacky seems to be happening right now if you look at the social channels for Do a Lingo. But I'm wondering specifically, mad about growth and about you know, at the end of the day, the efficacy of the product. And I'm wondering how you measure to what extent the product actually resonates and works for people who are trying to learn English as a second language, for example, to be able to do business in the US or to be able to do business in English. How do you measure that?

Yeah, well, it is core to our mission.

Yeah, well, it is core to our mission.

So our mission is to you know, build the best education in the world and make it universally available. And so to do that, we need to prove to our users and to ourselves that we're teaching really well. We've had some studies done that show just how efficacious we are. So you know, if you compare us to learning a language and a university, we are on par with that. You can probably do it faster on dual Lingo. And you know, there's plenty of evidence we've put on our website that shows those studies in detail.

So our mission is to you know, build the best education in the world and make it universally available. And so to do that, we need to prove to our users and to ourselves that we're teaching really well. We've had some studies done that show just how efficacious we are. So you know, if you compare us to learning a language and a university, we are on par with that. You can probably do it faster on dual Lingo. And you know, there's plenty of evidence we've put on our website that shows those studies in detail.

I think the bigger.

I think the bigger.

Evidence is that we're continuing to add features that just really address some of the core desires of particularly English learners like you reference. They want to practice conversation, and so what we've done over the past you know several quarters, is add this feature called video Call with Lily, where you can practice your conversation with one of our characters, Lily.

Evidence is that we're continuing to add features that just really address some of the core desires of particularly English learners like you reference. They want to practice conversation, and so what we've done over the past you know several quarters, is add this feature called video Call with Lily, where you can practice your conversation with one of our characters, Lily.

She's a bit passive, aggressive, she's not impressed. I've yet to impress her.

She's a bit passive, aggressive, she's not impressed. I've yet to impress her.

With my Spanish, and I don't think I'm going to, but I'm going to keep trying.

With my Spanish, and I don't think I'm going to, but I'm going to keep trying.

She's the thing, and yeah, I just want to say, she's over your right. Well, we're looking at pictures of her on the screen right now, there's also a next she's next to duo over your right. So that's the Carol. That's Lily, who's not impressed you. By the way, in the last couple of months, has unfortunately become a member of my family. It seems like with doing this with that it is passive aggressive.

She's the thing, and yeah, I just want to say, she's over your right. Well, we're looking at pictures of her on the screen right now, there's also a next she's next to duo over your right. So that's the Carol. That's Lily, who's not impressed you. By the way, in the last couple of months, has unfortunately become a member of my family. It seems like with doing this with that it is passive aggressive.

Yeah, Lily is not impressed with me. And so that kind of practice, though, is really helpful for folks who are trying to learn English. They're trying to learn how to speak it, and and that's what we've been able to do over the past little bit.

Yeah, Lily is not impressed with me. And so that kind of practice, though, is really helpful for folks who are trying to learn English. They're trying to learn how to speak it, and and that's what we've been able to do over the past little bit.

So you use AI in a few different ways. Lily is certainly one of them. When you think about the cost associated with this. You're not using AI that a platform that you developed actually at dual Lingo, You're you're outsourcing the technology. How do you keep those costs and control because that's pretty expensive tech, Matt, And you know you're watching the bottom line and you're watching margins here.

So you use AI in a few different ways. Lily is certainly one of them. When you think about the cost associated with this. You're not using AI that a platform that you developed actually at dual Lingo, You're you're outsourcing the technology. How do you keep those costs and control because that's pretty expensive tech, Matt, And you know you're watching the bottom line and you're watching margins here.

Yeah, absolutely, And you know it comes down to the fact that we have been using forms of AI, machine learning and whatnot for a long time in our company. The lesson you get served up, you know is for many many years been based on a machine learning algorithm, and now with generative AI, with video call with Lily, and in some of our content creation, we are seeing that there's an amazing advancement in this technology that helps us do these things much quicker and more even producing more content than we thought was possible. You know. For example, you know, it took us about ten years to create the first hundred courses, and then in less than a year with this new technology, we created more than one hundred more, and so this technology is really powerful. The good news about it is that the costs are coming down naturally. You know, we don't have to do much internally, although we are still doing things to optimize the costs. But just by the nature of this technology, we're seeing rapid declines in the cost and we don't know for sure that that's going to continue. But if it does, you know, I think that you know, the use of this will go up and margins will be will be good.

Yeah, absolutely, And you know it comes down to the fact that we have been using forms of AI, machine learning and whatnot for a long time in our company. The lesson you get served up, you know is for many many years been based on a machine learning algorithm, and now with generative AI, with video call with Lily, and in some of our content creation, we are seeing that there's an amazing advancement in this technology that helps us do these things much quicker and more even producing more content than we thought was possible. You know. For example, you know, it took us about ten years to create the first hundred courses, and then in less than a year with this new technology, we created more than one hundred more, and so this technology is really powerful. The good news about it is that the costs are coming down naturally. You know, we don't have to do much internally, although we are still doing things to optimize the costs. But just by the nature of this technology, we're seeing rapid declines in the cost and we don't know for sure that that's going to continue. But if it does, you know, I think that you know, the use of this will go up and margins will be will be good.

I just want to know. I'm one hundred percent Slovak, and I just want to know how long would it take me to learn a language with you guys? I know a few keywords, you know, your parents, your grandparents teach it the squear words and all that good stuff. But how long does it take for someone to learn certain languages?

I just want to know. I'm one hundred percent Slovak, and I just want to know how long would it take me to learn a language with you guys? I know a few keywords, you know, your parents, your grandparents teach it the squear words and all that good stuff. But how long does it take for someone to learn certain languages?

Sure, well, you know, I don't know that I've ever met anyone else or talked to them live on air. But I am also Slovakian, which is which is quite the coincidence, but I think, yeah, that's it's a very nice coincidence. It turns out more will depend on your ability to put in the time. You're learning a language takes practice, and that's why we're so focused on engagement. We want you to enjoy our app and come back every day because it's going to take time to learn. So if you're really committed and you want to learn any language on du or lingo, and you put in a bunch of time, you're going to learn it much faster. And that's what the research shows. And so it's really motivation dependent. What we find is that the hardest thing about learning a languag which isn't verb conjugation or grammar or speaking, it's your motivation to keep practicing and keep learning. And that's why most of our company is geared around bringing you back every day and making sure you're engaged in the product. Because if you're engaged in the product, you have a chance to continue to learn.

Sure, well, you know, I don't know that I've ever met anyone else or talked to them live on air. But I am also Slovakian, which is which is quite the coincidence, but I think, yeah, that's it's a very nice coincidence. It turns out more will depend on your ability to put in the time. You're learning a language takes practice, and that's why we're so focused on engagement. We want you to enjoy our app and come back every day because it's going to take time to learn. So if you're really committed and you want to learn any language on du or lingo, and you put in a bunch of time, you're going to learn it much faster. And that's what the research shows. And so it's really motivation dependent. What we find is that the hardest thing about learning a languag which isn't verb conjugation or grammar or speaking, it's your motivation to keep practicing and keep learning. And that's why most of our company is geared around bringing you back every day and making sure you're engaged in the product. Because if you're engaged in the product, you have a chance to continue to learn.

Yeah, the gamification, the alerts, the emails like the friends streak, all the stuff that brings you back into the program. Matt, I promise that we would go to this unhinged marketing and social media strategy because you got to shed some light on what exactly is happening across Dueling GOS social channels right now. I checked in on it yesterday and this morning, and it looks like Duo has been taken hostage. There's like some sort of hostage video. Everything else has been wiped. What can you tell.

Yeah, the gamification, the alerts, the emails like the friends streak, all the stuff that brings you back into the program. Matt, I promise that we would go to this unhinged marketing and social media strategy because you got to shed some light on what exactly is happening across Dueling GOS social channels right now. I checked in on it yesterday and this morning, and it looks like Duo has been taken hostage. There's like some sort of hostage video. Everything else has been wiped. What can you tell.

Us, Well, I can only tell you that our owl is truly unhinged.

Us, Well, I can only tell you that our owl is truly unhinged.

You can never predict what that guy is going to do.

You can never predict what that guy is going to do.

I was like my co host, I'm just gonna tell you, Matt, never know what he's gonna do. Anyway, go ahead.

I was like my co host, I'm just gonna tell you, Matt, never know what he's gonna do. Anyway, go ahead.

I've only spent a little bit of time with him, but you know, I kind of can see it our all mascot earlier this year, right after the Super Bowl, decided that he was going to fake his own death and then you know return and so like, you just never can predict it. I would just encourage everyone who's watching and listening. To check in again tomorrow. You'll get some interesting insight.

I've only spent a little bit of time with him, but you know, I kind of can see it our all mascot earlier this year, right after the Super Bowl, decided that he was going to fake his own death and then you know return and so like, you just never can predict it. I would just encourage everyone who's watching and listening. To check in again tomorrow. You'll get some interesting insight.

All right, there it is Matt scarupa, Chief financial officer over at DUA Lingo. Matt, thanks for joining us. Good to see you once again. Chief Future Officer with Matt premieres tonight nine thirty pm Wall Street Time on a Bloomberg Television. You can also check it out online and everywhere you watch Bloomberg TV.

All right, there it is Matt scarupa, Chief financial officer over at DUA Lingo. Matt, thanks for joining us. Good to see you once again. Chief Future Officer with Matt premieres tonight nine thirty pm Wall Street Time on a Bloomberg Television. You can also check it out online and everywhere you watch Bloomberg TV.