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How We Hatched: Bryan Enriquez, Founding Team Member of Hallow
3rd October 2023 • The Pair Program • hatch I.T.
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How We Hatched: Bryan Enriquez, Founding Team Member of Hallow

Welcome to our most recent episode of “How We Hatched"! In this episode, you’ll hear from Bryan Enriquez, one of the founders of prayer & meditation app, Hallow.

During this episode, Bryan shares the story his founder’s journey that led him to be part of the team behind Hallow.

Here are just a few of the topics discussed:

  • The story behind the app and the impact it's made in the lives of people from age 18 to 80.
  • How his career working for the Department of Justice surprisingly led him to become an entrepreneur.
  • How the founding team established relationships with a strong lineup of investors (including Joe Montana and Mark Wahlberg, just to name a few!).
  • How they’re solving the problem of busyness and stress by helping users establish routines of prayer, mindfulness, and meditation.

About today’s guest: Bryan Enriquez is a founding team member and the Head of Customer Operations at Hallow. In that role, he leads the Community team, the Customer Insights team, and the Customer Support team as well as planning official events for Hallow. Bryan is a 2015 graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A.) and a 2021 graduate of the Yale School of Management (MBA).

Sign-Up for the Weekly hatchpad Newsletter: https://www.myhatchpad.com/newsletter/

Transcripts

Tim Winkler:

Welcome to The Pair Program from hatchpad, the podcast that gives you

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a front row seat to candid conversations

with tech leaders from the startup world.

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I'm your host, Tim Winkler,

the creator of Hatchpad.

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And I'm

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your other host, Mike Gruen.

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Join us each episode as we bring

together two guests to dissect topics

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at the intersection of technology,

startups, and career growth.

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Brian, thanks for joining

us on the pair program.

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Um, it's another bonus episode of a

mini series we call how we hatched.

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Uh, just a fun discussion to hear

a little bit more about your.

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You need career journey, you know, kind

of where you came from and how you arrived

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at this current point in your seat today

as one of the co founders of halo, a halo,

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a B2C app focused on health and wellness.

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Um, so first I always like to start by

we'll get into the foundation of who.

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Uh, Brian Enriquez is, so kick off with

the question, you know, what did, what

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did Brian have for breakfast this morning?

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Bryan Enriquez: Yeah, that's a,

that's a, that's a great question.

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So actually right now

the answer is nothing.

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Um, I, uh, I've started

recently intermittent fasting.

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Um, okay.

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Tim Winkler: Okay.

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And

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Bryan Enriquez: it's, it's going well.

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Uh, I've been at it for

about a month and a half now.

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Is this your first

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time

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Tim Winkler: trying something like this?

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Bryan Enriquez: Yes.

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Uh, so I actually have some autoimmune,

uh, situations I'm trying to go

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through and trying to improve on.

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And yeah, it's actually helped.

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Um, I, I looked up some, some articles

from Johns Hopkins that talks about

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how intermittent fasting can help

reduce inflammation in the body.

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One point, it's like, Oh, it's one

of these bufu shishi like trends, but

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it's actually like an actual, you know,

it's It had the science behind it.

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So I'm like, I'll give it a try.

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Um, I was not trying to lose weight.

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I ended up losing quite a bit.

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Um, and I do feel better.

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So it's going to be something I'm going

to try to incorporate moving forward.

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So

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Tim Winkler: how long do

you go for your first meal?

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Bryan Enriquez: So I try to do, I eat at

noon and then I stop eating after 8 PM.

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Okay.

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Let's

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Tim Winkler: say.

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Do you like, as far as like a

morning routine, uh, what do you,

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what do you kind of get into?

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Do you, do you have a, a, a consistent

routine you try to stick to?

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Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

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So I think for me, it depends

on whether or not to go into

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the office, uh, every day.

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So at hollow, we're a remote first

organization, which means, you

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know, I mean, the majority of our

folks don't work here in Chicago.

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I'm here.

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We just moved offices.

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We're in a, in a new, we

worked, which is very nice.

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Um, yeah.

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You're in the Fulton market,

Wesley, Barry and Chicago.

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Um, I live like 10 minutes

away, so it's really easy.

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My routine, if I'm walking is I try to,

um, meditate and pray in the morning.

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Um, so I'll do like one

of our hollow sessions.

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I'm like, I'm, I'm one of those users

of, of, uh, the product that I've made.

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So part of my role is try to

share feedback from our users.

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And that is also me.

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So I use it every day.

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Um, and yeah, so I pray rosary when I walk

into work and when I'm staying here, I,

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I sort of mix it up and, you know, before

I would eat something for breakfast.

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No, I don't.

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Um, yeah, so my, when I'm here, I

just try to wake up and, um, top

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level things that I have to tackle.

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I have it ready.

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I have my, my calendar is

one of those things where I

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have everything time blocked.

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So people think it looks psychotic, but

for me, it brings me a sense of peace

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because I know what I have to do when,

um, and it's all color coordinated.

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So yeah.

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Tim Winkler: Oh man, you're,

you got it down to science.

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Time blocks are key.

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I, I'm always, uh, you know, as a,

as a small business founder, I'm

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I got a block off that morning.

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Uh, I can't get attacked in the morning

by, by a bunch of, you know, meetings

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and like requests and one on ones.

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Like that's, that's, uh, that morning

is, is super important to just kind

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of get the day scheduled, you know,

make sure you know what you're

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doing and, and get a good start.

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Um, cool.

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Well, you know, we, um, we always like

to start by having you provide, you know,

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the listeners with a quick, quick overview

on, on hallow and, you know, kind of.

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Kind of work you guys are doing

problems you're solving here.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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So

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Bryan Enriquez: I think, um, we

were talking earlier, um, before

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we got started about sort of what

is how and where did it come from.

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So really our perspective, um, the

goal is we want to help people pray.

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That's our mission.

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That's literally our mission statements.

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We want to help people pray.

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Um, the reason is because

prayer changed our lives.

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Um, you know, having the space for

meditation and reflecting on, you know,

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your purpose in life and your relationship

with others and your relationship

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with God is, has been massive.

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Um, but we came from a background of

not really knowing how to do that.

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Um, and so that's sort of the voice

that we try to bring to the app is,

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um, we're going to walk with you.

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So it's all audio guided, right?

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So all you do is you open the

app, you find a type of session

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that's attractive to you.

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You hit play.

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Okay.

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And then you can have 1 of our guides walk

through it might be Francis, who is 1 of

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our founding members and is my roommate.

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Um, or it could be Mark Wahlberg.

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Um, so we've got an interesting mix

of guys in the app, um, for different,

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um, yeah, backgrounds and interests.

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So cool.

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Tim Winkler: Yeah, we'll, uh, get

a little bit more into that, uh,

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throughout the, uh, discussion, but, um.

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Let's flash back a little bit.

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I like to, I like to peel back

the founder's journey, uh, before

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I dive deeper into the story of,

of, of the technology or the app.

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So, uh, let's start with, uh, the roots

for you, you know, where'd you grow up?

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Uh, what eventually led you down this

path to being a tech entrepreneur?

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Bryan Enriquez: Yeah, absolutely.

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I was listening, um, to your, um,

earlier, um, podcasts with, um, Brian

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from Lauren studios, the, the game

studios and talking about just sort of

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like, Hey, like, where did you come from?

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And it's interesting, you know, he's

his experience of technology and like

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playing, you know, computers early

on that kind of resonated with me.

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I also loved computers

and tech growing up.

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Um, but, yes, I was born in Puerto Rico.

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Um, my parents are Puerto Rican.

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I was born there.

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I left when I was 2 years old, moved

around a lot when I was a kid, um, lived

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in Iowa and Missouri and Kansas, ended up

spending most of my time in Mississippi.

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So, I grew up a few years in the coast in

Bluxy, but I say that I'm from Meridian,

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which is Sort of close to the Alabama

border, um, and then I went back to Puerto

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Rico for a year, came back, graduated high

school in Mississippi, went to Notre Dame.

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I'm a big, uh, Irish fan.

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Um, and, uh, and then I ended up

working for the government in D.

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C.

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So in D.

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C.

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for 4 years, um, for the

Department of Justice.

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And I say that because I is probably

the least likely person to be involved

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on a, on a founding team of a startup.

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So I just wanted to speak into that.

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Some of your listeners might be like,

well, I don't know if that's me.

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I mean, you know, I

studied political science.

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I did study economics, but.

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I never visualized myself

as an entrepreneur.

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I never thought that I was, that's

what I was going to be doing.

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Tim Winkler: Um, didn't run in the family

or anything like absolutely parents.

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Okay.

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Bryan Enriquez: Absolutely not.

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No one, no one to my knowledge

has even started a company.

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Um, they'll have had, you know, great

experiences, but this flavor of let's

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start something from nothing is never

something that I even interacted with.

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I don't think I met somebody like I didn't

have any friends who had done it or like

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distant relatives or anything like that,

it was truly out of, out of nowhere.

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And, um, you know, I was

working for the government.

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I mean, when you think about, you know,

a startup, it's like the opposite of

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a startup is the federal government.

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I mean, it's something that's been around

for, you know, probably a hundred to

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200 years, depending on what department

and group and, um, the way that they run

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things a lot of times is set in stone and

there's, you know, different levels of

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hierarchy and we talk about a startup.

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It's like.

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Didn't exist, no one knows what it is,

you know, most people know what, you

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know, the Department of Commerce is, or,

you know, Department of Justice, um, DEA,

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like, those just are things that people

are aware of, and so when you're trying to

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create something that has no recognition,

like, when we start talking about HALO,

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like, no one knew what HALO was, right?

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So.

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You have to truly go from 0 to 1

as Peter Thiel talks about in his

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book, which is really helpful.

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So people

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Tim Winkler: just kind of fall into

that first gig out of school, right?

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I feel like you're just so lost and, you

know, a lot of times you don't, you know,

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you're not pursuing what you studied.

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Uh, you just, yeah.

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Connected by somebody that knew

someone who's trying to get a job.

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So, you know, sounds like you kind

of fell into, you know, into the

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world, you know, into the world

of government, you're in the area.

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Um,

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Bryan Enriquez: yeah, so I, I thought

I was going to be a lawyer actually.

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So I did mock trial in high

school and college and I thought,

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okay, you don't really go into

law after graduating, right?

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You go, you know, sometimes people

become a paralegal and I thought,

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well, I might as well just go and

try to work with some lawyers.

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You know what I mean?

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And try to get an experience and so

I went to the Department of Justice.

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I kind of got that.

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I got to work on projects with lawyers,

which is exactly what I wanted.

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And then I realized that

that was not my calling.

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Uh, law was not my calling.

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Um, I just got the things that made

me passionate or things that drove,

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I should say passion, um, in the work

that I did was more about problem

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solving and working with others.

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And law is sort of the framework

of is just different from that.

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It's more about Research, um, coming

together with, with briefs, um, giving

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counsel to other people that are making

decisions as like, that's, that's,

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that's cool for the people who do it.

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That's not necessarily what I want to do.

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Um, so, yeah.

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Tim Winkler: So then, uh, let's

fast forward and tell me how you,

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you know, how you got regrouped

with some of your, your, your.

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I guess co founders, right?

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Some, some of your, uh, your

friends from school and, uh,

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how did this idea come to mind?

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Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

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So, I mean, again, not us not

really knowing, I mean, I certainly

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didn't have that background.

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I think so, Alex, um, he's our CEO,

Alex Jones, not the one from InfoWars.

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Um, he was my roommate in college.

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And we were randomly assigned,

um, uh, at Notre Dame.

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It's that first year.

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You just get randomly

assigned with a roommate.

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There's no look for me to fill out.

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You just, you know, and he was

the person that I met with.

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And then a few people on our floor,

um, that ended up also being on

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the founding team within my dorm.

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Um, so the short answer is we all

met in college with the exception

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of Eric, who had met Alex briefly.

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Um, so we were all sort

of friends from college.

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And then we started talking and

catching up on the weekends, sort of.

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Um, over the years after we had graduated.

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So, uh, we graduated in 2015

from Notre Dame and then the

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idea sort of came around in 2017.

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Uh, and then we actually started to,

you know, put things together, uh,

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and, and really talk about in 2018.

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Um, so the, the pre, there was a

precursor version of this, uh, of the

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idea and then there was the actual idea.

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So, um, the first version was

like, oh man, like we can maybe

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do a blog on like our journey.

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And so we started, uh, Alex also

under, and I started a blog.

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That I don't think anyone read, I

mean, we got like a WordPress site

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and we're like, let's just try to

share our experiences and journey

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with other people that did not work.

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I mean, we had no idea what we were doing.

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And so then in January of 2018, um,

Alex was like, yeah, I mean, why

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don't we start an app because I.

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Was was really impacted in my life was

changed through prayer and specifically

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meditative prayer, which is not

it's not that it's not mainstream.

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It's just maybe not talked

about as much right.

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Um, and so then he's and I was like,

yes, that sounds like an amazing idea.

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Let's do it again.

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Not really knowing what we

were getting ourselves into.

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Um, and so then we started to

develop the app idea in:

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then launched it in December of 2018.

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Um, so this December will

officially be 5 years old.

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But the founding team

itself, there's 7 of us.

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Um, and we sort of came together

through, you know, being friends and

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like having the right skill sets.

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So I'm the sort of the

really extroverted person.

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Um, so my role is head

of customer operations.

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So trying to be the person who spends most

time talking with our users and bringing

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that insight to the different teams at

hallow building community, uh, running our

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customer support team, running our events.

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Um, so yeah.

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So, and then in terms of the, the, the

makeup three, the first three people

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to quit their jobs are the co founders.

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And then the next four, uh,

are the founding team members.

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So I'm the fourth person.

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So I'm actually a founding team member.

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Alex was the first and then Eric

and then Alessandro and then me.

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Um, so it was a really

interesting journey for us.

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So

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Tim Winkler: where you were still

kind of consulting, you know, while,

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you know, the app was really kind

of being built in the background.

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Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

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So we were all, I mean, we started

alking about it in January of:

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like, Hey, like let's build this thing.

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And then Alex ended up quitting to

go to business school in the summer.

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So probably like June ish.

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Um, and then Eric and Alessandra quit

that fall, so they quit in, like, October,

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November, because we did a tech starter.

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That's how we got started

through that period.

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I was sort of working during

the day and then working after

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work, you know what I mean?

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So we have a weekly call,

um, to just chat, be like,

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okay, what's the next project?

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How are we getting feedback?

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What are we doing?

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What's this idea?

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We had, um, our first meeting in

May, so flew to San Francisco.

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Um, and we just kind of

like hash things out.

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There was a room of sticky notes.

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And so it's cool because it's like

one of those things you see on TV.

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Like, Oh, we're starting a startup.

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Like let's get sticky notes in a

room and let's, you know, it actually

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ended up being really helpful.

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Um, a lot of our ideas came

from that initial meeting.

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Um, so

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Tim Winkler: yeah, it's like a scene

out of like Silicon Valley, you know,

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the show, it's just like, uh, exactly.

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It was funny college

guys getting together.

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Well, you know, because it's always

interesting to see, um, you know, I kind

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of think back to like my journey to as

we're, you know, services companies,

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it's a little bit different because

you can kind of start as an independent

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consultant, kind of get a client base

going before you fully, you know,

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take that leap and start hiring folks.

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Whereas like when you're building an

app, it's a little bit different, right?

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You need funding and you need

some, some, some money to kind of.

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Help get you through and give you,

you know, that, that stability to feel

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comfortable to quit your job and really

focus full, full hearted on, on the.

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The company, um, and it sounds like

kickstarter was your all's, you know, kind

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of gave you, how much did you guys raise?

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Like from a, from a kickstarter,

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Bryan Enriquez: um, I think we were

like a 27, 000 from the kickstarter.

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Tim Winkler: And obviously everybody

had kind of saved a little bit

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of money up and, you know, that's

what I was going to say that

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Bryan Enriquez: the kickstarter

was in November, but before then.

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Um, we each had to look and

say, all right, like, how

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are we going to fund this?

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And so the answer was our, uh, 401k,

so I had to, and, you know, and I

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mean, we were only a few years out

of college, so it's not like we

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had a lot of, I mean, I certainly

didn't have a lot of, I don't know.

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Alessandro and a few of those

were in different industries.

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Um, so the pay different was there was

a pay difference, but I think none of us

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were, you know, sitting on a lot of money.

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So we had to rely on that for, you

know, the first few, uh, iterations of

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building it and getting people to help us.

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So we got some contractors early on

that ended up becoming employees later,

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um, worked out really, really well.

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The Kickstarter was there.

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Um, we, and then we did a seed

round, which is amazing, uh,

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about a year and a half later.

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Um, and that really was able to

kind of push us, um, to the, the

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next rounds that we we've closed.

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Tim Winkler: So cool.

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And, um, you know, tell me a

little bit about, you know,

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what your inspiration was.

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I think we, we kind of talked

about a little bit offline, but.

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You know, you guys were scratching

your, your own itch here.

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Um, but, um, I think you had

mentioned that, you know, one of

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the other founders had been using

Headspace or something, right.

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And it was kind of a, a

game changing experience.

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I think, uh, when you, when you think

about that type of technology, that app,

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um, was that one of the big influencers

with, with how you wanted to build?

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Bryan Enriquez: Yeah, so, I

mean, I think, um, there was

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2 things going on at the time.

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So Alex, it was his idea.

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Um, he was the one who had used headspace

and was found it helpful because it, it

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sort of helps you, um, find silence, um,

and which a lot of times people don't have

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silence in their days, you know, because

it's, it's this constant news feed.

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It's the notifications, it's the

emails, it's the, whatever the

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tick tocks or the Instagram reels.

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So.

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Yeah.

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That was helpful for him to create

a mind space, if you will, to think

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about what he truly believed in.

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And I think for him, before that had

happened with the meditation, it sort

354

:

of, he was, he was searching, trying to

understand what he really believed and

355

:

was one of the catalysts that helped

him realize that he wanted to pray.

356

:

And I think that's, that is one of

the differences between the apps

357

:

is when you talk about headspace,

you're really thinking about.

358

:

Mindfulness meditation and the silence,

whereas how it was really like, how

359

:

do you have a conversation with God?

360

:

How do you pray?

361

:

Um, and so he was like, well, we don't,

there's not really an app for that.

362

:

I mean, obviously there's some apps that

give you like Bible verses and there's

363

:

some Christian apps out there that are,

uh, non denominational Christian apps.

364

:

There was nothing that was

like a Catholic focused app.

365

:

And there were so many traditions

and things that are in the church

366

:

for hundreds and hundreds of years,

thousands of years, sometimes that just

367

:

weren't At least we thought like, I

never had a priest go up, get up and

368

:

say, you should do, let's do Divina.

369

:

Like, I had no idea what that was.

370

:

Um, it turns out it's a way to

meditate and reflect on scripture,

371

:

which is really powerful.

372

:

Um, and so that, yeah, that was

sort of the inspiration was like,

373

:

okay, there's this format that

worked well for me, but it's missing

374

:

something and I need that something.

375

:

Why don't we build that something?

376

:

And so that was 1 of the

things that was happening.

377

:

The 2nd thing at the same time.

378

:

So at work.

379

:

I, again, I was at the Department of

Justice 1 of the things that I was

380

:

tasked with was looking at the mental

health wellness needs of operators in

381

:

the branch of the Department of Justice.

382

:

And so these operators, um,

you know, sometimes they defuse

383

:

bombs, they rescue hostages.

384

:

Um, they have to negotiate,

you know, with people who, who.

385

:

Um, are difficult to negotiate with,

um, and so they have stressful jobs, um,

386

:

and we were trying to figure out, you

know, what's the state of, of, of them.

387

:

And we found that, uh, of all

the things that we recommended,

388

:

um, a few things were interesting

1 mental health and resiliency.

389

:

So when you phrase something as mental

health, it's like, uh, like, that's,

390

:

there's a stigma attached to it.

391

:

Sure.

392

:

When you talk about mental resiliency,

it's actually people want to grow in it

393

:

because they think it's like, oh, it's a

muscle, like I'm going to become stronger.

394

:

So that really resonated with people.

395

:

And then the other thing was

doing mindfulness meditation and

396

:

just kind of finding silence.

397

:

And so there was actual benefits

in terms of the heart rate

398

:

and things you could measure.

399

:

And so I, from that experience, when

he was talking about this, I was like,

400

:

yeah, man, like, I've seen this work.

401

:

And the, um, sort of secular context,

and so there's no reason why it can't

402

:

work in the religious context as well.

403

:

If we combine some of these

techniques with, um, you know,

404

:

the experiences of, uh, and the

teachings of the Catholic faith.

405

:

So that's kind of where the inspiration

came from, uh, initially to kind

406

:

of develop the 1st version of it.

407

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah, it's really a

fascinating space because I think you

408

:

Instrumental time, I would say that

mindfulness is becoming, you know, like

409

:

around when headspace, I started tapping

into headspace, maybe say:

410

:

2018, something around that time and,

and, uh, meditation and mindfulness

411

:

was, was really popping off, I'd say.

412

:

Um, so you guys kind of.

413

:

Got into it, I think, and wrote a,

an early rising wave where it was

414

:

kind of cool, you know, like people,

you know, especially younger folks

415

:

were like really getting into that.

416

:

Um, And, you know, to bring it back

to, um, you know, Catholicism at large,

417

:

something that, you know, I was, you

know, talking to you about offline was,

418

:

you know, you know, raised Catholic

and, you know, as a younger individual,

419

:

you know, going to a Catholic church,

you know, they had like CCD, right?

420

:

They had like, You know, you could

go and watch the videos, um, while,

421

:

you know, while maybe, you know,

the, your, your parents were, uh,

422

:

you know, actually in the sermon.

423

:

Um, but the, the reality was, it was

just, you know, it can oftentimes be

424

:

really challenging for younger folks

to, to find, uh, the Catholic religion

425

:

engaging, um, you know, and, and so

when I was doing my research on the app

426

:

and, you know, downloading and, and, you

know, engaging with it, I was like, This

427

:

is really catering to this, like, you

know, younger generation of Catholics.

428

:

Um, and I think there's a movement with

that too, and kind of like marrying

429

:

the, you know, the mindfulness and, uh,

religion and blending that together.

430

:

It's a really fascinating concept.

431

:

I'll obviously say like, you know,

B2C apps at large are extremely

432

:

difficult to get traction for.

433

:

Um, did you all, you know, did you,

was, was there, um, those conversations

434

:

happening around, like, just, you know,

talking to investors or just doing your

435

:

own research of like, what's it going

to take, uh, to be successful here?

436

:

Um, and did you get, you

know, discouraged at all?

437

:

And I'm always interested in those early

stages of you here, you know, this is the

438

:

type of traction you're going to need.

439

:

Uh, here's the fail rate.

440

:

Yeah.

441

:

How did, how did those conversations flow?

442

:

Bryan Enriquez: Certainly.

443

:

Um, difficult, you know, so

I think, I mean, there's the

444

:

stat that gets thrown around.

445

:

That's like, you know, 90 percent

of startups fail within two years.

446

:

Um, and in particular, you

know, B2C apps are tough.

447

:

You gotta really have a strong

sense of marketing and how

448

:

you're going to distribute it.

449

:

And you gotta really watch your, your, uh,

your CACs, you know, your cost to acquire.

450

:

Versus the LTV and like,

that's got to make sense.

451

:

Um, so yeah, so initially, um, Alex

sort of, uh, was the one who took on

452

:

these conversations and he had came back

and shared with us, like how it went.

453

:

Basically, I think it was

something like the first 50 or 60.

454

:

Like initial seed conversations

where, where people saying like,

455

:

you know, this is a stupid idea.

456

:

This is not going to go anywhere.

457

:

And I mean, that's, that's

a lot of conversation.

458

:

I mean, it's, it was dozens and dozens

and dozens of just, no, no, no, no, no.

459

:

It's a lot of

460

:

Tim Winkler: rejection.

461

:

And you

462

:

Bryan Enriquez: know, I mean, Alex

was like, look, God, like, I believe

463

:

that this is what you wanted me to do.

464

:

Right.

465

:

Like I need, like, I'm going to trust

you and please like, show me the way.

466

:

And I kid you not like immediately

after that, like the next day or two,

467

:

he got an, uh, an email, um, uh, and

a term sheet, um, from Suse Ventures.

468

:

Um, they've been fantastic.

469

:

Uh, and then once we got one term sheet,

we were able to get more and then we

470

:

closed our seed, we closed our series a,

I mean, it, it was really, um, amazing.

471

:

Uh, and I, so I think part of it was like,

Um, but also it's sort of the, what I was

472

:

talking about earlier, the, I think the

authenticity just really comes through,

473

:

especially in a Kickstarter video.

474

:

Cause it's just, it was Eric and Alex,

um, the two of them were just like,

475

:

Hey, like we're starting this thing.

476

:

And you know, again, we're not like

Eric and Alex, uh, and myself, we were

477

:

not really people who would consider

ourselves super religious or like,

478

:

I mean, yeah, we would go to church,

but like, it wasn't something that.

479

:

We were very engaged in and what we

realized is that people could see

480

:

themselves in that like, Hey, I wasn't

very engaged and then check it out.

481

:

I did this app and I, and

I learned how to pray.

482

:

I think for us, you know, having

that base routine of that habit, that

483

:

ritual of, Hey, I'm going to, I'm

praying and I'm meditating every day

484

:

enabled us to then understand and take

much more out of the actual services.

485

:

So, as before, I was like, I don't

understand why is there a red candle?

486

:

Why does he look like, why

is he dressed like a wizard?

487

:

Why does why do you have these robes?

488

:

I don't get it.

489

:

And then when you start to actually

be like, oh, I now understand

490

:

where this all comes from.

491

:

Um, it's from the Judeo Christian roots.

492

:

So it goes back to thousands of years to

like the time of Moses, um, of like these

493

:

robes and what it means to be a priest.

494

:

And so anyway, so I, I guess my point

is some people are like, Oh, are

495

:

you trying to be like a replacement

for, or a substitute for religion?

496

:

Like in, in terms of

like, uh, going to church.

497

:

And I think for us, absolutely not.

498

:

We want people to pray.

499

:

And certainly if you're not

a Catholic, but that's okay.

500

:

If you're not a Christian, that's okay.

501

:

Like

502

:

Tim Winkler: that was one of my questions.

503

:

It is a kind of catering to.

504

:

Like Christians and like, uh, just

505

:

Bryan Enriquez: a hundred percent.

506

:

So I think we really struggle with that.

507

:

It's like, how do we,

how do we be authentic?

508

:

That was one of our big things.

509

:

We want to be authentic.

510

:

And we said, look, we are all Catholic,

so we can't pretend to be something

511

:

we're not and the experiences that we

had are rooted in the Catholic faith.

512

:

So we have to stick, stay true to that.

513

:

We want to be inclusive and we want to

welcome other people of, of different

514

:

Christian denominations and even

people who aren't Christian as well.

515

:

Now that's trickier because obviously

like the content is focused on Christ.

516

:

So.

517

:

If you're not, uh, if you don't follow

Christ, then it, you know, it's, it's a

518

:

little different, but I've had people,

you know, explain and tell me that

519

:

they, they, they're not Christians

and they still find it useful.

520

:

So, um, that's exciting to me.

521

:

Um, just the way that we've

structured the content, I think

522

:

resonates with a lot of people.

523

:

It's less on like preaching and it's

more on let's have an experience

524

:

together and we have some soothing

voices, amazing people to pray with.

525

:

And then just like that experience of

like, oh wow, I'm, I'm experiencing

526

:

something and I literally feel better.

527

:

And so I think that kind of like,

is not as scary for a lot of people.

528

:

Cause it's not like, you know, pray,

whatever four decades of the rosary go.

529

:

It's like, I don't, I don't know

how to, you know, it's worse.

530

:

Like just press play and listen and

just like, let it kind of wash over you.

531

:

I think that really resonates

with a lot of people.

532

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah, I think that's a really

interesting point because, you know, one

533

:

of the things that I think is always a

bit of a turnoff for somebody that, you

534

:

know, I kind of look at myself as a little

bit of a religious mutt, you know, I

535

:

grew up Catholic, you know, transitioned

into a non denominational Christian,

536

:

may or may not have been a cult.

537

:

I'm not sure it was one of those like

really intense non denominational

538

:

Christian churches, kind of got turned

off, lived in, uh, Bali, Indonesia,

539

:

uh, kind of got entrenched in a, in

a Hindu environment for two years.

540

:

Came back home, um, you know, started to

really try to explore what, what, what

541

:

else is out there, um, without losing

sight of what I'd experienced in the past.

542

:

And one of the things that always

kind of turned me off, I think, would

543

:

be when people were really preaching

and they're like, it's almost like

544

:

it's, it's a selling, you're really

trying to sell me like a car salesman

545

:

here on, on, on why, why you.

546

:

Um, I like when you say it's like, you

know, we're not here to preach to you, you

547

:

know, and make sure like, you know, you

know, that this is the way it's more of

548

:

like, let's have this experience together

and like reinforce, you know, whatever

549

:

it is that you're, you're pursuing,

like, we want to kind of like help you

550

:

with that versus, you know, this is the

way it is, you know, I think that's,

551

:

Bryan Enriquez: yeah.

552

:

And I think again, you know, we have

a really wide variety of content.

553

:

I think Mark Wahlberg's content is great

because his, his content is just like.

554

:

Let's, let's get after it.

555

:

Like the mentality is like,

let's conquer the day.

556

:

Like, let's seize the day.

557

:

Like that person really

resonates with a lot of people.

558

:

We have content that is like more on

the meditation side, which is like

559

:

experiencing something in silence

or like reflecting on something.

560

:

Um, but then if there's people,

so if you're listening to this and

561

:

you're like, I'm not religious,

like, I don't understand why these

562

:

people talking about religion.

563

:

It's like, look, I think the core

of what we're talking about is.

564

:

We wrestled with what is,

what is the meaning of life

565

:

and like, where's my purpose?

566

:

And I've noted and I've had, I

have friends who aren't religious.

567

:

I think the core of it and the message

that I think everybody can take

568

:

away from is what I, my experiences.

569

:

You have to search, you

have to wrestle with it.

570

:

I think some people kind of

like, they focus on other things.

571

:

They think about the career, about

whatever it is, their family.

572

:

And they never stop to think about

like, what is it that I truly believe?

573

:

Like what happens after I die?

574

:

Uh, you know, which

we're all going to die.

575

:

So it's, something's going to happen and

just kind of wrestling with it and being

576

:

like, what is it that I truly believe?

577

:

How do I want to live my life?

578

:

Like, I think that, so I, there's a CEO

of all state who gave a talk recently.

579

:

And, um, and he leads a company of

whatever, I mean, they probably have

580

:

like 50, 000 people, if not more.

581

:

And one of the most successful

things that he talked about, um,

582

:

that Tom was mentioning in his talk

was it's like half day retreat,

583

:

full day retreat that they do.

584

:

I think it's, it's a day and a half

and it's for the entire company.

585

:

And it's, um, about understanding

what motivates you in life.

586

:

And it's like, it's not like a faith

thing, but it's a values thing.

587

:

It's like, where do you get your energy?

588

:

What, what makes you passionate?

589

:

Where do you feel like you're most alive?

590

:

Where do you feel like you're most dead?

591

:

Like wrestling with that.

592

:

And he said, has been the single

biggest thing that's driven retention

593

:

and just, um, employee satisfaction.

594

:

And they look forward to it every year.

595

:

And again, it's like, there's people of

all faith backgrounds, but that wrestling

596

:

with like, what is it that I believe?

597

:

Like what, what gets me

out of bed every day?

598

:

Like, how can I find my passion

and my meaning is super important.

599

:

And I feel like if anything you

walk away with is, I would just

600

:

encourage you to spend a few

more minutes thinking about that.

601

:

You haven't been.

602

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

603

:

And, uh, you know, a lot of folks,

you know, maybe that doesn't hit

604

:

them until a certain stage in life.

605

:

Right.

606

:

So I just had, uh, our first, uh,

child, my wife and I, we had a daughter.

607

:

Yeah.

608

:

Thanks.

609

:

She just turned seven

months today actually.

610

:

And, um, You know, one of the things

that kind of sparked us to, to re engage

611

:

in our faith, right, was we, we want to

raise, uh, our daughter in a, you know,

612

:

some sort of a religious household, right?

613

:

You know, I think there's order to it and

it's, uh, a family bonding experience,

614

:

uh, surround yourself with a community.

615

:

And for us, you know, so it started with

light, like praying at, at night before

616

:

dinner, you know, and, um, you know,

taking those small things, but then,

617

:

you know, pushing yourself further, like

kind of like what you're alluding to is

618

:

really challenge yourself to think, you

know, uh, about some deep, deep shit.

619

:

There's going to be things

that are really going to.

620

:

Uh, come up and, you know, when, when

you have another person that, that you're

621

:

responsible for, um, it kind of forces you

to, you know, think forward, uh, versus

622

:

maybe, maybe you just get comfortable if

it's just you and just, yeah, whatever.

623

:

So, I think, um, you know, it's certainly,

it sounds like it's, it's catering

624

:

to, you know, younger, uh, is it, is

it catering to younger generations?

625

:

Would you say most, a

lot of your users are.

626

:

Younger, or what does the user base

627

:

Bryan Enriquez: look like?

628

:

It's super interesting.

629

:

So we don't as our onboarding,

we don't ask for age.

630

:

So the short answer is we don't know.

631

:

With 95 percent degree of accuracy,

the user base distribution, we've done

632

:

surveys and we've talked to our users.

633

:

And what's fascinating is the user

distribution, I would have thought is

634

:

like a 18 to 35 and then like much lower.

635

:

Because it's a, it's a tech

app, but it's not, um, it's

636

:

actually relatively distributed.

637

:

There is, uh, I would say a bump of like,

you know, 18 to 35 in terms of users,

638

:

but it's pretty smooth in terms of the

distribution, uh, across ages with some

639

:

of our most engaged users being over

65, which I would never have guessed.

640

:

Um, I think the intuition there is

everybody gets something out of it.

641

:

It's a little bit different.

642

:

So I think folks that are in that over

65, you know, they have more time.

643

:

They are sort of in the

end of life chapter.

644

:

So they're like, okay, he's

like next 30 years, my, or,

645

:

or whatever might be my last.

646

:

So I have to think through

like what happens next.

647

:

And so it kind of prompts them.

648

:

Um, I think the middle group is

kind of what you're talking about.

649

:

We've noticed that marriage having

children triggers like a desire

650

:

of like, what do I really believe?

651

:

Because I now have to, I

have to pass something on.

652

:

I either ask like, God's

not real or like God's real.

653

:

And it's this one or that one.

654

:

Like you have to, you

have to say something.

655

:

Um, yeah.

656

:

Or you can let them figure

it out on their own.

657

:

But like, how do you, how do you walk

with them in that journey of life?

658

:

I think it's something that everyone

can kind of wrestle with or needs to

659

:

wrestle with in that, in that stage.

660

:

And so I just wanted to add

something to the earlier comment.

661

:

Um, I remember I, I, so I went

to Yale for, um, for my, my MBA.

662

:

Um, so graduate 2021, um, and I'm

happy to talk about that experience.

663

:

I know some of your listeners might

be wondering like, okay, well,

664

:

I want to go to business school.

665

:

I'm not really sure.

666

:

Do I get a master's degree?

667

:

Do I get a business degree?

668

:

So definitely I wrestled with that,

but there was this one class and it was

669

:

kind of like, uh, an orientation class.

670

:

I thought that was fascinating.

671

:

And one of the talks.

672

:

Resonated with me because the

guys similar background to you,

673

:

his dad was a pastor, actually.

674

:

So he said, Hey, you

know, my dad was a pastor.

675

:

I didn't know what I believed and

I was kind of wrestling with it.

676

:

One thing he told me

that I'll never forget.

677

:

He said that because his dad was

a pastor, he was invited to a lot

678

:

of people's final moments, right?

679

:

It's like, Hey, this

person's about to pass.

680

:

And like, let's have the pastor

just come by and like be with you

681

:

so that you're not alone, pray

over you as you, as you pass away.

682

:

And he said, you know, the one

thing that he said is the most

683

:

common thing on someone's deathbed.

684

:

It's talking about the things that

they didn't do and they, and the

685

:

regret of like, I didn't do this thing.

686

:

I wanted to start that business.

687

:

I didn't do it.

688

:

I want to write that book.

689

:

I didn't do it.

690

:

I wanted to, you know, make

that trip and I didn't do it.

691

:

And so he's like, that really motivated

me because I'm like 1 and Jeff Bezos talks

692

:

about this, like how he makes decisions.

693

:

He likes to think of it, of it

like 40 years from now, looking

694

:

back kind of like the premortem,

like, what would I have regretted

695

:

if I did or didn't do this thing?

696

:

And he's like, that motivated

me to start a company.

697

:

He started a company and it failed.

698

:

And he was like, I was in my

pajamas and my mom's, uh, my,

699

:

my, my parents dinner table.

700

:

And uh, we failed, but you know, but

I don't have to regret I'm not trying.

701

:

Yeah.

702

:

So if you're listening and

you're like, I don't know.

703

:

It's like.

704

:

Yeah.

705

:

Wrestle with it.

706

:

I certainly don't think everybody's

called to be an entrepreneur.

707

:

I think it's something that's probably

one of the hardest things you can do.

708

:

Um, very risky.

709

:

But yeah, I mean, if you're, if you're

wrestling with it, just consider that,

710

:

um, you know, think about yourself

in the future and what motivates

711

:

you again, what makes you, what,

what drives passion in your life?

712

:

Is it creating something?

713

:

Is it trying something new and you

just haven't had the experience?

714

:

Certainly that was my case, right?

715

:

Like I hadn't had the

opportunity to build something.

716

:

I was in the government

and there's not in my life.

717

:

Part of the government, my, my department,

there wasn't really a space for that

718

:

to build something from scratch.

719

:

Um, certainly if you're, I don't know, if

you're in the Pentagon and like, you're in

720

:

some research division, you can probably

build something from scratch with a lot

721

:

of money, but I was working with lawyers.

722

:

It's like, uh, you know, that, that

experience of like building an app or

723

:

building something was just not possible.

724

:

So it's almost like I never had the

opportunity to know if I wanted or not.

725

:

And I just had, we just took

a leap of faith and thankfully

726

:

it's, it's worked out.

727

:

Um, we just closed our series

C, uh, but a few months ago.

728

:

So.

729

:

Yeah.

730

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

731

:

Yeah, man.

732

:

That's really cool.

733

:

Uh, really cool feedback.

734

:

I, I, I, I think about that as well.

735

:

And, you know, I read a lot of books

around, you know, that exact moment of

736

:

the folks that their biggest regret,

um, is, you know, wish I hadn't just.

737

:

Kept putting in those extra hours

at work, you know, when I could

738

:

have spent more time with my family,

uh, or something like that, right.

739

:

That's usually the most, a really common

one as well, which entrepreneurs, you're

740

:

going to put in some work, you know,

and it's not going to be, uh, that, that

741

:

smooth sailing, but the, the reality is

that you could have a, a bigger payout.

742

:

Uh, retirement could come a little

earlier if you're putting in the,

743

:

the, the sweat and the tears in those

earlier stages, but the regret piece, I

744

:

think is, is a, is a fascinating point.

745

:

Um, I'm gonna, uh, wrap up a couple more

questions here for we, we transitioned

746

:

to the five second scramble, but,

you know, just a couple of quick

747

:

hitters on, on how low, you know, I

guess how many downloads, you know,

748

:

rough estimate you guys, uh, have

749

:

Bryan Enriquez: at this point.

750

:

Yeah.

751

:

So the last time I checked, we,

we cracked 11 million globally.

752

:

Wow.

753

:

So that's wild.

754

:

It's very, you guys are,

755

:

Tim Winkler: you know, in hundreds of

countries I'd imagine folks are, are.

756

:

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah, so the way

it works is any country you can

757

:

download an app, um, you can use it.

758

:

So, I mean, there's, I think we have users

in like, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and like

759

:

all these other nations, even though we

don't have it in Arabic, for example.

760

:

Um, so we're, we're global in that

sense, but in terms of languages, we

761

:

have English, we have Spanish, we have

Brazilian Portuguese, um, we have Filipino

762

:

Tagalog, uh, we have Polish, we in Latin.

763

:

And then we're launching in

French, German, and Italian,

764

:

uh, in the next, uh, few months.

765

:

So,

766

:

Tim Winkler: wow.

767

:

And you've got some, some

pretty, you know, big, big

768

:

partnerships and collaborations.

769

:

You, you, you mentioned

Mark Wahlberg is one.

770

:

Um, you know, how do you go about that?

771

:

How do you snag, uh, Mark Wahlberg to, to,

to use the app and then, you know, engage

772

:

him to, to lead some of these sessions?

773

:

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

774

:

So it's, it's interesting.

775

:

We've had folks like, um.

776

:

Joe Montana, he was 1 of our 1st, um,

investors as an angel investor legend.

777

:

Um, who's who's great.

778

:

Yeah.

779

:

Um, and yeah, I mean,

it, it sort of depends.

780

:

So we have, um, the actor who

plays Jesus in the chosen.

781

:

It's a popular streaming series.

782

:

Uh, his name is Jonathan roomie.

783

:

It's becoming bigger and bigger.

784

:

Obviously, we have Mark Wahlberg and

we've had a few other people that.

785

:

Mario Lopez, um, and some, some

other folks that have been gracious

786

:

enough to give their time, um,

and energy to help our project.

787

:

And really, it's sort of like an all

of the above, like, some of them have

788

:

been, we've reached out through an

agent and then the agent connects us.

789

:

Some of it has been like, we,

we know somebody who goes to

790

:

their church and we're like, Hey.

791

:

Do you want to work for HAL or

do you want to work with HAL and

792

:

they're like, yeah, HAL is cool.

793

:

And so it's cool because it's,

it's, it, again, it appeals

794

:

to a wide range of people.

795

:

Cause we have clergy in the app.

796

:

So we have like cardinals and archbishops.

797

:

And we also have, again, like

Mark Wahlberg or Jonathan,

798

:

people who don't have any formal,

you know, role in the church.

799

:

And again, it's just, we're trying

to create something and it's like,

800

:

well, how do you be inclusive

and not watered on the message?

801

:

Well, we've landed on is

like, we want to be authentic.

802

:

So this is who we are.

803

:

So we're not going to shy

away from it, but we want to

804

:

be as welcoming as possible.

805

:

And just, I think the format of

the app is what enables that.

806

:

So that's why I think people want

to work with us is they're like, Oh,

807

:

okay, this is a little different.

808

:

Like the way that this happens,

the way that you experience a

809

:

session in hallow, uh, is resonating

with a much larger audience.

810

:

And again, some people think like,

Oh, it's the younger audience.

811

:

But again, we've had some of our

people or power users that are over 65.

812

:

I had a, I had a call.

813

:

There was a, there was a, uh, I guess

a girl who was, who just turned 18.

814

:

And then there was a woman

who was 81 on the same call.

815

:

And they both were like, I love how,

and I'm like, it just kind of struck me.

816

:

I was like, that is crazy.

817

:

That is wild, wide range or

both, both find something

818

:

valuable and it is, is kind of

819

:

Tim Winkler: unique.

820

:

So that's crazy.

821

:

That's, that's so cool to

see that diverse user base.

822

:

Um, and you just mentioned, yeah,

you guys just snagged a series

823

:

C recently, um, total funding.

824

:

Where are you sitting at right now?

825

:

Bryan Enriquez: Uh, we're at one Oh five.

826

:

Um, so we've closed 105 million funding,

um, through our seed, a, B and C, which is

827

:

Tim Winkler: awesome.

828

:

Some big names too, like Peter

Thiel's in there, uh, investor.

829

:

Yeah.

830

:

We just

831

:

Bryan Enriquez: closed

with a good water capital.

832

:

Um, Eric, yeah, this is fantastic.

833

:

Um, so yeah, and general catalyst has

been really good with us and a few others.

834

:

So.

835

:

And from a

836

:

Tim Winkler: headcount perspective,

you know, what's, you know, you're,

837

:

you're, you guys are scaling up.

838

:

What's the size of this operation?

839

:

How many employees are part of this thing?

840

:

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

841

:

So I think right now we're hovering

between 60 and 65, but we're also hiring.

842

:

And so it's kind of like influx.

843

:

Um, with a series C that was one of

our goals is to do a hiring push.

844

:

So, you know, right now between

contractors and employees, um, we're

845

:

probably just shy of a hundred,

um, with, you know, by the end

846

:

of the year, we'll probably have,

we'll be over a hundred for sure.

847

:

Um, with all the hiring that

we're doing, what, what areas are

848

:

Tim Winkler: you hiring in?

849

:

Oh, I mean, We got across the board, all

850

:

Bryan Enriquez: of us, all of the stuff.

851

:

Yeah.

852

:

But now we've been at

this for a few months.

853

:

So some of the roles have been closing.

854

:

So, um, we've been hiring everything from

growth marketing, um, for Latin America.

855

:

We've got, um, our content

writing position was some of

856

:

the most applied to position.

857

:

So that's like writing the actual

content that gets, um, into the app.

858

:

Um, we're hiring for people to help

our B2B sort of our partnerships

859

:

team to help scale that operation.

860

:

Um, we're building a team

to help, um, parishes.

861

:

So it's sort of like offering

hallow as a, like a course or an

862

:

experience that masters can bring

to their, like to the parish nurse.

863

:

Like, Hey, you know, do hallow as,

as a parish community, for example.

864

:

So it's like, yeah, I'm hiring

for some customer support people

865

:

on the customer support team.

866

:

Um, so yeah, it's just been kind of like

all over the board as we, as we grow.

867

:

Tim Winkler: Are you, are you

hiring up any, uh, like in

868

:

areas of tech, uh, engineering,

869

:

Bryan Enriquez: uh, product?

870

:

Yes.

871

:

Yes, we have.

872

:

Um, so we're, we're going to a new

model, um, of what we call them pods.

873

:

So it's going to be a pod focused on

community, a pod focused on retention,

874

:

and then a pod focused on sort of growth.

875

:

Um, and so we're hiring, yeah,

you know, new engineers for

876

:

those roles, Android and iOS.

877

:

Um, we're also hiring

designers, um, as well.

878

:

So, uh, one of the

things that makes hallow.

879

:

Uh, I think so successful

is the visual appeal of it.

880

:

Like when you open the app, it's just

the visually beautifully designed app.

881

:

Um, the illustrations really are,

I think, awesome and they help

882

:

sort of like lower the barrier.

883

:

It's like, Oh, like it's,

it's, it's welcoming.

884

:

It's like, Oh yeah, like I

want to spend time meditating

885

:

with this, uh, with this app.

886

:

So.

887

:

Wow.

888

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

889

:

It's really fascinating app.

890

:

Um, definitely recommend any, uh, any

of our listeners out there to, to, to

891

:

give it a download, tinker with it.

892

:

Uh, I'm sure it loves your feedback on it.

893

:

Um, and, uh, yeah, keep up the good work.

894

:

I love, um, I love people innovating

in a space that for one, like,

895

:

you know, it's important to me.

896

:

Um, you know, I was really thrilled, uh,

to, to see something like this popping up.

897

:

Have you seen anything

else out there like it?

898

:

Have you seen anybody kind of.

899

:

You know, mimicking what you're

doing right now or, uh, anything

900

:

else that's, that's similar.

901

:

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

902

:

It's weird because, um, on

the one hand, like, so our

903

:

mission is to help people pray.

904

:

And we've talked about this as

like, it's not really competitive.

905

:

Like if somebody else makes another

app that helps people pray, that's

906

:

like, I mean, more power to you.

907

:

Um, so I know that there's a few

apps that are, that have come out.

908

:

So Ascension is one of our partners.

909

:

They've been great with us.

910

:

Um, so father Mike Schmitz, um, he's like,

Why are they considered to be one of the

911

:

most, um, followed priests in the U S.

912

:

And he actually had a podcast

called, um, Bible in a year.

913

:

And when that launched, um, I believe

it was in:

914

:

one podcast across all podcasts for

like, I think two weeks in Apple.

915

:

So like for, I guess across all their

podcasts, it was like this priest

916

:

reading the Bible was like the most

listened to thing, which is crazy.

917

:

So probably makes me great.

918

:

He's in our app as well.

919

:

So you can listen to Bible in your app.

920

:

They launched their own version, which

is more of like a Bible, like video

921

:

type thing where you can like, you

know, Um, if there's specific questions

922

:

about the faith, like, that's that's

an app that you can kind of go to.

923

:

So, um, that's been a new

thing that's come out recently.

924

:

I know.

925

:

Uh, there's another app

called the amen app.

926

:

Um, so they're tied to the

Augusta Institute, which is

927

:

like a larger institution in

the way that they run things.

928

:

They have offer courses, um, for people

who are interested in getting degrees.

929

:

Um, so, yeah, it's, it's

kind of interesting.

930

:

It's like, look, I mean, if you're going

to use an app that helps you pray, like, I

931

:

don't, I don't care who you use, we won't

obviously want hollow to be the best.

932

:

But if something else, some other group

offer something that we don't have, then.

933

:

I forgot to

934

:

Tim Winkler: ask, um, I guess

how is the, uh, is it monetized?

935

:

Do you all offer like a plus,

uh, membership, like less ads

936

:

or anything like that, like

how, how are you all monetizing?

937

:

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

938

:

So we, we don't sell any user

data, so there's no, and there's

939

:

no advertisement in the apps.

940

:

There's no ads.

941

:

Um, the way that we make money is

through an optional subscription.

942

:

Um, so it's 79 99, uh, a year

for the annual plan or 99 99

943

:

or the month to month plan.

944

:

Um, there's also a totally free

version, so you can download it.

945

:

And if you're like, I, I don't

want to pay for anything.

946

:

There's the free version that

has content that's free forever.

947

:

So some apps offer like just limited

free trial, but hollow has an, you

948

:

know, content that's free forever.

949

:

So you won't ever be kicked out of it.

950

:

We also offer a free trial and a

paid trial of the premium stuff.

951

:

So if you want to try it out

for a bit, there's options.

952

:

You can sort of design your trial.

953

:

You can toggle it to be free or paid.

954

:

Um, so yeah, we have options for everyone.

955

:

Sweet.

956

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

957

:

Love the flexibility on that.

958

:

Um, well, cool, man.

959

:

I, I've got a boatload of other questions,

but, uh, you know, in the essence of,

960

:

uh, keeping, uh, keeping your time,

uh, uh, top of mind, I'm going to.

961

:

Uh, stop there and I'll transition

us into this final segment

962

:

called the five second scramble.

963

:

Um, so this will be a little bit more

of a, it's a little fun, you know,

964

:

rapid fire Q and a some, some personal,

some business, uh, you're ready for it.

965

:

Go for it.

966

:

So explain how low to me as

if I were a five year old

967

:

Bryan Enriquez: hollow is a fun way

to talk to the big man upstairs.

968

:

Tim Winkler: Sold man, sold.

969

:

What problems are you solving?

970

:

I don't know where to start.

971

:

Bryan Enriquez: I don't know how to pray.

972

:

Um, I don't know if I'm doing it right.

973

:

Uh, I'm by myself and I want

to pray with somebody else.

974

:

Perfect.

975

:

Tim Winkler: What aspect of your

culture do you most fear losing with

976

:

Bryan Enriquez: growth?

977

:

I hate when people say family.

978

:

But, um, we have a, a culture

where like I was just with a team.

979

:

We were bowling last night and it's

easy to forget that they're coworkers.

980

:

It's like, oh, these are,

these are my friends.

981

:

Um, and as you grow, that's something that

we want to keep what you bowl, like 72,

982

:

like, I'm like, yeah, like I was trying

to get 200 and I just kept throwing it

983

:

Tim Winkler: into the gutter.

984

:

Yeah, usually you have like somebody

that's just like, yeah, clearly killing

985

:

it, maybe bringing their own shoes.

986

:

And then the folks that are just like, I

just want to get this thing down the lane.

987

:

Um, what trait do you value

most in your co founders

988

:

Bryan Enriquez: data

driven decision making?

989

:

Tim Winkler: Nice.

990

:

What type of technologist thrive

991

:

Bryan Enriquez: at HALO?

992

:

I'd say people who are hungry

to solve difficult problems.

993

:

Tim Winkler: What can folks be most

excited about with HALO closing

994

:

out 2023 and going into 2024?

995

:

Bryan Enriquez: HALO is going to be, can

be described as a single player game.

996

:

We're moving it to a multiplayer game.

997

:

So the biggest thing is how you

can interact with and walk with,

998

:

in a prayerful way, uh, other

users from around the world.

999

:

So really excited about how we're

going to be able to do that.

:

00:46:55,940 --> 00:46:56,280

What is

:

00:46:56,280 --> 00:47:00,130

Tim Winkler: a charity or corporate

philanthropy that's near and dear to you?

:

00:47:01,290 --> 00:47:03,040

Bryan Enriquez: Uh,

I'd say Cafe Charities.

:

00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:05,830

Um, they are really

active here in Chicago.

:

00:47:06,020 --> 00:47:07,619

Um, they do a lot with the homeless.

:

00:47:07,899 --> 00:47:10,729

Um, which, yeah, is a cause

that I really care about.

:

00:47:13,370 --> 00:47:13,900

Aside from

:

00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:16,029

Tim Winkler: Hello!, what's

the favorite app on your phone?

:

00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:19,270

I

:

00:47:19,270 --> 00:47:21,560

Bryan Enriquez: would, I would

have said tick tock, um, but I

:

00:47:21,570 --> 00:47:24,560

had to delete it because I was

just on it too much, too much.

:

00:47:25,380 --> 00:47:25,870

It's just,

:

00:47:25,910 --> 00:47:27,170

Tim Winkler: yeah, it's

just one of those things.

:

00:47:27,580 --> 00:47:29,500

Delete tick tock and add threads.

:

00:47:29,500 --> 00:47:29,800

Right.

:

00:47:29,830 --> 00:47:31,830

Is that how it works?

:

00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:32,570

Something like that.

:

00:47:32,610 --> 00:47:36,629

Bryan Enriquez: Um, yeah, I have now

been using, uh, Instagram reels and,

:

00:47:36,630 --> 00:47:39,940

and, and YouTube shorts, but yeah,

I believe it or not YouTube music.

:

00:47:40,445 --> 00:47:40,885

Okay.

:

00:47:40,905 --> 00:47:42,415

So it's a controversial topic.

:

00:47:42,425 --> 00:47:43,405

People make fun of me for it.

:

00:47:43,455 --> 00:47:44,755

Um, I love YouTube music.

:

00:47:44,825 --> 00:47:47,245

Uh, I'm probably one of their, it

was like, well, you're probably one

:

00:47:47,245 --> 00:47:48,375

of their only premium subscribers.

:

00:47:48,905 --> 00:47:49,825

I think they have more than just a few.

:

00:47:49,905 --> 00:47:51,615

Um, but that's my favorite app.

:

00:47:51,645 --> 00:47:53,124

My go to music app is YouTube.

:

00:47:53,335 --> 00:47:53,565

So

:

00:47:53,594 --> 00:47:55,605

Tim Winkler: like with the

music videos too, is that,

:

00:47:56,315 --> 00:48:00,815

Bryan Enriquez: so for me, it's just,

I grew up like creating you, like when

:

00:48:00,815 --> 00:48:05,867

YouTube started, uh, I put my songs

and music in like YouTube playlists.

:

00:48:05,867 --> 00:48:06,029

Yeah.

:

00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:09,880

And so then it was easy for me to

just port those into YouTube music.

:

00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:12,900

So I still have my original playlists

from like whenever I go, whereas

:

00:48:12,900 --> 00:48:15,849

Spotify or like whatever, Pandora,

you have to create your new ones.

:

00:48:15,850 --> 00:48:16,990

And I said, I don't want

to create my new ones.

:

00:48:17,180 --> 00:48:19,880

Tim Winkler: So that's

why, yeah, I gotcha.

:

00:48:20,610 --> 00:48:22,959

What's the worst fashion trend

that you've ever followed?

:

00:48:26,210 --> 00:48:26,879

Bryan Enriquez: Oh man.

:

00:48:28,330 --> 00:48:30,660

I, I don't know if you

remember the brand affliction.

:

00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:32,090

Yeah.

:

00:48:32,170 --> 00:48:34,960

It's like a Criss Angel style clothing.

:

00:48:35,755 --> 00:48:39,595

I would, I was obsessed with it

for a few years and like, looking

:

00:48:39,605 --> 00:48:40,795

back, I'm like, why did I wear that?

:

00:48:40,805 --> 00:48:44,745

That's just totally not

my personality for me.

:

00:48:44,745 --> 00:48:47,155

I don't know if it was a trend, but

I noticed, you know, I, I certainly

:

00:48:47,155 --> 00:48:50,195

wasn't the only one wearing it and, um,

maybe some people could pull it off.

:

00:48:50,375 --> 00:48:53,975

I, I, I for sure couldn't pull it off

and no one, no one was, had the mercy

:

00:48:53,975 --> 00:48:56,885

to tell me they were just like, no,

let's just let him, you know, seep

:

00:48:56,885 --> 00:48:58,175

in until he realizes his mistake,

:

00:48:59,915 --> 00:49:00,615

Tim Winkler: good stuff.

:

00:49:00,895 --> 00:49:03,125

Um, what do you love most about yourself?

:

00:49:04,304 --> 00:49:04,664

Bryan Enriquez: Hmm.

:

00:49:06,615 --> 00:49:12,065

Um, I would say that this

is, I've been told this.

:

00:49:12,155 --> 00:49:16,075

So I feel like I can say this zest

for life, contagious zest for life.

:

00:49:16,075 --> 00:49:20,085

Like I like to share my excitement

and passion with other people

:

00:49:20,175 --> 00:49:21,175

and it gets them motivated.

:

00:49:21,185 --> 00:49:23,075

And I think that's what I

like about myself the most.

:

00:49:23,935 --> 00:49:25,255

Tim Winkler: I love that zest for life.

:

00:49:25,344 --> 00:49:26,544

It's a good, it's a good slogan.

:

00:49:26,624 --> 00:49:27,355

Good life slogan.

:

00:49:28,445 --> 00:49:29,195

Um, all right.

:

00:49:29,195 --> 00:49:29,885

A couple more here.

:

00:49:29,885 --> 00:49:32,645

So, um, if you could have any

superpower, what would it be?

:

00:49:33,815 --> 00:49:34,345

Bryan Enriquez: Oh, man,

:

00:49:39,605 --> 00:49:42,975

I would, this is one of the iceberg

questions that we ask and I go back

:

00:49:42,975 --> 00:49:47,394

and forth on just like generically

flying is just like, it's just so cool.

:

00:49:47,525 --> 00:49:49,005

You know, just people that

fly from different places.

:

00:49:49,455 --> 00:49:50,785

But people are like,

well, you can already fly.

:

00:49:50,795 --> 00:49:51,465

You can just get on a plane.

:

00:49:51,465 --> 00:49:55,165

I'm like, yeah, but like, you

can't like fly and whatever.

:

00:49:55,215 --> 00:49:58,635

And so I've, I've, I've landed on

flying because I picked up skiing.

:

00:49:59,095 --> 00:50:02,874

So it'd be of a mountain and

then like fly back and then do

:

00:50:02,874 --> 00:50:04,335

it again, you know, for sure.

:

00:50:04,355 --> 00:50:05,814

So I think that would be kind of sick.

:

00:50:06,394 --> 00:50:06,824

Yeah, yeah,

:

00:50:06,824 --> 00:50:07,204

Tim Winkler: yeah.

:

00:50:07,365 --> 00:50:07,635

Yeah.

:

00:50:07,775 --> 00:50:09,420

The folks that just said,

just get on a plane.

:

00:50:09,420 --> 00:50:11,795

It's like, all right, you're, you're

not playing by the rules here.

:

00:50:11,795 --> 00:50:13,185

We're talking about soups and hours.

:

00:50:13,235 --> 00:50:14,555

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.

:

00:50:15,335 --> 00:50:19,985

Um, If you have one day left to

live, would you spend it with

:

00:50:19,995 --> 00:50:22,245

Morgan Freeman or Denzel Washington?

:

00:50:22,295 --> 00:50:23,405

Denzel Washington, 100%.

:

00:50:24,785 --> 00:50:27,145

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah, Denzel, if you're

listening, we would love to have you

:

00:50:27,145 --> 00:50:30,154

in the Halo app and Morgan too, but

I mean, Morgan has a great voice.

:

00:50:30,625 --> 00:50:32,665

Tim Winkler: I mean, Morgan's

voice, they're both great boys,

:

00:50:32,665 --> 00:50:35,805

but Morgan's voice is like,

talk about mellowing me out.

:

00:50:35,874 --> 00:50:36,444

That's true.

:

00:50:36,534 --> 00:50:37,115

Bryan Enriquez: That's true.

:

00:50:37,275 --> 00:50:41,685

Um, yeah, I just feel like, like

Morgan is one of those guys that like,

:

00:50:42,220 --> 00:50:43,640

You see, you're like, I respect you.

:

00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:44,910

You know, like I see what you're doing.

:

00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:47,190

Then I feel like it could be

like, like an uncle to me.

:

00:50:47,210 --> 00:50:47,800

You know what I'm saying?

:

00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:48,980

Like, like, yeah, friends

:

00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:54,059

Tim Winkler: kind of just grab you under

his arm and going out hard with them.

:

00:50:54,830 --> 00:50:55,109

All right.

:

00:50:55,140 --> 00:50:55,649

Last one.

:

00:50:55,649 --> 00:50:57,009

Favorite Disney character.

:

00:51:01,530 --> 00:51:02,310

Bryan Enriquez: This

is going to sound bad.

:

00:51:02,599 --> 00:51:04,300

Um, for the longest time was Aladdin.

:

00:51:04,775 --> 00:51:06,895

Because he was brown and I

was like, Oh, he's brown.

:

00:51:06,895 --> 00:51:07,265

Like me.

:

00:51:10,685 --> 00:51:11,775

Tim Winkler: Well, that is my favorite.

:

00:51:12,045 --> 00:51:12,765

Oh, there you go.

:

00:51:12,945 --> 00:51:13,235

Yeah.

:

00:51:13,605 --> 00:51:14,345

It wasn't the Brown.

:

00:51:14,375 --> 00:51:15,165

It wasn't the Brown.

:

00:51:15,165 --> 00:51:17,064

It was just, I think

the magic carpet, man.

:

00:51:17,065 --> 00:51:18,595

You went back to the flying thing.

:

00:51:18,685 --> 00:51:19,355

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah.

:

00:51:19,435 --> 00:51:19,775

Yeah.

:

00:51:19,805 --> 00:51:20,685

No, the whole thing.

:

00:51:20,785 --> 00:51:23,755

I mean, you know, Jasmine's beautiful

and like, you know, The whole, anyway,

:

00:51:23,795 --> 00:51:24,985

yeah, Magic Carpet was a good joke, so,

:

00:51:26,225 --> 00:51:26,245

Tim Winkler: yeah.

:

00:51:26,535 --> 00:51:27,615

Well, uh, well played.

:

00:51:27,685 --> 00:51:29,075

Um, awesome, man.

:

00:51:29,075 --> 00:51:31,165

Well, thanks so much for

spending time with us, Brian.

:

00:51:31,165 --> 00:51:33,615

Uh, excited for the future, what

you guys are building at Halo.

:

00:51:33,615 --> 00:51:37,405

And, um, I'm sure, yeah, I'm sure,

you know, with that team of, of

:

00:51:37,605 --> 00:51:40,085

an all star kind of cast, you're,

you're going to be super successful.

:

00:51:40,085 --> 00:51:41,095

So we're rooting for you guys.

:

00:51:41,135 --> 00:51:42,945

And thanks for hanging

out with us on the pod.

:

00:51:43,435 --> 00:51:44,235

Bryan Enriquez: Yeah, this was super fun.

:

00:51:44,235 --> 00:51:44,785

Thanks for having me.

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