If you could create your own fantasy board of directors, who would be on it? CO— connects you with thought leaders from across the business spectrum and asks them to help solve your biggest business challenges. In this edition, we ask a CEO about emotionally intelligent products.
In this edition of “Ask the Board,” we feature Henry Costa, the CEO and Founder of Glorify, a daily devotional and meditation app. When he first started building Glorify, his goal wasn’t just to create an app. He wanted to create a meaningful experience implemented into daily life. In today’s landscape, people are overwhelmed with choice, constantly bombarded by content. If you want active users, you have to build something that respects their time, supports their emotional needs, and fits seamlessly into their lives.
Here are the principles he came back to when he was thinking about long-term engagement and why emotionally intelligent products win in the long run:
Build for habit, not hook
We’re not trying to create dependency, we’re trying to support consistency. That means thinking about how our product can naturally become part of someone’s day, like brushing your teeth or making coffee. It’s about creating small moments of value that people want to return to and feel real, positive impacts on their daily routines.
Simplify things
There’s a lot of wisdom in this world but for many people, things can feel overwhelming, and they may not know where to start. Glorify works to break down those barriers, transforming what was once complex into bite-sized passages with supporting content to help users understand. Our goal is to make it accessible and relevant no matter where you are in your faith journey, whether you are brand new to faith or revisiting it.
Some of our best product updates have come directly from user feedback. We constantly ask: What’s resonating? What’s missing? What could be easier?Henry Costa, CEO and Founder of Glorify
Don’t let design be a barrier
We designed Glorify to feel intuitive, peaceful, and easy to navigate. If someone only has five minutes, they can easily open the app, read their daily quote, passage, and devotion, and continue on with their day with a sense of peace. That’s the power of thoughtful, emotionally intelligent UX.
Meet users where they are from an emotional standpoint
Glorify is perfect for everyone, regardless of where they are in their faith journey. And there may be times when they feel a stronger need to connect. We are giving people access to a tool that can help when someone is feeling anxious, dealing with grief, or if they just need a moment of calm. We build and curate content to make everyone feel supported.
Offer a range of experiences
Not everyone wants to engage in the same way every day. That’s why we’ve diversified the product. While we offer the daily devotionals with short-form content, there are also longer forms of content people can use, including meditations, prayers, reflections, community chats, music, and more. The key is giving people flexibility and letting them engage on their own terms, especially as our users experience the ebbs and flows of life.
Allow for user personalization
Personalization is powerful, especially with your faith journey. Glorify gives users the power to choose their daily rhythm, by curating their content feed or saving their favorite prayers. That autonomy builds a deeper connection and long-term loyalty.
Listen first, then build
Some of our best product updates have come directly from user feedback. We constantly ask: What’s resonating? What’s missing? What could be easier? When you build with your users instead of just for them, you create something they actually want to stick with and return to day after day.
Design a community, not just a product
In this day and age, people are always craving connection. We’ve found that creating shared experiences, whether that’s through group prayers, reflections tied to world events, or content that speaks to what’s happening in someone’s life, helps users feel like they’re part of something bigger. That’s where true retention comes from.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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