Pink Cloud's Origin Story

How did Pink Cloud get started?

Hello, I'm Jason, the Founder and CEO of Pink Cloud. I am also an alcoholic and addict in recovery.

My journey to creating Pink Cloud began on February 23, 2015, when I attended my second 12-step recovery meeting, several years after my first. I stumbled in, intoxicated, wearing stolen Christmas pajamas and a hoodie, with shoes that had holes in them. I was in poor health and my teeth hurt, later discovering I had over 20 cavities. During that noon meeting, I struggled to stay for the first half-hour.

That same afternoon, I learned I had been fired from my job—my second termination from a product management leadership role at a tech company in a matter of months. At 36 years old, after having worked since childhood, I feared I was at a turning point where even my career, something I had always excelled at, might no longer be viable.

That evening, I collapsed in my bathroom. As I lay on the floor, I noticed my phone had fallen out of my pocket. Checking it, I saw a message from the person who had taken my number at the meeting. He told me that everyone had enjoyed meeting me and invited me to return the next day. At a time when I felt worthless, this simple act of kindness resonated with me. Someone at the meeting had even given me water as I struggled through withdrawal symptoms. Their support gave me a reason to return.

A few days later, before another meeting, someone suggested I download an app to track my sobriety time. When I asked what that meant, they explained that my "time" referred to how long I had been sober. I feigned gratitude but internally dismissed the idea, thinking I didn’t need an app to count to three days. However, out of curiosity, I later explored the available recovery apps. I was struck by their poor design and lack of a critical feature—an effective way to find meetings. People would recommend meetings, but as someone new to Los Angeles, I struggled to keep track of locations. Existing directories listed only addresses, with no maps or driving directions, making navigation difficult, especially in my early recovery state.

With newfound time after being fired, I researched further and discovered there was no central database of 12-step meetings. A call to a major 12-step organization confirmed this. I realized that the lack of investment in recovery apps was likely due to perceptions that the market was too niche. However, I believed this assumption was wrong. I was frustrated that the people helping me on my journey didn’t have a high-quality tool to assist them.

Recognizing that I needed to pivot my career, I decided to transition back into software engineering, which I had done earlier in my career. I knew that software engineering valued skill over the perceived necessity of working 24/7, which was often expected in product management. I also understood that returning to engineering would likely require proving my abilities. With that in mind, I started building a prototype for an app tailored to the recovery community. I had limited financial runway, so I worked diligently, knowing I needed to develop something strong enough to secure a job.

In six weeks, I created a prototype that allowed users to search for 12-step meetings in Los Angeles and San Francisco. New to the specific task at hand, I pushed through the learning curve. As my funds dwindled, an old coworker invited me to catch up. I brought my laptop, eager to get his perspective on both my prototype and my plan to transition into software engineering. Initially hesitant to share the true inspiration behind the app, I eventually opened up. To my surprise, he was supportive, mentioning that he had family members in recovery. He even connected me with an opportunity for an entry-level iOS engineering role.

Shortly after, I secured the job, which turned out to be more demanding than expected. Over time, I was promoted to CTO. While working full-time, I continued refining the app during nights and weekends, using personal savings to hire part-time help. A particularly talented designer colleague agreed to collaborate on the project. To demonstrate my commitment, I brought $1,000 in cash to our first meeting—a gesture that underscored my seriousness. He became our first designer and later our Head of Product and Design.

Eventually, I left my CTO role to focus full-time on launching the app. On November 23, 2016, Pink Cloud went live, featuring a proprietary database of approximately 108,000 AA meetings—the largest of its kind at the time. Without a marketing budget, we relied on word of mouth. I still vividly remember the excitement of receiving our first customer support email, as it validated the work we had poured into the project.

Today, a decade later, as I write this, Pink Cloud has been installed on over 350,000 devices across 107 countries. We have expanded our interactive map, adding more secular and non-secular meetings, harm reduction principles, intersectional approaches, and "consumption measures" toward a wide range of addictions and/or substances. We continue to get stakeholder feedback from and collaborate with governments, nonprofit organizations, and grassroots recovery groups domestically and around the globe. 

Despite our growth, I never take for granted the individuals who trust and use our app. My journey from struggling with addiction to founding Pink Cloud has been one of resilience, community, and purpose—proving that recovery and innovation can go hand in hand. I thank those who continue to make our mission possible.

Alongside your journey,

Jason Varughese