On this episode of "The CEO Series," learn about the soulful journey of Hallow's CEO and founder Alex Jones.
Hallow is the number one Catholic prayer and meditation app in the world with over 12 million downloads. And after a surge in downloads following its Super Bowl ad, it took the top spot on Apple's App Store across all apps.
The company has raised a total of $105 million to date, thanks, in large part, to the blood, sweat, and tears of co-founder and CEO Alex Jones. On this episode of The CEO Series, we visited Hallow's headquarters to speak with Jones about all things business, leadership, and faith. Below are some highlights from that powerful conversation which have been edited for length and clarity.
Hallow is the number one Catholic prayer and meditation app in the world with over 12 million downloads. And after a surge in downloads following its Super Bowl ad, it took the top spot on Apple's App Store across all apps.
The company has raised a total of $105 million to date, thanks, in large part, to the blood, sweat, and tears of co-founder and CEO Alex Jones. On this episode of The CEO Series, we visited Hallow's headquarters to speak with Jones about all things business, leadership, and faith. Below are some highlights from that powerful conversation which have been edited for length and clarity.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 We are at the offices of HALO,
00:05 the number one prayer and meditation app in the world.
00:08 They have over 12 million downloads
00:10 and they've raised a total of $105 million.
00:13 We're talking to their CEO, Alex Jones,
00:15 about all things business and Christianity.
00:18 Let's go talk to Alex.
00:19 - CEOs carry a lot of weight.
00:24 They manage businesses, people,
00:26 expectations of stakeholders, and so much more.
00:29 I wanna hear their story.
00:30 - How is it testifying in front of Congress?
00:32 - What are some things that you look out for
00:34 when evaluating a company?
00:36 - Rock and roll, yeah, I wanna see.
00:37 - I'm on a journey to learn
00:38 and get to know top business leaders.
00:41 - I think everybody thinks that they wanna be a CEO.
00:43 - I didn't get into this to be a CEO.
00:45 - What are the risks?
00:47 - Oh!
00:47 - I want you to hold this under your tongue.
00:48 - And how do we de-risk that?
00:50 - I'm Will Selvey.
00:51 - Thank you for your business.
00:52 - And this is the CEO Series.
00:55 - All right, we are with the CEO of HALO, Alex Jones.
00:59 Alex, thanks for joining us today, really appreciate it.
01:01 - Thanks so much for having me.
01:02 - Well, first, tell me the inception of the company,
01:06 and also tell us what HALO is.
01:08 - So HALO's a prayer and meditation app
01:10 for anybody looking to grow closer to God.
01:12 It really goes back to my own faith journey.
01:14 So I was raised Catholic, but fell away from my faith
01:17 in high school and college,
01:17 would've considered myself atheist or agnostic
01:19 for most of that time.
01:20 And when I graduated college, I got really into meditation.
01:24 I don't know what, part of it was stress,
01:27 but a much bigger part was just this fascination
01:30 with whatever a contemplative or spiritual life was.
01:33 So I found these apps that had just launched,
01:35 Headspace and Calm, and I started using them every day.
01:38 And I loved them, I thought they were really great ways,
01:41 just within the comfort of your own home,
01:44 you just open up the app, you press play,
01:45 you close your eyes, you plug in your headphones,
01:47 and you're led through these techniques
01:49 and taught how to meditate.
01:50 But every time I would meditate,
01:52 my mind would oddly feel pulled towards something spiritual,
01:56 like an image of the cross or trinity or the name Jesus
02:00 or an image of the Holy Spirit or something.
02:02 And so I started reaching out to people,
02:04 priests, pastors, folks I knew from Notre Dame,
02:07 friends who were deeper in their faith life,
02:08 and I was asking what I thought
02:09 was a really interesting question, which was,
02:11 "Hey, is there any way that there's some sort
02:12 "of intersection here between this faith thing
02:14 "and this meditation thing?"
02:15 And they pretty much all laughed at me and said,
02:17 "Yeah, we've been doing it for 2,000 years,
02:19 "it's called prayer, you should've known about this."
02:21 And what I discovered was this incredibly rich,
02:25 contemplative and meditative tradition
02:26 within the church.
02:28 So anyway, that changed my life.
02:29 I knew I needed to do this.
02:30 I liked the structure of the app,
02:31 I knew how to code a little bit,
02:32 so we built the first version.
02:33 This was like five, five and a half years ago,
02:35 really just for me so that I could grow deeper
02:37 in my own life.
02:38 And that's, I mean, that's what it's done.
02:39 It's just helped me grow tremendously
02:42 in my own spirituality, which has been phenomenal.
02:44 So anyway, that's how we got started on it.
02:46 - All right, so Alex is gonna go first,
02:48 'cause he's our guest.
02:50 Yeah, go for it, we're doing it.
02:52 - Ooh.
02:55 (laughs)
02:57 - Oh no, H.
02:58 - Let's do a little Tim Duncan.
03:01 - Just that elbow.
03:03 Oh.
03:06 - I think he made them, though.
03:08 - Yeah, he made them a lot.
03:10 I missed it.
03:11 So when did you know you had something with the app?
03:19 - When we knew it was real.
03:20 My cousin had passed away.
03:21 He was like 45.
03:23 He died in his sleep randomly.
03:24 He had just gotten married.
03:25 His wife had just gotten pregnant with their first kid.
03:27 And his mom is my aunt I'm super close with.
03:32 That's her only son.
03:34 And she was obviously heartbroken.
03:37 And she sent us a note.
03:38 We had just launched.
03:40 She sent us a note in early December,
03:43 which is when we launched.
03:45 And I still have it saved to this day,
03:46 but it said, "Hey, Alex, I just wanted to let you know
03:49 "I got ahold of this early app,
03:51 "and I've been doing these every day,
03:53 "little 10-minute meditations.
03:54 "And I just wanted to let you know that this Christmas..."
03:58 Christmas is always a really stressful time for me.
04:02 But this year especially,
04:02 I honestly just didn't think I'd be able
04:04 to make it through my first Christmas without my son.
04:07 And I just wanted to let you know
04:10 that these little meditations are the only thing
04:12 that's reminded me that I'm able to have hope,
04:14 and I'm able to get out of bed
04:16 and carry on in this deep of a pain.
04:21 And I just broke down crying on my floor
04:24 in my tiny little studio apartment.
04:26 And if I work for the next 50 years of my life,
04:31 and I spend all my money and all my reputation's damaged
04:35 and all this stuff, everybody hates me, whatever,
04:37 and that one note came of it,
04:40 like that would have been, I would have done it over.
04:42 I would do it again.
04:43 - Yeah, and you're talking about your own journey,
04:45 but the app's no joke.
04:47 I think some people think, "Oh, I started an app."
04:49 But like I said, number one Christian prayer
04:52 and meditation app in the world, 12 million downloads,
04:55 and then on top of that,
04:56 you've raised a total of $105 million.
04:58 And so I'm wondering, as an entrepreneur,
05:02 I think what we see when you raise that type of money,
05:05 it's a substantial amount.
05:06 I think people from the outside look at this and say,
05:08 "You did it.
05:09 "This is it," right?
05:10 And so what do people not think of
05:12 when you raise a substantial amount,
05:14 like $105 million for your company?
05:16 - The fundraising thing is super stressful.
05:18 For any CEO, I have enormous sympathy
05:20 'cause it's crazy hard, especially in today's world.
05:23 You do the seed round, it's two weeks.
05:24 You have no real numbers to speak of.
05:26 It's just your own story, and people are just judging you.
05:28 - Right, concept.
05:28 - Yeah, are you sitting up straight enough?
05:30 Are you looking them in the eyes?
05:31 - Do I like the founders?
05:32 - Do I like this guy?
05:33 And I have roughly like 80 meetings in the first two weeks.
05:36 - And you're just pitching.
05:37 - Just pitching constantly.
05:38 And you get, like if you're lucky,
05:39 you get five people to say yes, maybe 10.
05:43 But that means 70 said no.
05:44 So I remember I went back to my studio apartment,
05:46 just no after no after no after no.
05:48 And it's like the story on my face.
05:50 So it's like super central to who I am.
05:52 So you're just telling me I'm an idiot.
05:53 And like the core of who I am is stupid.
05:56 And this idea's never gonna work.
05:57 And I go back to my apartment,
05:59 I'm sitting there and I'm praying.
06:00 And it was so heavy, I was so stressed.
06:03 Like my heart was like in pain.
06:06 My back had all these knots in it and stuff.
06:08 I was like 20 whatever, five years old.
06:10 And I was like decrepit.
06:12 And I was sitting there and I was praying.
06:13 I was like, God, look, this is too much.
06:14 I can't do this, I'm done.
06:16 I can't take this weight.
06:17 This is way too much stress for me.
06:18 I can't do it.
06:19 And I was like, I'm gonna make a deal with you.
06:22 I promise.
06:23 If this thing works out,
06:26 you're always gonna get the credit.
06:27 I'm never gonna trick myself into thinking
06:30 I'm some successful startup CEO
06:31 who figured all this stuff out.
06:32 You're always gonna get the credit.
06:33 I know you're the one doing this.
06:35 And just immediately was just this massive weight.
06:40 And the next day we go,
06:41 I'm at this coffee shop with this guy
06:42 and he gives us a term sheet.
06:43 We get like three, four more the next day,
06:45 which for folks who don't know
06:46 is like an offer to invest.
06:48 But it was just God being like, just wait.
06:50 Like just let me, he was just waiting for me to give up
06:53 and just being like, look, I know you're gonna try,
06:55 but just let me do this.
06:56 Like just surrender.
06:57 - Bank shot.
07:01 Oh, I almost missed it.
07:04 All right, so you got.
07:06 And then how about your partnerships
07:09 with some of these celebs?
07:11 - Yeah.
07:12 - Who do you got?
07:12 - Mark Wahlberg's on the app.
07:13 Jonathan Rumi plays Jesus in "The Chosen,"
07:15 which is this massive kind of streaming series,
07:17 which is incredible.
07:18 In the Catholic world, Father Mike Schmitz is massive.
07:20 He had like the number one podcast in the world.
07:22 Jim Caviezel who played Jesus in...
07:25 - You have Jim Caviezel.
07:27 - Yeah, he's awesome.
07:28 Mario Lopez, Maddy.
07:30 We have Brett Favre.
07:32 He's an awesome guy.
07:33 Liam Neeson just did some work with us.
07:36 Andrea Bocelli.
07:37 All right, you obviously got to do this over the thing.
07:40 See if we can get it here.
07:41 It's gonna be embarrassing.
07:42 - This is a brutal one.
07:45 - Oh, sir.
07:46 That was on, right?
07:49 We got that?
07:49 - Where were you standing?
07:51 Were you on the black or underneath?
07:53 - It doesn't matter.
07:53 We're over behind the thing.
07:55 No way.
07:57 - Oh, brutal.
07:58 - H-O-R?
07:59 - H-O-R.
08:00 - Pivoting to your role as CEO,
08:03 one of the realities of the role
08:04 is that you have to look for ways to grow,
08:05 look for new revenue streams.
08:07 So would you ever consider doing other faiths,
08:10 other types of religion?
08:11 I know you're not strictly,
08:12 you know, they're half the people
08:14 aren't practicing Catholics or Christians on your app,
08:17 but would you ever do Islam?
08:19 Would you ever do Buddhism?
08:21 What are your thoughts on that?
08:22 - Yeah, we get the question a good bit,
08:23 especially from VCs or investors or whatever.
08:25 - Classic.
08:26 - But I wouldn't, we're never gonna build
08:29 like a Muslim version of Halo.
08:31 We're never gonna build a Buddhist version of Halo.
08:33 Not because I have anything wrong with that idea.
08:36 It's just that I wouldn't be the right person to do that.
08:38 My job and what we're trying to do at Halo
08:40 is to bring this thing, which is Jesus,
08:44 that has this person that has changed our life
08:46 to as many people as possible
08:47 and to reconnect the church with people in their lives.
08:50 And so we just, it just wouldn't be authentic
08:53 for us to do that.
08:54 - Obviously Catholicism isn't a fad,
08:57 but do you think, gosh, (beep)
09:01 do you think meditation is a fad
09:04 or is it something that was a long time coming?
09:07 Just because it is more of a trending topic now.
09:09 I mean, you hear it constantly.
09:10 So do you think that's a bit of a fad
09:13 or do you think it's just something
09:14 that was a long time coming?
09:15 - I mean, I think a bit, ooh.
09:18 Congrats. - Needed that, needed that.
09:21 - I think a bit broader.
09:22 The question for me is, is spirituality a fad?
09:26 And I think spirituality is like the opposite of a fad.
09:28 It's the one thing that if you look across history,
09:31 everybody at least has a desire for.
09:34 And even when you see in the West
09:36 people who call themselves not religious,
09:38 they're still really interested in spirituality.
09:40 And I think it's needed now.
09:42 People are hungrier for it now than ever.
09:44 It's just split across a bunch of different things.
09:46 So like your secular apps
09:49 or mental health services or whatever.
09:52 But I mean, meditation goes all the way back to the Bible,
09:55 which is meditate on God's word day and night.
09:57 It's not a new thing.
09:58 Back to Buddhism, all that stuff.
10:00 - Going back to your story about when you were pitching
10:03 on the seed round. - Yeah.
10:05 - What advice would you give to CEOs, entrepreneurs
10:10 that are currently experiencing a valley
10:13 where it's either difficult or the challenges are great?
10:18 What advice would you give to people?
10:20 - I talked to a bunch of founders.
10:21 You have to find something bigger than yourself.
10:23 You have to, there's no choice.
10:25 Everybody does, whether it's the mission or whatever it is,
10:27 you have to find something bigger than yourself.
10:29 And what I would highly recommend is that that thing
10:31 that's bigger than yourself is Jesus.
10:33 'Cause he just takes so much of it off.
10:35 It's like, it's not you.
10:37 And if you let go of that, then you're like,
10:39 ah, it's okay, maybe it sucks.
10:40 And I go through some crap.
10:41 Well, he went through some crap, that's okay.
10:44 Some people have to go through really tough times sometimes.
10:46 A company shuts down or whatever it is.
10:47 It's still hard, it still sucks.
10:50 But it's the only way that I've been able to survive it
10:52 at all and an incredibly loving wife.
10:54 - Well, Alex, I appreciate you taking the time.
10:57 I'm cheering for you, I'm cheering for Halo.
10:59 It's an awesome app that you've built.
11:00 So really appreciate you talking with us.
11:02 - Yeah, this was a blessing.
11:03 Thanks for having me.
11:04 - Appreciate it.
11:05 - God bless.
11:06 - All right, it's cold outside here.
11:09 Let's go, baby.
11:10 Reaction, all right.
11:12 - Oh, I stole a Moely?
11:14 - What about me?
11:14 Am I fresh?
11:17 Noah?
11:19 You gotta make sure I look good, okay?
11:20 These guys are all focused on him, okay?
11:23 This is another Bible joke, okay?
11:24 - This guy, every 10 minutes,
11:27 he's giving a Bible reference here, which is funny.
11:30 - Okay. - Fire round.
11:31 - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Fire round.
11:32 - Jesus. - Jesus.
11:34 Jesus.
11:35 - Jesus for the first one,
11:36 and then also probably the second and the third.
11:38 - A little Larry Bird, do a little elbow to the head.
11:40 - Yeah, yeah.
11:41 - And then say to it, "Ah!"
11:42 - Ooh. - That's tough.
11:47 Damn, that's tough.
11:48 - I thought I had it.