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Even before Pray.com, Steve Gatena had a storied career. A former NCAA champion and USC football player (and winner of a Rose Bowl championship), Steve and his team built Pray.com to become the top app for Christians worldwide. Their mission is to “grow faith, cultivate community, and leave a legacy of helping others.” The business journey is just as intriguing. Since inception, the Pray app has been downloaded 1 billion times—100 million prayers shared with family and friends in its goal to “make prayer a priority.”
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of guest posts where people from all walks of life share their best advice in times like these. A big thanks to the leaders who volunteered to share their life experiences. Reflection on the past is a deeply personal exercise. The willingness to share it with the world, especially in the written form, is a commendable act of vulnerability. For this alone, they have my deepest gratitude.
Pray.com was among the thousands of apps whose business model was obliterated by Apple’s do-not-track initiative. In a world where App Store rankings are a constant battle, attracting a growing user base became near impossible. Steve had to make the decision to pivot, transforming from a subscriber-based platform into a content creator’s platform. This pivot fundamentally changed their business model but, in a way, set them up to be the app for connection and community during the pandemic. Pray remains the number-one faith-based app on both App Stores. What’s more, the app has sent over 1 billion minutes of prayer worldwide to help bring communities closer. In this installment of My Best Advice, Steve shares the one piece of advice he’d give to startup leaders today.
My Best Advice
“My life used to be about achievements. Now my life is about serving people. Finding purpose is not about earning some great achievement but creating a way to spend your time on Earth well. If you’re going to spend your time working, then be sure you are working to change your customers’ lives. Some of the time, macro economic forces outside of our control will derail your business, and occasionally these forces will make you change the way you work. All of the time, the person who serves your customer best, the one who creates the biggest positive impact in your customers life, that person will earn the right to have an ongoing relationship with them. I strive to be that person.”
