I’m upset right now. Far too often I hear complaints from people, most commonly using the free products we offer, complaining that we don’t offer everything for free. The complaints typically suggest that Truple, and I, are “evil” and that we are “profiting” off people who are struggling.
The truth is, if we did, Truple wouldn’t exist. I’d go and find employment else where. And, in all honesty, I and my family would suffer a lot less.
Timeline
Below is a timeline of events, including sacrifices that I and my family have made in order for Truple to exist. I do not share this with the intent of seeking for sympathy, I share it to communicate understanding so people stop accusing us of evil when all we’re trying to do is accomplish good.
2014
A friend shared his struggle with pornography with me. Existing products all failed because they all monitored websites and a lot of bad content was accessible through apps. The idea behind Truple was born.
2016
I started development on the first version of Truple. A good chunk of it occurred while I took a leave of absence from work. Instead of spending that time vacationing with my wife, I instead choose to develop Truple. Development continued on nights/weekends after the leave of absence. I’d guess that well over 50% of my nights/weekends (except for Sunday) went to Truple–again instead of spending that time with my wife.
2017
I spent the last couple of weeks of paternity leave working on Truple instead of spending time with my wife and new born son. It was an important enough problem that my wife and I agreed the sacrifice would be worth it if it would just help a few people. Work continued on nights/weekends.
2019
Around this time competitor companies released competing products–copying Truple’s approach of accountability based on screenshot content. In May 2019, I took a 70% pay cut and quit my full time job in order to work on Truple full time. We lived off savings and moved in with family to keep costs as low as possible.
2020
We’re still living with family and dealing with the coronavirus just like everyone else. Truple’s revenue is reaching a point where we could scrape by financially, but it would require moving away from family who primarily live in high cost of living locations (where we are located now). We’re hesitant to make the move, and not sure if that is what’s best for us.
Other points
Truple does not sell data to advertisers. We don’t have third party ads on any of our products. More than one multi-million dollar competitor has copied us. We even had a President/CEO of a multi-million dollar company admit over a phone call that he decompiled our app in order to figure out how we did screenshot accountability on android. These other companies all fail at innovating. They seem quite satisfied with the status quo. They fail to move the anti-porn technology industry forward unless they’re forced to do so, and when they do, instead of actually innovating they copy/scalp tiny companies (like Truple) instead of spending their profits doing research and development.
So, in short, I’m frustrated. So many sacrifices have been made, not only by myself, but my wife and kids, my parents, and my in-laws.
Is it a crime to ask for money in exchange for Truple’s products? When you’re sick and you go to the doctor, do you complain to the docter that he/she is “profiting” off your sickness? It’s not my fault that porn is addictive. It’s not my fault that “sex sells” and that it’s found on a majority of webpages on the internet. A lot of sacrifices have been made in order for Truple to exist as it does today. I am committed to innovating, and moving the entire industry forward (as already has been done). But please, the next time you’re about to complain that Truple isn’t free, ask yourself–would you give up even one of your paychecks in order to have Truple? Because we’ve given up that and a lot more so you could benefit from our product.
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