How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com)
How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com)
How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com)
Albert Cheng, a growth leader at Duolingo, Grammarly, and Chess.com, shares how his background in music and product management converges on the principles of deliberate practice, experimentation, and psychological insight. His approach to scaling consumer apps centers on empowering teams to rapidly test ideas, learn from failure, and double down on what truly moves user behavior—revealing a mindset shaped as much by piano rehearsals as product metrics.
Cheng emphasizes the 'explore-exploit' framework: constantly testing new ideas while scaling proven ones. At Grammarly, showing premium features to free users doubled conversions, proving that reverse trials outperform time-limited ones. Strong retention—30-40% D1—is critical for subscription apps, but mature products grow most from reactivating lapsed users. Chess.com runs nearly 1,000 experiments yearly, using AI to accelerate ideation and analysis. Gamification works when it combines core loops, metagames, and social profiles, as seen in Duolingo’s success. High-agency hires often beat experienced ones because they act fast and learn quickly. Cheng prefers mid-sized companies where impact and scale balance. Past failures, like Chariot Direct, taught him to define the real problem before building. Ultimately, sustainable growth comes from deep user understanding, relentless iteration, and integrity in decision-making.
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High-agency individuals can outperform those with deep experience.
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80% of game reviews on Chess.com happen after a win, not a loss.
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Interspersing paid suggestions in free versions nearly doubled Grammarly's upgrade rates.
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Duolingo's mascot-driven marketing brings a significant portion of new users
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Stockfish is far better than top grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen in terms of Elo rating.
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The goal at Chess.com is to run 1,000 experiments a year.
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Most new users on Chess.com are beginners who quit after losing early games.
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High-agency people have high clock speed, energy, and a beginner's mind, making them ideal for fast-changing environments like AI.
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Don't search for solutions without a clear problem in marketplace businesses.
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Nothing is more important than your reputation
