Duolingo Is Crushing It — and So Does California 📚🏠💪

Biz Analyst Club Newsletter

by The Business Model Analyst

Hello, Biz Enthusiasts!
Big Tech is bracing for an ad slowdown (and possibly their next midlife crisis), Revolut is making it rain profits, Duolingo is winning at everything (except subtle push notifications), and Google just remembered it owns offices and wants people inside them. Meanwhile, wastewater energy is a thing now, and California flexed so hard it passed Japan’s economy. 🚀🌎 Let’s dive into a week where even flushing is getting a tech upgrade.

Hot Takes 🚀

1. Big Tech’s Ad Money Machine Is Slowing Down 📉💸
Thanks to new tariffs, companies are cutting digital ad budgets faster than a marketer at an intern fair. Meta could lose up to $10B just from China alone. If you listen closely, you can hear a CFO somewhere weeping into their fourth quarter projections.
👉 Here’s why Big Tech’s ad party might be ending

2. Revolut Just Pulled Off a $1B Profit Year. 🔥💳
While most startups are still debating whether "vibes" count as a business model, Revolut posted $1B in profit and grew its user base 38% to 52.5M. Oh, and launched a crypto exchange on the side. Basically, it’s banking... but make it sexy.
👉 See how Revolut is redefining neobanking

3. Duolingo Is Printing Cash and Users Like Crazy 📚🤑
45% revenue growth. 54% more daily users. And yes, they’re still sending you that “Your streak is crying” email. Duolingo is crushing it — and they raised their full-year guidance because why not?
👉 Peek inside Duolingo’s record-breaking quarter

4. Google to Remote Workers: Office or Else 🏢😬
Remember that "work from anywhere" dream? Google would like you to wake up — at your desk. Some remote workers are now being told to come back three days a week or… you know, find somewhere else to Slack from.
👉 Here’s why Google is (literally) pulling people back

5. California Just Passed Japan as the 4th Biggest Economy 🌎🚀
California now has a $4.1T economy, officially leapfrogging Japan. It's the startup founder of states — fast growth, big dreams, slight existential crises. Next up? Outrunning India by 2026 (if they can dodge federal tariff drama).
👉 See how California just flexed on the world

Quick Hits 📰

• 🔋 Wastewater Energy Is Heating Up: Cities are tapping hot drain water to power buildings. Toilet water: nature’s battery?
  👉 Check out this eco-friendly energy hack

• 🏠 Woodcarving = New Self-Care Trend: Feeling stressed? Whittle a spoon. Seriously. Wood therapy is booming.
  👉 Find your inner peace with woodchips

• 🕶️ Glasses That Caption Conversations: New smart glasses transcribe real-time speech for the hearing-impaired. Future’s looking bright — and readable.

  👉 See how subtitling your life just got real

• 🥂 Lebanon’s Women Winemakers Are Thriving: Despite insane challenges, a woman-led winery is shaking up Lebanon’s wine world.
  👉 Cheers to resilience — and good wine

• 🪑 Office Lighting Gets an Upgrade: Goodbye fluorescent headaches. Hello, faux skylights synced to your circadian rhythm.
  👉 See the new light on the 9-to-5 grind

• 💉 Shingles Vaccine May Reduce Dementia Risk: A jab now might mean sharper thinking later. Talk about a side effect you want.
  👉 Here’s the surprising brain boost from shingles shots

• 🚘 Waymo Might Sell You a Self-Driving Car: Want a robot butler on wheels? Waymo’s thinking about it.
  👉 See how you could soon own a Waymo car

• ⌚ Apple Watch Turns 10 — and $127B Old: From “huh?” to “must-have,” the Apple Watch quietly took over your wrist (and wallet).
  👉 Relive a decade of wrist domination

• 🧠 Apple Breaks Up with Centralized AI Teams: Instead of one giant AI team, Apple is now sprinkling AI fairy dust everywhere internally.
  👉 Why Apple shuffled its AI strategy again

• 🏦 Small Business Loan Approvals Are Booming: The SBA is handing out manufacturing loans faster than ever. Small biz comeback loading…
  👉 See the latest SBA loan surge numbers

Feeling smarter? Inspired? Ready to carve a wooden spoon and start your fintech empire? Same. Stay curious, stay caffeinated — and maybe don't ignore Google's next email. (It might say “report to the office…or else.”) 😅

💬 What Do You Think?

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