What Promly does

Promly is a hybrid social enterprise structured as both a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Promly Support, Inc.) and a Public Benefit Corporation, founded in 2020 by Jennifer Libby, a licensed clinical social worker with 20 years of adolescent psychotherapy experience. The company operates a free iOS mobile social networking application targeting high school students aged 13-19, gated by AI-powered age recognition to maintain a teen-only environment. The core product integrates social networking with mental health support features including a biofeedback module ("Anxiety Redux") that uses the phone flash to measure heart rate for real-time panic and anxiety tracking, the 20BY20 vision-board feature for goal-setting before age 20, an "Ask Promly" Q&A with Gen Z advisors and licensed therapists, and a "We Got You" crisis resource hub.

The platform's revenue mechanics are donation- and grant-driven rather than app-monetized: the app is entirely free to users with no paid tiers, subscriptions, or in-app purchases. Funding derives from tax-deductible donations via PayPal/Venmo, corporate sponsorship packages, foundation grants (a $25,000 Ellis L. Phillips Foundation grant in June 2022 and a $50,000 Telosity Ventures Innovation Challenge prize in June 2023), branded merchandise sales, and high-profile events. Go-to-market is community-led and product-led via teen ambassadors, Changemaker content creators, paid high school and college internships, and an annual ChangeMakers Festival at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Promly serves three customer archetypes: end-user teens (primary), school and organizational partners for mental health programming, and corporate sponsors/donors.

The organization has cultivated notable regulatory influence — it was the first group instrumental in inserting youth representation into the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) — and has earned recognition including the 2025 UN World Logic Day Peace and Mental Health Award, NJ Innovate100 Top 100 Innovators, and selection as a Next Challenge "Next Power Platform" finalist. Headcount sits in the 11-50 range, the headquarters is in Morristown, NJ, and geographic reach is national within the United States. No app revenue, no enterprise contracts, and no disclosed financials are publicly available.

Name

Promly

Legal name

Promly Support, Inc.

Website

https://promly.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Promly is a hybrid nonprofit and public benefit corporation operating a free iOS social networking app for high school students aged 13-19, integrating mental health support including biofeedback anxiety tools, AI age recognition, 20BY20 vision boards, crisis resources, and youth advocacy via Changemakers, funded by donations, grants, and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Teen Mental Health Mobile App

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Teletherapy Platforms (HLALAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crisis Support, Suicide Prevention & Acute Behavioral Triage Platforms (HLALAEAI), Mental Wellness & Stress Management Devices (Biofeedback, Meditation/Neurostimulation Devices) (CRACAQAL)

Keywords

• Teen mental health app
• Youth social networking
• Biofeedback anxiety tracking
• Nonprofit youth services
• Peer connection platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Morristown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Promly accepts tax-deductible donations via PayPal, Venmo, and physical checks. Donations support the organization's initiatives including outreach, education, partnerships, and tech solutions aimed at preventing teen suicide. Promly Support, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Promly offers corporate sponsorship packages for companies seeking to align with its mission to support youth mental health. Sponsors support specific Promly initiatives and gain association with the organization's advocacy work and community events.
3. Grants: Promly receives grant funding from foundations and organizations including the $25,000 Ellis L. Phillips Foundation grant for the Ambassador Program and the $50,000 Telosity Ventures Innovation Challenge prize.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Promly offers a free mobile social networking app for high school students aged 13-19, providing a teen-only digital ecosystem with built-in mental health support features. Core functionalities include real-time biofeedback for panic and anxiety management via phone flash heart rate monitoring, AI age recognition for safety, the 20BY20 vision board for goal setting, mental health resource access, and peer connection tools. The platform is co-created with Gen Z advisors and mental health professionals.

Product overview

Promly is a hybrid social enterprise (Nonprofit & Public Benefit Corporation) offering a unified mobile app platform for high school students (ages 13-19). The core Promly App serves as the main product, providing social networking, mental health support, and connection features. Key integrated features include the 20BY20 vision board (goal tracking with challenges), Biofeedback for Panic (heart rate monitoring via phone flash for anxiety management), Ask Promly (Q&A with Gen Z advisors and therapists), and We Got You (mental health resources and crisis support). The ecosystem also includes Promly Changemakers (a Gen Z publication platform), the annual ChangeMakers Festival (live music event), and Promly Merch (branded merchandise). All offerings are designed to work together to provide genuine connections, mental health support, and youth empowerment in a safe, teen-only environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 20BY20: A life goal themed shared vision board featuring 20 things to do before you're 20 years old, with daily, weekly & monthly challenges.
• Promly Changemakers
• Anxiety Redux

Products and services

• Promly App A mobile social networking application for high school students (ages 13-19) providing connection features, mental health support, and a digital ecosystem for genuine peer connections. Available free on iOS.
• Promly Changemakers An online publication and platform amplifying Gen Z voices through articles, podcasts, and events, welcoming Gen Z writers, ambassadors, influencers, and podcasters to contribute content.
• ChangeMakers Festival Annual live music event at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, bringing together musicians, influencers, athletes, and global leaders with youth to destigmatize mental health and prevent teen suicide and school violence.
• Promly Merch Branded merchandise including sweatshirts sold through the Promly website to support the organization's mission and initiatives.
• 20BY20 A vision board feature enabling teens to track 20 activities to accomplish before age 20, with daily, weekly, and monthly challenges, point earning, and enhanced social connection.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65% increase in students leaving class due to panic upon return to school after the pandemic (per school nurse reports cited by founder)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, major and minor.

• Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA)moderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Promly's founder Jen Libby was invited to join EOPA, a non-partisan organization of public leaders working to advance environmental protections, public health, and sustainability through policy change. While primarily comprising elected officials, EOPA also partners with community leaders and innovators who contribute to public policy through research, advocacy, and on-the-ground impact. Libby's participation reflects Promly's expanding role in shaping conversations at the intersection of youth wellness and national policy.
• Senator Blackburn and Senator Blumenthal (Bipartisan Congressional Teams)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 July 2023Promly was the first group instrumental in successfully advocating for 'youth representation' to be included in Senator Blackburn's and Senator Blumenthal's bipartisan efforts to foster a safer environment for kids online with KOSA (The Kids Online Safety Act). Promly also pushed the FTC to build youth representation in their data privacy recommendations. Promly met with 8 Congressional teams in Washington D.C. to advocate for youth engagement in technology policy.
• Representative Susan WildminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresentative Susan Wild partnered with Promly's Gen Z team for Safer Internet Day to lead a campaign pressuring YouTube to remove suicide-provoking videos. This advocacy partnership highlights Promly's role in legislative efforts to protect teens online.
• The Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)minorOthersPromly hosts the annual ChangeMakers Festival at The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The venue partnership enables large-scale in-person community events featuring live music, youth performances, and mental health advocacy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• TikTok: Dominant short-form video platform capturing the majority of Gen Z social attention. Comparable because Promly is explicitly positioned as the safer, teen-only alternative to TikTok for social connection and mental wellbeing.
• Calm: Mass-market mental wellness and meditation platform. Comparable because Promly's biofeedback and anxiety-reduction features compete for the same anxiety-management use case, though Calm serves a much broader, primarily adult audience.
• Snapchat: Major social platform popular among teens with built-in safety features (age estimation, parental controls). Comparable as incumbent social platform competing for the same Gen Z social engagement time Promly targets.
• BetterHelp: Largest online therapy platform serving adolescents and adults. Comparable as a scaled digital mental health provider that Promly's biofeedback and crisis tools could complement or compete with for teen anxiety and depression cases.
• Headspace: Large-scale mental wellness platform with a dedicated Headspace for Teens product line. Comparable as an established mental health brand serving adolescents with guided exercises and stress management — directly overlapping with Promly's anxiety tools.

Direct peers

• JED Foundation: Nonprofit protecting teen emotional health and preventing suicide through school and college programs. Comparable as a teen mental health advocacy nonprofit working with schools and policymakers — overlapping Promly's school-distribution and policy-advocacy model.
• The Trevor Project: Leading nonprofit providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth. Comparable as a major donor-funded nonprofit focused on teen suicide prevention, the same core problem Promly addresses.
• 7 Cups: Online mental health platform offering free listener chat support plus paid therapy. Comparable as a peer-to-peer emotional support platform overlapping with Promly's community-led mental health support model.
• Crisis Text Line: Nonprofit providing 24/7 crisis support via text for teens and young adults. Directly comparable as a mission-driven, donor-supported mental health intervention platform targeting the same at-risk youth demographic as Promly.

Emerging players

• Joon: Mental health and wellness app specifically designed for teens and young adults, combining gamified self-care with peer support. Comparable as a purpose-built adolescent mental health mobile platform serving a similar Gen Z user base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/promlyapp
• Instagraminstagram.com/promlyapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/promly

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Promly