SaaS Idea: A Mobile App for Gaslighting Victims

This post is for entrepreneurs, who want to help people and plan to start a business. I will shed some light on the real-life problem of gaslighting, which affects millions of people worldwide, and I sketch my thoughts, on how a software application could deliver a solution for this problem. Even if the gaslighting problem is not very elevating, it would be great to see a few app founders developing a solution that helps the victims. So, let´s get right into it.

What is Gaslighting?

Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse in which the victim is manipulated into doubting their own sanity. Gaslighting can be very damaging to the victim, both mentally and emotionally.

Gaslighting is an exploding topic, that affects thousands of people’s lives. The keyword “gaslighting” is searched 832,000 times per month on Google, and this is just the search for the United States. The interest for this keyword grew by 614% within the last 5 years. Shockingly, the problem is not only serious but also huge and growing.

There are many reasons why people gaslight others. Sometimes, it is done for power or control. Other times, it may be done out of jealousy or insecurity. In some cases, gaslighting may even be done unintentionally. Regardless of the reason, gaslighting is a serious problem that can have devastating consequences for the victim.

How does Gaslighting Happen?

Gaslighting typically happens in a relationship, where one person has more power than the other. It can happen in a marriage, between family members, or even at work. The gaslighter will use various tactics to manipulate the victim and make them doubt their own sanity. These tactics can include:

• denying that something happened when it clearly did
• telling the victim they are imagining things
• making the victim question their own memory
• deliberately confusing the victim
• telling the victim they are being too sensitive
• withholding information from the victim
• giving the victim false information
• refusing to answer questions
• evading questions
• being intentionally vague

These tactics can be very effective in manipulating the victim and making them doubt their own perception of reality.

The Effects of Gaslighting on Victims

Gaslighting can have a number of negative effects on victims. These effects can include, self-doubt, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts or attempts, isolation from friends and family, loss of job or career, and financial problems.

How to Protect Yourself from Gaslighting

If you think you may be a victim of gaslighting, there are some things you can do to protect yourself. First, it is important to be aware of the signs of gaslighting. If you notice any of the following in your relationship, it may be a sign that you are being gaslighted:

• You second-guess yourself all the time
• You doubt your own memory
• You question your perception of reality
• You feel like you are going crazy
• You feel isolated and alone
• You feel like no one believes you

If you notice any of these signs, it is important to seek help from a trusted friend or family member. It is also important to keep a journal or diary to document what is happening. This can be helpful if you need to seek legal or financial help.

How to Defend Gaslighting

If you are being gaslighted, there are some things you can do to defend yourself. First, it is important to be aware of the signs of gaslighting. If you notice that someone is manipulating your perceptions or making you question your reality, it’s important to trust your gut and get out of the situation. If you notice any of the above-mentioned signs in your relationship, it may be a sign that you are being gaslighted. Here are some strategies for how to defend against a gaslighting assault:

• Recognize the signs
• Don’t talk nice and face the truth
• Write things down
• Keep the conversation simple
• End the conversation
• Consider cutting off contact
• Increase your support system and share your truth

Building a Mobile App for Gaslighting Victims

Let me share some thoughts, on what an app for gaslighting victims could look like. Ideally, the software should perform the following tasks:

Resources about gaslighting

The app could provide guides, articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources about gaslighting to educate and help the user. This can be solved with a blog or website.

Documentation of events and conversations

As writing down events and conversations is a helpful strategy against gaslighting, the app should offer simple functions to save notes, dates, and files.

Access to coaches and therapists

The app could offer live chat or video call functionality to connect the user with a gaslighting coach, therapist or other professional.

Helplines and emergency services

The app should offer quick access to helplines and emergency services in case of an emergency.

Gaslighting detector AI

The app could use AI (artificial intelligence) to analyze conversations and identify patterns of gaslighting behavior. That sound crazy cool and I think it´s possible. Such an AI solution would be a major point of attraction.

Community

The app could offer a community functionality, where users can connect with each other, share their experiences and support each other.

The Competition

Is there already competition? This would be a good sign for demand and you could learn a lot. A quick Google search led me to Onrecord.

Onrecord is a free app, that helps with emotional abuse, verbal abuse, bullying, gaslighting, and more. On their website, you can discover lots of high-quality blog content, a podcast, FAQs, videos, and a family law advice hub. The Google Play Store shows 1,000+ installs, but there are several bad 1-star reviews, that the app doesn´t work. So, there is definitely demand, and there are lots of unhappy users, searching for a solution. Looks like an opportunity to start an app!

Start with an MVP

The above-mentioned software functions are just some thoughts on how an app for gaslighting victims could or should look like. But we don´t know yet, which functions the user actually demand and prefer. Realizing all of these functions right from the start would take a decent amount of time and money.

Therefore, to start with such an app project, I would recommend building an MVP first. MVP stands for minimum viable product and represents an app that offers a minimum version of the intended solution.

Your MVP could be a blog, where you share articles, videos, and resources and build an email list – a superpower to market your app! Or you build a simple app, where user can open an account and save their notes on events and conversations. Or you could start with a community site, where people can chat and share.

The point is, that you start just with one part, or one main function, that is simple and fast to build, and that hopefully helps gaslighting victims. The MVP is not intended to deliver a complete solution, but it´s a kick-off to get traction. As soon, as you get traffic and users, you will learn a lot about the needs and wants of your customers. While providing your MVP, you can do polls and build better versions with more functions, that people love to use.

Don´t care too much about the first version of your MVP. Launching is more valuable than perfection – at least at the beginning. Your first MVP should be more embarrassing than great. If it´s otherwise, you probably launched too late and wasted too much time.

Software Templates for Your MVP

If you don´t want to start from scratch, you could use software templates. These are pre-built solutions, that offer a lot of functions out of the box. You can save time and money by using such a solution, as you don´t have to build everything from scratch. I would recommend the following software solutions to build your MVP:

WordPress

With WordPress, you can easily build a blog, website, or even a community site. You can use one of the many available themes and plugins to get the desired functionality.

Bubble

With Bubble you can easily build a web or mobile app without code. It´s a visual programming language, that makes it possible to create an app without writing a single line of code.

Bubble Template by Zeroqode

I found some great Bubble templates by Zeroqode, that could be perfect to start your MVP. They offer functions like a social network for connecting users, sharing photos, videos and stories. You could use such a template as a starting point and add other functions – like a cool AI gaslighting detector – later on. I think a community or forum would be a great starting point, as it supports the exchange of thoughts. Here are some examples.

Forum like Discourse [5% discount code: 0VXN62]

And btw, you get a 5% discount at Zeroqode with my code 0VXN62. Disclosure: I get an affiliate commission from Zeroqode at no cost to you.

Build a Financial Model

Last but not least, you should build a financial model to get answers about your project. How much money do you need to get started? How will you generate revenue? What are the costs? You should have at least a rough idea about these questions before starting your project.

Conclusion

Creating a SaaS or app solution for victims of gaslighting is a great idea. But to get started, I would recommend building an MVP first. This will help you to save time and money and you can gather user feedback from the beginning. You could use software templates as a starting point and add other functions later on. And don´t forget to build a financial model for your project!

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