Apply HN: Anonymous P2P therapy phone calls (going through a rough time?) | Hacker News Reader

Apply HN: Anonymous P2P therapy phone calls (going through a rough time?)

16 pointsyshajahan1615 comments

What we do: We like to think of it as a ‘Anonymous User to User therapy sessions’. We are building a mobile app that allows users who are going through a rough time in their life to be connected to a random person around the world to have a real phone call with.

Why: We all go through rough times. It can be school, love life, or not getting into YC fellowship (hint). Some of these things are very tough to talk about with people you know IRL (judgmental, embarrassing, they don’t care, ect). And we all know for a fact that talking it out with someone and getting advice is a great way to fix problems. This is done much easier when it’s an anonymous person on the other end so you can be 100% free.

How it works: Imagine you just got denied from YC fellowship. You’re there lying in bed all embarrassed and sad, but you can’t tell anyone about it because you’re just not that close to someone else. You pick up Yusuf’s app and automatically connect to a random person around the world who is also going through a tough time. You tell each other the story of what you’re going through and comfort each other. It’s simple as that.

Sure, I can talk more about our marketing strategy, product features, monetization, ect. But I’ll let you guys ask those questions (if you want to!)

Wanna know more about US (4 founders), past startup experience, more on our product, ect? ASK!!

I talked to a friend who was considering building this kind of startup recently. The two 'hard questions' that I found were:

1) How do you plan to deal with abuse? Connecting anonymous Internet users to people who are at their most vulnerable seems like a recipe ripe for disaster.

2) How do you plan to differentiate from, for instance, 7 Cups?

Hey, jwise. I'm gonna call you Justin wise.

Seems like everyone suddenly is having this idea now lol. Hopefully you don't delete your comment after I respond like the last two guys.

Well, Justin 1. It may seem like a recipe for disaster and we won't say that every interaction will be golden. That's why we have a review system to make sure there's no trolls and everyone is being nice. And we also have a key feature on our current build, which is 'find help' or 'help'.

2. We think 7 cups isn't doing it efficiently. They are chat based and their listeners have to go through a sign up process that takes too long. We want things on demand. And voice.

Well, you can call me that, but that's not my name :-)

I'll not delete my comment. I'm worried, really, about two categories of abuse: 1) Abusers who are not persistent, but who create multiple accounts rapidly (i.e., aiming to get a quick laugh). They use Tor or VPNs to create accounts for 'easy' harassment. 2) Abusers who will take advantage of vulnerable users (i.e., "the long con") over multiple sessions, or who will act in bad faith over the long term.

Do you have data that indicates that people are unhappy with the level of service that 7 Cups provides?

With any product created, you'll have the potential of having trolls. I'm sure even 7 cups has it too. And generally trolls don't attack vulnerable people to the point where they're using proxy or VPN's. Let alone on voice calls.

There's not much data of how unhappy 7 cups members are (maybe they're happy).

But neither of those reasons are good enough to NOT try something. Because you won't know if you're gonna have trolls or if your users will have a better experience from a competitor unless you try it.

Have you considered using this idea as a way to change the way suicide hotline works?

it is true that as humans we all have experienced stressful and difficult times in our lives,and knowing that there's an easy to reach-shoulder that is willing to hear your problem and advice you is something that I'm willing to try. Great concept and idea! Wish guys the best of luck!

Suicide hotline is very inefficient. Anyone who has ever called them will tell you that it's like calling the police on yourself because they force you to do certain things (like keep a watch on you (like sending the police to your house).

Sometimes users just want another human being to talk to them and hear their problems, and possibly give advice too.

Thanks so much for your positive feedback! We thought of this idea not long ago and already started building it.

Recently I read a story about how a Veterans suicide line went to a voicemail. Horrifying. There is a startup here, maybe it's a non-profit.

Thanks for your feedback!

Do you mind elaborating on your comment a bit more?

Here's the story I read recently. I think I may have first heard about it on NPR. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/va-suicide-hotline-calls-went-to...

It's a heartbreaking story about the VA suicide hotline going to voicemail. Every day there are 22 veterans who commit suicide, which sparked the formation of an Instagram account and eventual non-profit called 22 Too Many. http://www.22toomany.com

Would it be truly random, or would there be some effort to match people likely to understand each other's backgrounds and problems?

It would be random at first to bring in users (gotta get them somehow), but as our user base continues to grow larger we will be creating categories (school, relationships, family, ect.)

How much you plan to charge for this?

We do not plan on charging anyone for the usage of this app.

Monetization isn't exactly our FIRST priority (user experience is for now), but we do have some ideas behind it. For examples, ads can easily bring in revenue if needed. Or even qualified trained therapist are able to provide 'exceptionally higher' help for a fee (this is further in the future of course).

How far into development are you?

Chatroulette, and tons of similars, already do this if you wanna just chat in audio without the webcam.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com