Behind Evolve, co-founder’s journey and a larger mission to support LGBTQIA+

Arora (left) and Anshul Kamath (right) are co-founders of the mental health app Evolve. (Image Credit: Evolve)

In an interview with indianexpress.com at Apple’s developer centre in Bengaluru, and days ahead of Pride Month, Arora emphasised the importance of creating a personalised mental health app for the LGBTQIA+ community, recognising their unique needs and challenges. “We soon realised that when you start creating a mental health product for everybody, you end up building nothing for anybody because mental health is extremely personal,” Arora said.

Since depression, risky sexual practices, and alcohol and drug abuse are more common in people who identify as part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual + community, they are more vulnerable and at higher mental health risk compared to others. 

Although different people have their challenges, many people identifying as LGBTQIA+ face discrimination, family rejection, harassment, and fear of violence, which are significant contributing factors.

“When members of this community enter dating spaces, they’re more vulnerable, seeking companionship and romantic connection more than somebody who’s not in the community on these dating apps,” he added. “I am not saying that your problem is bigger than mine or my problem is bigger than yours. All I am saying is that our problems are different from yours, and so are our challenges.”

Evolve is a self-care app for mental health. (Image Credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

Delhi-based Arora, who completed his BTech from Birla Institute of Technology and holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, said he worked with many experts from the LGBTQIA+ community on specific issues like asexuality and gender dysphoria to develop the app. “We’ve worked with people who’ve had lived experiences because that is the most critical part in mental health — the lived experiences, the actual truth,” said the 36-year-old, who came out to himself at 20 and to his family at 30.

For Arora, Evolve is essentially trying to be a self-care app for mental health. When users come to the app, they need to complete journeys based on specific objectives, which vary for different people. These objectives could include loving yourself, coming out to loved ones, mental trauma, or depression, for example. “There is a psychometric test where we ask you to complete a special survey used by psychologists to assess how your mental health is doing,” he said, claiming people using the app for 4 weeks report a 64 per cent improvement in mental health.

Since the app went live, Evolve has been downloaded over 1 million times across the app stores. Arora said over 50 per cent of users on the app come from India’s metro cities, with Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru leading in user base.

Arora’s startup is using a subscription business model for recurring revenue, in which customers pay a weekly, monthly, or yearly fee to use the app. Though the app is free to download and part of the content available is free. However, Arora said the larger goal is to reach out to corporates directly and secure subscriptions for their employees. For example, at Google, Evolve is listed as a “perk at work”. 

Evolve lets you jot down your emotions in a safe space. (Image Credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

“I feel like this community requires a lot of role models, and role models don’t have to be celebrities — they can just be ordinary individuals, being role models for each other. It’s important to normalise certain experiences, like travelling with your partner more often or normalising even divorce, such as coming out after getting married, because for the elderly, it needs to be normalised due to the internalised fear,” Arora said, adding everyone deserves to feel safe and respected, whatever their sexuality is.

With Evolve, Arora says he is building personalised content, community, and coaching for LGBTQIA+ individuals, including lived and shared experiences. In the coming months, Arora plans to add therapy services from affirmative therapists. The app will offer video call consultations for therapy, with a focus on providing a safe and supportive space for LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss their experiences and receive support.

“I have no qualms about who I am because there’s nothing to be scared of or wrong about it. So, I honestly feel that it is not just a mission but also a responsibility,” Arora signed off, emphasising a larger mission with the Evolve app.