Euphoria.LBGT, Inc. offers mobile apps for the transgender community. Co-founder Robbi Katherine Anthony shares her story on how she started Euphoria.LGBT, Inc and what she hopes to accomplish.
By Claire Misfeldt, Photos courtesy of Robbi Katherine Anthony and Euphoria.LGBT
For those who seek to, the process of transitioning can be equal parts scary and confusing. Because of how vast the internet is, scrolling through online forums for information yields too many results. There are many first-hand accounts on how many have transitioned. But what works for some might not work for everyone. This is where Robbi Kathrine Anthony, or as many refer to her as, RKA, found herself when she transitioned. In 2019, five years after she came out, RKA sat at a bar with a friend and reflected on her own path.
“My transition [was]miserable, just absolutely awful,” says RKA. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that there needed to be a solution that would help guide people through gender transition, and there was just nothing there.”
Euphoria.LGBT Resources
RKA and her friend, Patrick McHugh, created their first app, Solace. The app “provides information and resources to guide transgender people through whatever process of gender transition they desire.” Neither founder knew this would lead to the creation of their company, Euphoria.LGBT, Inc., which would allow them to create more avenues of information for the transgender community.
There are two apps under the Euphoria.LGBT, Inc umbrella as well three in development. As the company’s CEO RKA’s main goal is to decrease the rate of suicide in the transgender community. According to a study conducted by the Trevor Project in 2020, 52% of transgender and nonbinary people considered suicide while 21% attempted it.
“We wake up every day just to make sure more trans people can walk this earth,” says RKA. “No community should have to carry that kind of number. We’re trying to drive it to zero.”
Before Euphoria.LGBT, There Was Solace
When Solace was developed, RKA was still living in Spokane, Washington. The 2019 HackOut, “the world’s largest LGBTQIA-themed entrepreneurship weekend,” brought her and Solace to Austin. After winning a pitch at the event, RKA founded Euphoria.LGBT, Inc. to create a suite of mobile technologies geared toward transgender people.
In late February, the company received funding from Chelsea Clinton and a LGBTQIA+-based investment firm called Gaingels. Their tweet announcing the investors gained traction from people skepctical of venture capitalist-based transgender resources. Despite this, the overall reception to Euphoria has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People reach out to me and say, ‘Hey, I was in an extraordinarily dark place. I didn’t know if I could get through this moment. [Your technology] helped anchor me and move me forward in my transition,’” she says.
Reaching the Community
As a transgender woman herself and CEO of a tech company, RKA faces a lot of discrimination based on her identity. She feels like she has to justify herself as a businesswoman a lot more than most of her peers. After moving to Austin, RKA faces similar barriers.
“It takes so much work and is so hit or miss to even engage with individuals who actually see me as an equal or a human being,” RKA admits. “I can’t [gain]access to certain things because of what I look like or what I sound like.”
Euphoria.LGBT, Inc’s technology reached 1 in 50 transgender people across the nation. RKA hopes to expand into other countries so others have access to reliable information. Some of the markets she hopes to reach include India, Canada and the U.K. She also has apps in development meant to shorten the time spent in transition and reduce the cost associated with it.
“[I want to] get to the point with Euphoria where someone comes out as transgender and we’re able to guide them through that process in an expeditious and dignified manner,” RKA says. “In some ways, it normalizes the process.”
To learn more about the company or download the available apps, visit the Euphoria,LGBT, Inc. website.