San Francisco-based EdTech company, Quizlet is the largest user-generated online learning platform in the U.S. Every month, over 20 million active learners from 130 countries practice and master more than 200 million study sets of content on every conceivable subject and topic. Their mission is simple: To help people practice and master whatever they are learning. Quizlet provides engaging, customizable activities with contributions from people everywhere.

Many of Quizlet’s most popular features have stemmed from hackathons – including Quizlet Live (a collaborative learning game), Quizlet Flashcard Themes and the scan feature, which makes it easy to create flashcard sets from printed worksheets – the company closes down the last two weeks of December so its employees can work on personal projects from home. A sort of informal hackathon!

I chat to Quizlet CEO Matt Glotzbach about why hackathons have become a Silicon Valley staple, and how employees from all departments at Quizlet (not just tech!) have contributed to products that have been released to users.