Alex Jones, co-founder, CEO, and Notre Dame alumnus, has achieved a significant milestone with his company Hallow. The faith-based meditation and prayer app surpassed 10 million downloads and registered 225 million players worldwide. This achievement has made Hallow the first-ever faith-based app to enter the top 10 apps in the App Store, securing the impressive rank of number three overall. Hallow dedicated almost two years to reaching 1 million prayers on the app. However, during the recent Lent period, members of the Hallow community exceeded expectations by praying over a million daily prayers.
Although the recent market for startup funding has been challenging, Hallow made a remarkable announcement. The app successfully secured an additional $50 million in Series C funding, raising the total funding for Hallow to an impressive $105 million. Goodwater Capital, the world's largest consumer tech-only venture fund, led the round.
Alex Jones said, "This round and these milestones are exciting. We're thrilled to partner with mission-driven partners, team members, and creators to invest even more heavily in building an experience that helps the world build a daily prayer habit. But with each of these milestones, something has become clearer over time."
In 2018 Jones and his friends embarked on the Hallow venture, dedicating themselves full-time to ensuring its triumph. The Hallow team allowed for three core goals to guide them through Hallow's success. First, the team wanted to remain 100 percent true to the teaching of the Catholic Church. Second, help people build a better life with God through prayer. Third, it give people the foothold they need to facilitate a return to their Catholic spirituality and the Church.
The goal that excites Jones the most is the last one. "Between 1980 and 2019, the percentage of Catholics attending mass had fallen by half. However, despite this decline, in both 1980 and 2018, 81 percent of Catholics reported praying each week. Hallow recognizes this and aims to utilize this spiritual fervor as a chance to assist individuals in rediscovering the splendor of the Catholic faith."
“Hallow is an incredible resource for anyone, but particularly for Millennials and young adults searching for deeper spirituality in their lives,” Jones explains. “It’s working. We get thankful notes everyday from people who have struggled with faith or depression who say Hallow is helping them. It shows in our near perfect rating on Apple; but this is the real reason we’re building Hallow. People are growing closer to God.”
Hallow has recently partnered with several well-known celebrities and faith leaders, including actor Jonathan Roumie, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Sister Miriam James-Heidland, Mario Lopez, and Mark Wahlberg.
You can read Alex’s full ND Founders Profile here.