Over the last few years we’ve really had to double down on this rather than relying on VC funding.
In terms of competing with Discord, the good news is that in govtech, we’re basically competing against consumer products like Signal and WhatsApp, as well as stuff like Teams. As a result, Element is not that far from a Discord competitor.
On the other hand, right now we are heads down building out stuff like https://element.io/server-suite and adding antivirus to Element Pro, and similar stuff which govts are willing to pay for, in order to keep the lights on. Meanwhile, fun features like custom emoji and discord-style voice rooms are stuck.
The plan is that when we get to break-even we can get back to our mission to provide secure decentralised comms for everyone, not just govts, but right now the focus is purely on being financially sustainable.
That says, if anyone reading this wants to fund us to get back on the broader mission sooner, do let me know!