I'm leaving my job at Duolingo

Why does no one teach you how to quit a job?

After 5 amazing years of growing Duolingo’s socials, it’s time for me to take off the suit. We started with only 650K followers across platforms on my first day in 2020. We’re now at 21M. There are so many feels leaving your first job, so I thought the best way to express it all was in this resignation letter I wrote to my boss.

Dear [redacted],

I realized I verbally let you know on July 1st that I will be leaving Duolingo and my final day will be August 15th, 2025. As it goes - I didn’t realize I had to write a formal letter. So this is that. Guess I can add chalk that up to the whole “first job out of college” bit.

After quickly asking ChatGPT “how to quit a job” it spit out this efficient & tidy checklist. But leaving Duolingo doesn’t feel efficient. And it’s definitely not tidy. If anything, it’s tender and tangled and way too big for bullet points. I don’t really believe in short. And I definitely don’t believe in formal.

This last chance to write to you is actually the best gift you could give me. ChatGPT says you don’t have to keep reading. But if you do, just know there’s so much I don’t want to leave unsaid.

Because I was never good at small talk and don’t really enjoy formalities, I want to cut to the chase. The reason I’m leaving Duolingo has nothing to do with the brand, the people, or my time here.

You were and are all beyond good to me. In fact, you were all too good to me. So good to me that I realized I was eerily comfortable. I can recite our strategy word for word, pump out a viral video, and tell immediately if something will work for the brand. It’s like driving home and realizing you don’t remember a single turn that got you there. I’ve been operating on instinct.

In my time of reflection, I’ve settled on one strong Zaria human truth: growth and comfort cannot coexist.

And, ironically, our brand taught me that. The thing that grew Duolingo and our brand was the fact that I felt so uncomfortable every day for the first 4 years of this job. Not in a weird way. But in the “I’m chasing a creative high and I’m not sure what will happen but maybe this idea can change it all” kind of way.

I was uncomfortable when I had to trace my steps back to my desk in the office so I wouldn’t get lost on my first day.

I was uncomfortable (and tired) when I had to work my first full day from 9 AM to 5 PM. Why does no one tell you how exhausting it is to work 8 straight hours?

I was uncomfortable when our TikTok account started blowing up and I was suddenly presenting to SLT on a random Friday.

I was uncomfortable when you told me I could spend more than $5K and I didn’t know what to do with that kind of trust.

I was uncomfortable when I accidentally got our brand canceled back in 2021.

When I failed (twice) at role-managing interns.

When I didn’t know what DAU meant before a press interview.

When I had to stop being just an IC and start being a collaborator. And then a leader.

And every single time, you kept betting on me. You greenlit my weird ideas. You let me run. You gave me hard feedback and dealt with my BS. You made me believe I could lead before I even knew what that meant.

But I know that I’m at the point where it’s time to take the training wheels off.

You know that moment? When a kid's ready to ride, but the grown-ups keep holding on just one more day? Not being able to let go because maybe there’s more to learn. Maybe there’s one more thing left. But, I feel like the kid now. Gidy. Really scared. But ready to fall especially if that’s what it takes to fly.

Here’s something else about me: I’ve always chased loose balls.

Not because I was good at sports (I really wasn’t). But more importantly, the loose ball isn’t controlled by any team. It’s up for grabs. Loose balls are unclaimed & unpredictable. That’s why I joined Duolingo. I saw a loose ball and dove. At the time, I didn’t know the ball was social virality, but it was taking a bet on a mission-driven brand in Pittsburgh. I love jumping on opportunities that no one else is paying attention to and solving small problems that others overlook. But you guys already knew that.

The truth of it is, I’d be lying to myself if I pretended Duolingo is still a loose ball. It’s not. It is the opposite. It is the award-winning, golden ball with an all-star team. If anything, it is proof my theory works and it’s time I try finding a new loose ball.

To be clear, this new loose ball in my life isn’t about recreating what I did at Duolingo. I don’t think I ever could and I don’t plan to try. It’s more about adding one more golden ball to my Duolingo Cotopaxi Cancun Duffel bag™. This loose ball is focusing on building myself as a leader & scaling social. I’ll be stretched with cross-functional collaboration, role management and figuring out a new brand experience. I’m sure it’s going to be hard and it probably won’t be glamorous for a while. I’m probably going to scrape my knees, miss the good ol’ days (I can finally say that!) and doubt myself. I’m probably going to text you both and call asking you for advice.

But once upon a time, that’s exactly what my job at Duolingo was too. I have no clue where this new chapter will go, but I know for sure that the act of choosing it & of chasing something unknown will expand my view of who I am. I won’t just be “Zaria from Duolingo” anymore. And yes, I’ll mourn that. But I’ll also meet a version of me I haven’t met yet.

Until then, I’ll do everything I can to uplift this brand and this team the way you’ve done for me. I’ll cheer the loudest. I’ll probably ask questions during this transition so I can learn every last thing I can. Please don’t take that as anything else than my attempt to have access to all the experience you all bring forward before I leave.

As cheesy as it sounds, I’ll make this transition count & make it easy for you guys in any way possible. Just let me know. And not because I’m trying to leave perfectly, but because I want to return even a fraction of what you all gave me.

Whether you like it or not, I love you both (say it back) and I love this team.

Please do a collab with Pitbull,

Zaria