Matias Rizzo
Hi
Julia
My name is Matias Rizzo, I'm a Founding Designer and I saw the Founding Designer position on YC and couldn’t resist reaching out. But before writing to you, I obviously downloaded the app to understand where things stand.
According to your homepage, Parrot’s value proposition is "TikTok for language learning," but when I went through onboarding, it didn’t feel like TikTok. 💡That’s actually a great opportunity to start showing that value from minute zero.
I also noticed that the onboarding asks for a lot of information, and the “do you know these words?” step didn’t really add value for me. It doesn’t challenge me to use the phrases or words I say I know, and it also doesn’t show me how the TikTok method is better than Duolingo, which means motivation drops off.
The onboarding isn’t frictional because it’s very straightforward, but there’s never a wow moment. I didn’t feel like I knew the language or learned something new, and just when I was starting to get motivated, when I saw someone speaking, I was asked to pay. Honestly, I wouldn’t have paid, because I didn’t see the app’s value. I didn’t understand how the TikTok method could help me learn better than Duolingo.
I’m leaving you here a few small improvements I’d make, merging the power of AI with your unique identity.
If this might be part of your improvement plans, let’s have a chat—I can share more in depth about Journey Mapping and how to apply other frameworks that drive real impact on activation and the rest of the lifecycle.
P.S.: My proposal is not a source of truth, it’s simply an exercise to show where I’d make changes and where we could go.
