We sat down – albeit virtually – with CE Hub’s Founder, Lani Chin, to find out more about her story and how this innovative continuing education certificate app came about – it’s anything but boring. So reach for your coffee, find a comfy spot and join us as we share Lani’s story.
Shattered Glass and Stolen Certificates
I first started thinking about creating CE Hub back in May 2018. My partner and I had just purchased a house in Los Angeles, perhaps not the best time to take on new projects like an app but hear me out because nothing could have prepared us for what was about to happen.
I met my partner for coffee after finishing up some meetings. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were enjoying our lattes, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. We were both so excited about the upcoming projects we would take on at the house.
As I pulled up to our home, I noticed our front door was ajar. As someone born in the city, I knew something was off because we always locked the door. I cautiously went inside and saw one of my dogs in her crate looking anxious. I let her out and noticed our house was disheveled. We had just moved in so there were a lot of boxes, but everything was strewn around and definitely not the way we left it. My eyes quickly focused on the shattered glass all over the floor in one of our rooms and realized my other dog was missing.
It hit me then that we were burglarized and our then 15-year-old chihuahua was nowhere to be found. As you can imagine, my heart dropped and panic set in, but luckily we eventually found our dog unscathed (thank goodness) and began to deal with the aftermath of moving on after a burglary.
Back Up? What Back Up?
One of the most valuable items stolen was my Apple laptop – of course, they didn’t steal the 8-year-old heavy Dell computer. Murphy’s Law I had saved all of my continuing education certificates on my Macbook, and perhaps like many I never thought to have a back up of it anywhere and I also didn’t have it saved on iCloud.
As someone who is curious about a lot of different things, my certificates were from multiple sources on a variety of topics spanning almost 2 years. I had no idea where to even begin organizing the certificates or how to get them back.
Fast forward to 2020 amid the pandemic, I was on a walk with one of my dogs and started thinking about what happened. I thought to myself, “Wow, it would have been nice if those certificates were saved in an app or something other than just on my laptop.” I started looking around to see if anything existed and it didn’t.
From Monotony Grew Curiosity
Life during the pandemic began to get monotonous and I thought to myself, “What if I created the app?” I started to share my idea with other mental health providers who told me their stories of miscounting, misplacing, or misfiling their certificates. They told me their situations and having every intention to complete their CE requirements, but accidentally miscounting, resulting in their license renewal being denied.
A lot of them also told me about how they thought they had all their certificates in one place, but then realized they had actually lost a certificate and didn’t make a copy. Another ‘popular’ story I heard was how so many mental health professionals had multiple files in cabinets, with continuing education certificates mixed in with things like their liability insurance, office lease, and client files – it really sounded impossible to organize all of that into a system that made sense!
After hearing these stories, I felt compelled to create the app, not just for myself but to help my fellow mental health providers who up until now had no other option but to wade through this administrative mess.
The App, B, Cs of Starting Out
Once I decided I was actually going to do it and make the app, my first concern was, “how the heck do you even create an app?” I like Angry Birds, Words with Friends, and Instagram. None of those have anything to do with storing and tracking continuing education certificates! Luckily, we were still in the middle of a pandemic and I had contacts who wanted to Facetime and talk to me regularly. After all, what else were we all doing?
Aside from the app, I still have a full practice and I teach graduate school courses for aspiring MFT students, and in my free time, I volunteer as an otter wrangler at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Seriously, when would I have time to create an app?!
I did some creative time management and started squeezing in meetings with app developers, marketers, SEO experts, advertising whizzes, and mental health professionals in between seeing clients, teaching, and otter wrangling. I continued to get feedback from potential users of the app as well as others who are in the tech field. Given all the data, the app started to take shape. I connected with several potential teams to create the app while using insights from my network to think about features users would want.
Going Live
The app finally launched in September 2021. There were more downloads than I anticipated and users were creating accounts. I couldn’t believe it. It was actually happening! I continue to get feedback from users and accept their suggestions with gratitude.
The app is way bigger than me. It’s a tool for my peers and its purpose is to make license renewal easier.
This is something that’s been needed and the demand for mental health professionals during the pandemic has skyrocketed. The fact that I get to support my peers with a task that most find frustrating is something that brings me joy.
Learnings and Latest Updates
The first big update just got released. In addition to storing and tracking the certificates for users, the app now supports users who are licensed in multiple states. This was a request I heard multiple times from users who expanded their practices out of state to keep up with the demand. Additionally, users can set personal goals for themselves that go beyond state requirements. For example, users who want to earn a certain number of credits in somatic experiencing, EMDR, anger management, or another specific topic can now track that particular goal within the app.
My Vision
A personal goal for the app has been to support diverse groups. As a provider who specifically works with individuals that are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, cultural minorities, and people who identify as being different, it has been important for me to intentionally hire women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community whenever possible. In light of that, I decided to reduce the price of the app to make it more accessible during the new year and through January.
The price for use of the app for 1 month was reduced from $4.99 to $0.99, for 1 year from $49.99 to $9.99 and 2 years from $69.99 to $19.99. After January, the app will continue to be available at the reduced rate of $2.99 per month, $24.99 per year and $34.99 for 2 years.
Inspirational Women Motivate Us
And with all that in mind, we’re hoping that Lani has left you feeling inspired. Keep on pushing your curiosity, keep on asking questions and looking for areas of improvement, and just because you’re perhaps not a professional in a given area, that’s not to say you can’t make a difference. If you have an idea you’d like to share with us to better our App, chat to Lani, or to partner with us please do reach out here.
