7 Cups is Here to Stay! We are Now Sustainable!

We received a huge gift at the start of this new year! Ezra got into the office and started crunching all of the revenue numbers for December. We do this at the beginning of each month for the last months. Well, a year into really focusing on it, I can share with all of you that WE ARE NOW SUSTAINABLE! 7 CUPS IS HERE TO STAY!

A HUGE THANK YOU to each and everyone of you for your support through listening, looking out for one another, serving in leadership roles, financial contributions and for being great community members. This was not an easy road. You can read prior posts on this here, here, and here. Like we always do, we pulled together, faced the challenges head on, and we overcame them!

Why?

Because we do not give up. WE NEVER GIVE UP!

We dont give up on one another, we do not give up on ourselves, and we do not give up on 7 Cups. We continue to push forward, work hard, and make the impossible possible. We have grit, perseverance, and sticktoitiveness in spades.

Im proud of us. Really proud of us!

What does this mean for us moving forward? First and foremost, it means that we are here to stay. We can generate our own income now so we can keep the lights on. We dont have to worry about not being able to pay our bills. Second, it means that our staff team can stay intact. I had plotted out several scenarios in the past that included letting people go if we were not able to get to sustainability. We run a really lean shop here, so we didnt really have much wiggle room and having to let folks go would have compromised our service in one way or another. Im very thankful that we were able to keep everyone on board! Third, it means well be able to invest in hiring more people and also in products that help us better manage the site. Right now, believe it or not, the entire site is run by 2 engineers - Cris and Ezra. These guys are remarkably talented. However, most sites our size would have quite a bit more than 2 engineers. We are not there yet, but in a few months, after we feel secure, well be in a position where we can start thinking about bringing another engineer on board to further help out and speed up development. We are also starting to see increasing interest for our support systems, so down the road I can imagine us hiring someone to help with larger enterprise integrations with insurance companies. Another big need we have is for a research coordinator - someone who really understands tech and research. I wear a lot of hats and am playing this research coordinator role now and not doing the best job at it. In terms of products, we are currently on a free trial for a company that helps protect us from internet attacks, or DDoS attacks. In the past, Ive jumped us from one free trial to another to help save money. Soon, I wont have to do that (and there are not too many other places to jump!), because well be able to afford all of these ancillary services that support the work we do.

Thank you for all for helping us fulfill our mission. We want to build a free, global, effective emotional support system for the world. Sustainability is a significant milestone for us. We are well on our way towards meeting our goals!

We are all pretty excited. The team wanted to share in the celebration to let you all know what this means to them.

Thank you again!

Team Comments:

Setting out to build a free support system for the world is a lofty goal. Being able to keep it free for anyone to be able to reach out, 24 hours a day, is unheard of. But, we can do it because of you. Because of all of the contributions made by passionate, dedicated people, who genuinely care and want to help others. This milestone means so much. We have a very small team, as Glen said, and keep our expenses to a minimum...we operate like a poor family on a budget, but we are more than willing to make sacrifices because each of us care deeply about 7 Cups. Finally getting to a point where we are no longer operating on a deficit is so exciting...we can continue to offer free support to anyone who needs to be heard! Thank you for sharing this special journey with us! -LaraG (head of clinical programs)

~~

I started my 7 Cups journey as a listener and I was in that role for about a year before joining the admin team. I remember when the sustainability initiative was first announced and I have watched the incredible growth 7 Cups has had ever since. A part of me is blown away due to the sheer significance of what we all as a community have achieved here while another part of me isnt really surprised because I knew this day would come. Everybody continues to play an important role here. Every guest, member, and listener is a critical part of the complex organism that is 7 Cups. This will enable us to reach more people and provide a higher quality of support. I know Ill be able to reach more students, nonprofit members, and employees because of this and that makes me very happy. I can confirm what Glen was alluding to... we do indeed pinch pennies pretty hard and cut costs wherever we can… like, things have been really lean. Every person that has used 7 Cups has experienced the effects of that, whether they realize it or not. Now that we have reached sustainability, we can all collectively exhale. I imagine we will always be stretching our dollars as far as they will go, but now we know were here to stay. Man… thats like music to my ears when I say it aloud: now were here to stay. - @Pat (director of organization support)

~~

This is such exciting news! Ive been watching the revenue data like a hawk as it looked like we might just break even in December (as we did, on the last day of the month!). For all of us who love 7 Cups, the question has always been how can this be possible? How is this going to last? When I joined the team last summer I had high hopes that we could make it all work but I also knew that the odds are against any startup or new business (think about restaurants!), especially one trying to revolutionize the delivery of mental health care and to make the Internet a more compassionate space. I felt that even if we failed I would be proud of giving it a shot and we would demonstrate some great ideas. Now that I know that we are going to make it, the horizon is wide open, the skys the limit. We are really doing this and people all over the world are going to be better off based on the contributions of everyone in this community! So, please, everyone, give yourself a hand. Pat yourself on the back. You are helping make the world a better place and you aint seen nothing yet. ~@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn (head of product)

~~

Congratulations to all of us for making this happen!! When I joined 7 Cups, it was a couple of months old. I have seen it grow from an infant to a toddler, to a teenager, to a young adult now who is independent. Seeing us hit the sustainability mark brings feelings of relief, joy, and accomplishment. It also reaffirms my faith in humankind, in you all, that wonderful people exist, who make miracles each day, saving thousands of lives. Our 7 Cups community is like no other. The amount of love, compassion, and altruism that exists here is unmatched. I feel proud to be associated with such a lovely community and with such a smart team. Thank you, each one of you for making it happen. If I could, I would give all of you an individual hug! For now, heres a happy dance and a warm group hug - yayy!! - @Twish (Director of Operations)

~~

What brilliant news to kick start the new year! One thing I've learnt in this job is that it's not always about the big things, but a collection of little things that add up into something great. Id like to say an enormous thank you to everyone for playing a part in this, no matter how big or how small. None of this would be possible without all of the wonderful human beings that make up our community.

Crossing my fingers we stay sustainable long-term. I'm super excited at the thought of expanding the team, enabling us to improve what we already have and to help even more people! We've come tremendously far from the small, just-finding-its-feet community that I joined 3 years ago with its one offsite listener chat room and no teen side (never mind group support or apps!). I could not have imagined wed be here right now, and Im excited to see an incredible future, too. Don't worry 2017, we're here for you! :) - @Heather (Community Manager)

~~

Wow! When I first hear the news we had reach sustainability for December it was like getting a late Christmas present! I love 7 cups and I feel so incredibly lucky to share this space with wonderful people that teach me how to be better everyday. I see the good things the world has to offer happen every minute of every day. 7 cups to me symbolizes hope for a better, kinder and more loving tomorrow (and today too!).

In a time where a lot of things feel uncertain, it's great to hear 7 cups future is less uncertain! Thank you for helping us make this happen. Weve all worked together and made 7 cups a place that will continue to provide refuge to anyone in need of support. -@Iara (Teen Community Manager)

~~

Once I stood amongst a group of young, wide-eyed engineers, pondering a day far off when I would be creating self-driving cars or developing 3D worlds for games. Never would I have imagined that I would have the opportunity to jettison such mundane pursuits in exchange for the best engineering job in the world; a job that contributes to the largest emotional support network in the world. And as I stumble into the New Year, I'm still confounded by the notion that this is not just a fleeting opportunity, but a gift we get to unwrap daily that is here to stay. While my young, hardened cynicism fades from the overwhelming acts of altruism and community from our members, I can only now start imagining the exciting future we have before us. A future where we can continue to innovate with love, support and compassion together in this endeavour, touching people's lives directly for the betterment of all of humankind. With that, I hope I can express my gratitude for everyone that was here working before I arrived, and to all those who come after in the years to come. Congratulations to everyone! - @ezraBC (full-stack developer)

~~

Watching 7 Cups grow from the tiny seed Glen and I planted years ago, I am amazed at what it has become. This is a milestone that many startups never achieve and I am immensely proud to be a part of it. I am excited to leverage this new found foothold to reach forward and to make 7 Cups the therapeutic center of the internet. - Cris Firman @DevTeam

----

When I joined 7 Cups as a listener in April 2015, I was amazed by the sheer size. I kept thinking wow! This place helps so many people!! Over the next twelve months as I participated on the listener side, the number of chats we did each week kept growing so quickly. I still remember chatting with @MissZ and @Jace about how would we ever keep up! When Glen first began posting about sustainability in the forums I was torn. I was so sad that there was even a remote possibility that 7 Cups might not be able to stick around. But, like many listeners around me, I didnt like the changes that were proposed. Back 7 Cups and upgraded member paths and online therapy all sounded...well, not like the 7 Cups Id grown to love. And, like most of the listeners around me, I fought the changes at first and eventually quietly accepted that they might be necessary so I sat back to see how they would go. As the changes began, I realized that I didnt notice problems or constraints from them. There were people who liked them and people who didnt--like most things on 7 Cups. So I started shifting my thoughts to--well, if its not going to hurt and its going to make us sustainable, then this is great! When I joined the admin team, I began to see it from a whole new light. Little baby steps that got us closer to sustainability each month were celebrated by the team. I watched and was part of a team that pours their heart and soul into this site. It is not just a job for any member of this team. And there has always been that underlying what if we dont make it? floating around. But still, the team persisted and the community continued to embrace the changes. Today Glen messaged me and asked if Id seen his announcement to the team that we have reached the point where we are sustainable. I hadnt….I was standing in the AT&T store trying to get a phone since mine was not hardly working and I told the salesperson helping me I just found out we made it! This month were sustainable!! Of course, he was like what in the world, lady?? So I gave him a tour of 7 Cups app and shared the news with him. I was so excited. I am so excited. This site helps so many people in so many ways. People benefit as members and guests. People benefit as listeners. People benefit as being part of the admin team. This community truly has pulled together and made this work. Im so proud of all of us for overcoming that fear of change and still persisting to the ultimate goal of being around long-term. Itll be exciting to see what the future holds but I feel that we will likely maintain sustainability and we will be around for years to come. Congrats everyone! Change is hard but, in this case, 100% worth it!! ~@Amelia (Assistant Community Manager)

---

This has been a long time coming! I always knew we'd reach this milestone, but I didn't know how or when we'd get here. The journey has been exciting, challenging, painful and transformative. All of you, our diverse community, have shaped this journey and made it possible. You've provided hope, love, kindness, criticism and knowledge during challenging times and happy times alike. I am excited to see what the future holds for 7 Cups. Thank you for leaning in to this journey with us, it's been an incredible adventure and we are just getting started. Dream big! ~ @Laura

Please share your thoughts, reactions, and questions below!