LEVEL UP ⬆️

_{Is your startup missing the ‘Aha‘ in growth?}

You know that moment when a user finally “gets” your product?

The little spark that turns “eh, let’s try it” into “I’m hooked”?

That’s the kind of moment Duolingo has mastered and it’s no accident.

Before we dive in, quick shoutout to Ana Dinevska, Growth & Partnerships Manager at The Founder Games, who cracked open the AARRR framework in her bachelor's thesis and shared a killer breakdown with us. She took a classic growth model and gave it a fresh, regional spin, one that actually makes sense for startups from the Balkans and beyond.

Alright, let’s talk AARRR (yes, it’s literally pronounced like a pirate). It’s not new, but it’s still one of the most practical ways to understand and grow a startup.

Dave McClure is an investor, founder of 500 Startups, and the guy who made pirate metrics a thing, first introduced AARRR back in 2007. Since then, it’s become a go-to growth map for SaaS and tech companies worldwide.

Why? Because it ditches the fluff and focuses on what actually moves the needle.

Here’s how the five parts break down, along with how Duolingo, a master of user obsession, uses each one:

🧲 1. Acquisition

This is where the journey starts. Getting people through the door.

Duolingo doesn’t spend a fortune on ads. 80% of its users come from word-of-mouth, organic search, or recommendations. That’s what happens when your product is free, easy to use, and actually good.

Metrics to watch:

• Conversion rate (visitors → signups)

• CPA (how much you’re paying to get a user)

• Traffic source performance (which channels are bringing the right crowd)

✨ 2. Activation

This is the “aha moment.” When users feel the value and think, “Okay, this is cool.”

For Duolingo, that moment is finishing your first lesson or hitting a streak. The app pushes instant feedback, progress bars, and quick wins right out of the gate. Oh, and they let you play around before making you register. Smart.

Metrics to track:

• Activation rate (users who complete onboarding)

• Time to Value (how fast they feel it’s worth it)

• Engagement (sessions, features used, repeat visits)

🔁 3. Retention

Here’s where most products struggle. You want users to come back again and again.

Duolingo nails this with streaks, leagues, and gentle push notifications. Their North Star Metric? CURR: Current User Retention Rate. They A/B test everything to keep users engaged.

Watch for:

• Churn rate (users who leave)

• CLTV (lifetime value of a customer)

• Cohort analysis (how groups behave over time)

📢 4. Referral

Happy users talk. Duolingo turns that into a growth engine.

They use personalized invites, XP bonuses, and free premium days to nudge users to bring their friends. Their product is also super shareable thanks to the game-like experience.

Referral metrics:

• Net Promoter Score (would they recommend you?)

• Referral conversion rate (how many actually do)

• Virality coefficient (how many users bring in more users)

💸 5. Revenue

Now, the money part.

Duolingo runs on a freemium model. The basic app is free (ad-supported), and power users can upgrade to Super Duolingo for extra features and no ads. It’s monetization without blocking access.

Metrics that matter:

• ARPU (average revenue per user)

• CAC: LTV ratio (are you spending less to get users than they’re worth?)

So, why does AARRR still work and where does it trip?

• It’s data-driven and doesn’t care about fluff

• It’s made for continuous testing and tweaking

• It tracks every step of the user journey

• It actually values retention and referrals, not just acquisition

However, here are its struggles:

• Not great for branding and top-of-funnel awareness

• Can ignore the emotional/qualitative side of UX

• It assumes a linear journey, not always true in real life

• It can be heavy for early teams without proper tracking tools

Now, what can we steal from Duolingo using the AARRR framework?

🧠 Obsess over retention. Your product isn’t sticky? Nothing else matters.

🧠 Gamify where it makes sense, but don’t force it.

🧠 Let users feel the value fast, i.e., don’t hide it behind 5 steps.

🧠 Make it easy to share. Users are your best marketers.

🧠 Keep testing. Nothing is ever “done.”

If you're in the middle of building something, whether it’s your first MVP or your 10th pivot, AARRR is worth revisiting.

Just like Duolingo, you don’t need to do everything at once, but you do need to understand where your users are dropping off and what’s keeping them coming back.

And who knows? Maybe your startup’s next growth curve starts with a simple “Aha.”

FRESH FROM THE ROLLERCOASTER 🎢

_{What’s going on BTS?}

• Mirjana from MJ Hats was spotlighted on UNDP’s social media channels. Click to view the post.

• Omnilyst is now officially based in Estonia, growing its technical team with startup veteran and focusing on infrastructure upgrades. Plus, they just dropped a free course to help small businesses sound more human online.

• BuyerMind teases new plans for this fall and is looking to connect with fellow AI enthusiasts.

• Barkoder closed their pre-seed round to scale their powerful software-only barcode and OCR scanning SDK, replacing bulky hardware and unlocking faster, cheaper, and more flexible solutions for businesses. Congrats, team, keep scanning the future!

• Paysolo hints at its first round investment and adds new blockchain integrations to its product. See the full announcement here.

STARTUP NEWS RADAR 📡

_{What’s happening these days?}

SXSW Pitch 2026 is now open for applications, spotlighting cutting-edge innovation across nine categories, from Smart Cities and FinTech to Healthcare and Creator Tech. Scheduled for March 13 and 14 in Austin, this flagship startup showcase connects founders with top-tier judges, VCs, and early adopters. Startups can apply through an open call with fees set at $100 for early entry and $220 for regular. To be eligible, companies must have launched after January 1, 2023, raised less than $10 million, and fall under one of the listed categories. Here's the best part: our friend Timmy Ghiurau is on the advisory board, so if this sounds like a fit, reply to this email and we might be able to fast-track your application 🔥

Swedish AI startup Lovable became a unicorn just eight months after launch, raising $200M at a $1.8B valuation. Their platform, vibe coding, lets anyone build websites, apps, or prototypes by simply describing what they want. It’s already got 2.3M users, 180K paying, and crossed $100M in ARR with only 45 employees. Backed by Accel, Klarna, and Slack founders, Lovable is now one of Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies. While it's not built for complex apps, it's a powerful tool for founders who need to move fast and test ideas without code.

ChatGPT-5 is almost here. While not officially released as of late July 2025, credible sources suggest it could launch as early as August. It’s expected to unify reasoning and multimodal capabilities (text, image, voice, possibly video), boost problem-solving, reduce hallucinations, and come with a larger context window. OpenAI is also planning smaller, business-friendly versions for industries like healthcare and finance. Early testers, including Sam Altman, hint that it’s a major leap and we’re likely just weeks away from seeing it live.

Google is quietly testing Opal, a no-code “vibe-coding” app that lets anyone build mini web apps just by describing them in plain language, no dev skills needed. Aimed at entrepreneurs and hobbyists, not just coders, Opal combines visual editing with AI-driven prompts, making it easy to tweak workflows and publish projects online. For startup founders, this could be a game-changer: a free, fast way to prototype ideas, validate demand, or build MVPs without hiring a developer, especially if Google bundles it with tools like Drive or Firebase.

THE STARTUP VAULT 🗃️

_{Founders take note:}

• Microtica is an AI agent that explains why your systems break.

• Streamline and optimize your prompts with PromptGround.

• Doco is the Cursor for Microsoft Word.

• Supercharge your marketing and sales funnels with GPTFunnels.

• Findable helps you reach the #1 spot on ChatGPT.

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