How I Grew My Prayer App Business to +1 Million Users | Abdul Rahman Abbas - Muslim Money Talk Ep 19

In this episode, Abdul Rahman Abbas, founder and CEO of the Pillars app, discusses building a privacy-focused Muslim prayer app and the entrepreneurial challenges and cultural dynamics Muslims face in the UK. He shares insights on bootstrapping vs. VC funding, the importance of community-oriented solutions, and his mission to foster an “abundance mindset” among Muslim entrepreneurs.

This podcast is powered by Kestrl. 

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Timestamp Breakdown:

00:00 - Intro 

02:32 – The inspiration for Pillars

05:31 – Building in Public on X (Twitter)

07:03 – Do people care about data privacy?

08:45 – How Pillars hit 1m+ users

13:18 – Balancing Medicine with Entrepreneurship

18:55 – Building infrastructure for Muslims (Prayer, Fiqh, Finance)

23:57 – Why did Abdul-Rahman become a doctor?

26:59 – The Bay Area vs. London mindsets

32:49 –Abundance vs. Scarcity mindsets in US/UK Muslims

37:42 – Female representation in Muslim Tech

39:27 – The Biggest Mistakes founders make

44:01 – Finding a co-founder

49:44 – Debate: VC funding vs. bootstrapping

55:21 – Impact of VC funding on growth and business focus

58:57 – Final thoughts on organic growth vs. VC-backed expansion

1:07:58 – Announcement: New premium features on Pillars app