Meditation apps are big business. Valued at over $1.1 billion in 2021, the space can be overwhelming for users to navigate, let alone founders seeking market share.
Quyen Balter’s St. Paul-based startup is breaking that mold with Peach Mindfulness, a text message-based meditation service. The company’s conversational format makes it easier for users to build a lasting meditation habit, Balter said.
“Our frequency of use is higher than other apps, because the content is always right there on top of the other notifications” she said.
The approach has caused the company’s revenue to double month-over-month this year.
Since its founding in 2020, Balter has successfully bootstrapped the company. With the only outside funding coming through a grant from Launch Minnesota, an arm of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) that provides grants and mentorship to early-stage entrepreneurs.
Prior to founding Peach, Balter, who holds a master’s degree in computer science, worked in software engineering and data scientist roles for Nokia, Microsoft Corp. and Target Corp. But she always dreamed of founding a company that married her passion of technology and wellness.
The first iteration of Peach started as a chatbot Balter programmed to talk to people about their day and prescribe mindfulness exercises. From that point, she dedicated her time to learning how to turn the side project into a business by taking online classes in marketing and business operations.
Then in 2020, Peach was accepted into the third Lunar Startups cohort, a St. Paul-based accelerator that supports entrepreneurs from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds.
Balter said the Lunar program was a foundation that provided her a whole host of resources to grow the company’s user base.
And last summer, Peach was selected to participate in Beta’s fall 2021 accelerator. The Beta program allowed Peach to grow even further. This time by targeting the B2B market through corporate wellness programs.
One frequent user is CheqrPay founder and CEO Leslie Vaillancourt, who met Balter while they were both in the Lunar cohort. Vaillancourt said the daily text messages feel like a reminder from a friend.
“One thing that I love, is it takes you on a progression,” Vaillancourt said. “You start with basic skills and ramp up to more advanced techniques.”
Balter designed this progression with input from Thich Hanh Duc, a Buddhist monk at Tay Phuong Monastery in Savage, Minnesota.
Now that the company has become more established and settled into its growth, Balter has been able to build out a production team, including a content writer.
When she’s not working on growing Peach, Balter is passionate about educating other entrepreneurs and founders on how to use mindfulness to become better leaders.
“I couldn’t see anyone running a business and not using any kind of mindfulness skills,” she said. “Sometimes, taking a break and doing nothing is much better than just running around chasing your tail.”
As a busy founder herself, Vaillancourt says using Peach has allowed her to stay grounded.
“There’s a million things coming at you, so having a daily reminder of doing something for yourself,” she said.
