evolve: Best Android apps of 2021 for India: “Users tell us how Evolve app is as effective as therapy sessions they have had, except much cheaper.” – Times of India

Evolve is a health-tech startup that claims to be on a mission to make mental health safe, simple, and joyful! The Evolve app and its proprietary interface help users improve their mental well-being through interactive content based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The app currently has close to 100,000 users from across the world. The app’s founder Anshul Kamath began his career in London, working in Finance, following which he moved back to India to work in the startup ecosystem. After being diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disease, he realized the importance of managing his own mental health and the severity of mental health as a problem in general. Since then, he has dedicated the next phase of his life to solving this problem. Kamath has facilitated workshops for thousands of individuals collaborating with psychologists and other experts. In 2020, he founded Evolve to make mental health a priority for millions across the globe.
How did it feel to feature on Google Play’s Best of 2021 list in India?
Honestly, everyone on our team was extremely thrilled to be featured by Google Play in the Best of 2021 list. It validated a lot of hard work we put in throughout 2021 to build Evolve into a world-class mental health app.
For an early-stage tech startup like us, Google Play has played an immense role in catalysing our growth by recognizing us and giving us access to many potential users. Another aspect about Google Play we love is the data we have access to on the Developer Console to understand our audiences and conversion rates. We have run close to 60 A|B test experiments on the Play Store over the last 6 months. This has allowed us to understand our users much quicker and build a better product.
What do you think is the USP of your app that has helped you get here?
While our users experience Evolve as a virtual app, we have also worked with thousands of users in person – this is what sets us apart. Before starting Evolve, I regularly facilitated mental health and wellness workshops across India. Therefore, our user experience and content are designed to simulate the effectiveness of in-person therapy and coaching sessions. We have created an intimate and interactive experience that makes our users feel safe and open up to themselves. We often hear users telling us how they have been able to cry while using the app and work on deep-rooted issues they face in their everyday lives. Other users tell us how this is
as effective as therapy sessions they have had, except much cheaper.
How has the pandemic changed things for you, what has been the biggest learning across 2021?
Being a mental health company, while the world went through a pandemic, we saw it as our mission to help our users during this time. We also built extremely contextual content in 2021 related to issues users faced during the pandemic. For example, dealing with loneliness, income uncertainty, and improving productivity while working virtually, to name a few. A big part of Evolve’s user experience is users becoming vulnerable and opening up about their thoughts and feelings on the app. Interestingly, in 2021, we noticed that users were most interested in working on their relationship needs and stress as they were either spending too much or too little time with their loved ones.
What plans do you have for the app for next year?
The most exciting part of our roadmap for next year is to make mental health easily measurable and trackable for users. Imagine tracking your mental health like you track your steps. We are also planning to add safe spaces and communities to our app to help users openly share their feelings with others going through similar issues.
Any message that you have for users of your app?
We are extremely grateful to each one of you for making our first year so memorable. All your love, support & honest feedback has helped shape Evolve into an award-winning app! We promise to continue enhancing our product and give you the best and safest experience to work on your mental health and wellbeing holistically.