Pray

How 4 Founders Scaled Pray.com to a $100M Prayer & Meditation App

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About
Business

Steve Gatena

Founder, Pray

Founders

Pray

pray.com

from Los Angeles, CA, USA

started January 2016

Founders

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Founders

Monthly Traffic

288,669

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2016

Customer

B2C

Founders

Monthly Traffic

288,669

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2016

Customer

B2C

Who is Steve Gatena?🔗

Steve Gatena, founder and CEO of Pray.com, is a media entrepreneur from Thousand Oaks, California. He studied at the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Southern California, where his entrepreneurial journey began with a homework assignment.

What problem does Pray solve?🔗

Pray.com helps people nurture their faith and connect deeply with others by making prayer and spiritual growth easily accessible, offering inspiration and communal support in a dedicated digital space. This addresses the often isolating and challenging process of maintaining personal spiritual practices in a fast-paced world.

How did Steve come up with the idea for Pray?🔗

Steve Gatena's inspiration for Pray.com began during a profoundly challenging time in his life. After the tragic loss of his business partner in a plane crash, Steve and his wife embarked on a journey to find purpose and meaning. This experience led them to spiritual content, which greatly impacted Steve and planted the seed for creating a digital platform centered around faith.

Realizing the lack of a central digital hub for faith-based content, Steve was inspired by the idea of creating one. He noticed that while there were platforms for sports and other interests, there was no comprehensive destination for faith. The power of digital media to reach and uplift people sparked his entrepreneurship spirit to fill this gap.

In building Pray, Steve focused on ensuring the platform wasn't just another network but rather a tool for meaningful engagement. He and his team launched the initial version of the app after extensive conversations with faith leaders to understand their needs. Continuous learning and adaptation were key, including leveraging insights from other successful digital platforms while maintaining a focus on their unique mission.

How did Steve build the initial version of Pray?🔗

The development of Pray.com began with the creation of a private social network for faith organizations. This initial version served as a form of Facebook Groups specifically tailored for religious communities, requiring comprehensive discussions with religious leaders to identify their needs. The tech stack used for the development was not explicitly detailed in the available sources. Initial challenges included difficulties in scaling due to the personal interaction needed to onboard organizations, which could only occur once a week. Over time, the team pivoted from a purely social network to incorporating content like daily prayers and audio-visual devotionals, driven by user engagement data and the desire to maximize impact and monetization through subscriptions.

How did Steve launch Pray and get initial traction?🔗

Community Engagement and Networking🔗

Pray.com initially focused on community engagement by networking with local faith leaders. The founder, Steve Gatena, and his team talked to hundreds of reverends, ministers, and pastors to understand their needs and how the app could serve these spiritual leaders and their communities. By engaging directly with influential figures within faith communities, they were able to effectively spread the word and establish credibility within the target market.

Why it worked: Engaging directly with faith leaders helped build trust and demonstrated the platform’s value, encouraging them to introduce the app to their congregations. This grassroots approach created a ripple effect, where word-of-mouth played a significant role in getting initial users on board.

Early Product Iterations and User Feedback🔗

The Pray.com team constantly iterated on their product based on user feedback. They initially launched the app as a private social network for faith communities, which included features for daily prayers and podcasts from faith leaders. They observed user behavior and identified which features were most appreciated, such as the daily inspirational messages and devotionals.

Why it worked: By being attentive to user feedback and usage patterns, Pray.com was able to refine their offerings to align with users' needs and preferences. This approach not only enhanced the user experience but also contributed to user retention, as the platform continued to deliver value.

Utilizing Established Media Channels🔗

Pray.com employed traditional media channels, such as TV and radio ads, to reach an older demographic. These platforms were trusted by the target audience and helped convey legitimacy to the brand. The choice of using familiar and trusted advertising mediums enabled Pray.com to reach a wide audience effectively.

Why it worked: TV and radio have a high level of credibility with older audiences, which matched the demographics of Pray.com’s users. This strategy successfully reached potential users who might be more skeptical of digital advertising, thus broadening the app’s exposure.

What was the growth strategy for Pray and how did they scale?🔗

Pray.com effectively utilized Facebook to reach its older demographic, leveraging the platform's familiarity and trust among this audience. They focused on Facebook proper for their advertising campaigns, recognizing that it resonated well with their target users, who are generally older. This was critical as it provided a trusted medium for this demographic to engage with digital faith content. The effectiveness of their campaigns was enhanced by their ability to find specific interests within their audience, such as daily prayers and inspirational messages, which aligned well with their users' values and habits.

Why it worked: Facebook is a platform heavily used by older demographics, which aligns with Pray.com’s target audience. By advertising on Facebook, Pray.com was able to reach potential users in a place they trusted and were already engaged with, leading to effective consumer acquisition.

TV Advertising🔗

Pray.com leveraged television ads, an unconventional channel for app promotion, to great effect, especially before and during the pandemic. This strategy worked well because their target demographic – older users – still heavily consumed TV content, which they deemed reliable. Pray.com crafted TV commercials that resonated with this audience, portraying their app as a trustworthy source for faith content.

Why it worked: TV ads reach audiences who may not be as digitally savvy but who are interested in faith-related content. By placing ads in a format familiar to viewers, Pray.com was able to connect with older users who trust television as an advertising medium.

Consumer Subscription🔗

Transitioning to a consumer subscription model allowed Pray.com to monetize effectively while providing continuous value through daily prayers, devotionals, and inspirational content. They observed that the older demographic, which they targeted, valued these elements, enhancing their willingness to subscribe for premium access. The introduction of long-form content and structured prayer schedules increased user engagement, driving subscription growth.

Why it worked: A subscription model ensures recurring revenue while providing a platform for continuous user engagement. Pray.com’s daily and long-form content differentiated them, making their service worth the recurring investment for users seeking spiritual enrichment.

Performance Marketing🔗

Pray.com employed performance marketing strategies, initially focusing on a diversified approach across social media and slowly optimizing their spend on the most effective channels. They integrated server-side testing for paywalls and user onboarding processes to refine and iterate on strategies rapidly, ensuring higher conversion rates and customer lifetime value.

Why it worked: By being data-driven and continuously testing marketing tactics, Pray.com was able to optimize spending and focus on high-return strategies, improving acquisition efficiency and lowering costs. This strategic approach allowed them to leverage precise data analysis to make informed marketing decisions.

What's the pricing strategy for Pray?🔗

Pray prices its subscription-based services starting around $50 annually, offering features like daily devotionals, prayers, and exclusive content, alongside a free version with basic faith resources.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Pray?🔗

Embrace Resilience: Steve Gatena's journey with Pray.com underscores the importance of resilience. The platform was born from a challenging personal experience, demonstrating how adversity can fuel purpose-driven innovation. Aspiring founders should recognize that setbacks can lay the groundwork for meaningful ventures.
Foster Community Connections: Pray.com highlights the value of building strong relationships within and outside the organization. The platform extended beyond its Christian roots to include various faiths, showing the power of inclusivity. Aspiring entrepreneurs should focus on creating diverse and vibrant communities to enhance their reach and impact.
Iterate Based on Feedback: Pray's evolution from a social network to include a subscription model shows the importance of adapting to user behavior. Initially focusing on social features, the team found success by embracing content consumption trends and pivoting to meet user demands. Entrepreneurs should remain flexible and attuned to customer feedback to guide their product development.
Integrate Leadership and Team Dynamics: Effective leadership and cohesion are key, as seen in Pray.com's focus on listening tours and shared team values. The company's DREAM values (Devotion, Research, Empathy, Application, Mindset) highlight the importance of aligning team efforts with mission-driven goals. Founders should embed strong values and open communication to drive the team forward.
Utilize Data-Driven Decisions: Pray.com leverages data to inform customer interactions and growth strategies. Applying both qualitative and quantitative insights helps optimize key areas like onboarding and monetization strategies. Entrepreneurs should implement data-driven practices to enhance decision-making and steer their business toward success.

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