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Hello is the number one Catholic prayer and meditation app in the world with over 12 million downloads. And after an increase in downloads after it Super Bowl commercialit took Top spot in Apple's App Store across all applications.
The company has raised a total of $105 million to date, thanks in large part to the blood, sweat and tears of co-founder and CEO Alex Jones. In this episode of The CEO Series, we visited Hallow headquarters to talk with Jones about all things business, leadership and faith. Below are some highlights from that powerful conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.
Divine inspiration
“Hallow is a prayer and meditation app for anyone seeking to grow closer to God. Its origins go back to my own religious journey. I was raised Catholic, but left my faith in high school and college. After I graduated , I really got into meditation. I found these apps that had just launched, Headspace and Calm, and I started using them every day and I loved them. But every time I meditated, my mind would strangely feel drawn to something spiritual, as an image of the cross. So I started reaching out to priests and pastors and people I knew from Notre Dame and asked what I thought was a really interesting question: Is there some way that there's some kind of crossover between this faith thing and this meditation thing? And they almost all laughed at me and said, “Yeah, we've been doing this for 2,000 years. It's called prayer!” And it changed my life. I knew I had to do this. I knew how to code a bit, so we built the first version and went from there. The app has helped me grow tremendously in my spirituality, which has been phenomenal.”
Something bigger than yourself
“My cousin passed away when he was 45. He died in his sleep by accident. He had just got married and his wife was pregnant with their first child. His mother, who is my aunt, was obviously heartbroken. . We had just launched the app and she sent us a note that I've kept to this day. It said, “I honestly didn't think I was going to make it through my first Christmas without my son and I just want you to know that these little meditations in the app are the only thing that reminds me that I am able to have hope and that I am able to get out of bed and carry on in this time of deep pain.' And I like to burst into tears on the floor in my little studio apartment.”
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Fundraising challenges
“The fundraising thing is super stressful for any CEO because it's so hard, especially in today's world. When you do the seed round, you don't have real numbers to talk about. It's just your story. And people are just judging you and ask yourself. Do you like our concept? Are you sitting up straight enough? Are you looking in the eye? Do I like this guy? I had close to 80 matches in the first two weeks, just playing constantly. I remember going back to my studio apartment after hearing no after no – people basically telling me that the core of who I am is stupid and this idea will never work. It was so heavy. I was very stressed. My heart ached. My back had all these joints in it. I started praying and said, 'Lord, look, this is too much. I can't do this. I finished. I can't carry this weight.' And then I said, 'I'll make a deal with you. I promise if this thing works, you will always get the credit. I will never delude myself into thinking I am a successful startup CEO who has all these things figured out. It was all you.' That massive weight was immediately lifted and the next day we went on a date at a coffee shop with this guy and he gave us a term sheet. And we have three, four more tomorrow. It was just God saying, 'Just wait.' I just had to give up.”
Tips for founders
“You have to find something bigger than yourself. You have to, there's no choice.”
See more profiles of innovative and influential leaders by visiting The CEO Series the archives.
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