From Slow to Fast: OneMind Attracts 20 Million Niche Users and Explores Three Content Monetization Pathways [Mental Health + Case Series]
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As we come to realize that the brain is nearly the most complex entity in the known universe, a hundred-billion-dollar market spanning from physical health to mental well-being awaits exploration.
Amid the mental health needs of 250 million people, VCBeat has recently launched a special series on the Mental Health Industry, examining challenges and opportunities from enterprises to markets, and from China to overseas. IWe will conduct a comprehensive scan of this field.If you are in this industry, feel free to engage with the author; for media coverage inquiries, please contact VCBeat directly.
Users who download the YiXinLi app and register will receive a letter from Huang Weiqiang, the founder and CEO of YiXinLi, who refers to himself as “Lao Huang” and “a warm, chubby guy.”
He wrote in the letter, “Emerson once said, ‘The thoughts and feelings you have long harbored within will one day be articulated by a stranger.’” For a long time, people have been searching for that “stranger” who can “articulate it in a single phrase” to resolve their inner turmoil.
Over the past three decades, psychological issues have become increasingly prominent, driven by class fragmentation and a crisis of identity accompanying China’s rapid economic growth.
Trend Chart of Public Demand for Psychological Counselors (Data Source: Everyone Is a Product Manager)
According to data from the 2016 Insight Report on the Psychological Counseling Industry, the search index for “psychological counseling” has been steadily rising from 2011 to 2016. Every day, people from diverse regions converge online in search of emotional solace, indicating that vertical psychological platforms are currently in a period of upward growth.
Yixinli was founded in July 2011, emerging from a “live-streamed suicide” incident within an online psychology group. In Huang Weiqiang’s view, Yixinli has always been promoting psychology and mental health through “clumsy” means.
Yi Xinli, which was once reluctant to discuss its business model, had long relied on free content to attract users. Within just three years of initiating commercial monetization, the company achieved profitability for the first time in the first quarter of 2018. In this series of reports on mental health, VCBeat interviewed Xie Haoran, Product Director at Yi Xinli, to explore the monetization pathways of this “slow-growing” company.
No company would reject commercial activities, but for the first four years after its establishment, Yi Xinli provided users with mental health content services through free psychological content. In Xie Haoran’s words, Yi Xinli positions itself as a provider of popular psychology content and services: “We hope that anyone with questions or concerns related to psychology or mental health can find answers or solutions on the Yi Xinli platform.”
Yixinli, which started with content creation, underwent a business transformation in 2015 by launching its paid knowledge services (online courses and psychological assessments), and introduced online psychological counseling services in 2016.
As a leading platform in the mental health sector, Yi Xinli has gradually established four core business segments over its seven years of development: public-facing psychology content, psychological assessments, psychology courses, and psychological counseling. It has also launched services such as Psychology Magazine, Psychology FM, and Psychology Q&A. Under the Yi Xinli brand, there are three applications (Pocket Psychological Tests, Psychology FM, and the Yi Xinli APP) as well as a nine-part WeChat content matrix (including Yi Xinli, Public Psychology Courses, Yi Xinli Tests, Psychology FM, and Yi Xinli Academy).
After seven years of meticulous operation, Yi Xinli has achieved impressive operational metrics. As of Q1 2018, the platform had accumulated over 20 million registered users across all channels, including more than 2.4 million paying users. The Yi Xinli app recorded approximately 200,000 daily active users (DAU), while its website attracted 400,000 daily unique visitors (UV). The platform hosts over 600 licensed professional counselors and features contributions from more than 200 psychology columnists who provide high-quality mental health content.
Xie Haoran describes Yi Xinli’s business structure as a pyramid-shaped hierarchy. The base of the pyramid primarily consists of free, mass-market offerings, including a content matrix built around WeChat Official Accounts and companion-style audio products such as “Psychology FM.” Its 4 million followers form the most solid foundation for Yi Xinli’s upper-tier businesses. The next level up comprises lightly paid services, including Yi Xinli’s psychological assessments, as well as vertical knowledge-payment content and professional psychology training programs that are currently gaining significant market traction.
Since the advent of “Internet + Healthcare,” the sharing economy concept in modern society has helped users and doctors build trust within remote relationships. In terms of the “Internet +” model, mental health services are perhaps among the most suitable specialties for online delivery, and for Internet-based psychological counseling platforms, endorsement by professionals with psychology backgrounds is crucial.
Given the high average transaction value and professional barriers, Internet-plus psychological counseling services naturally occupy the apex of the “pyramid.”
Xie Haoran told reporters that the overall business logic of Yi Xinli (One Psychology) is to “first acquire users through free content, then foster deeper interactions within the product step by step, and finally form a funnel that guides users from free services to light-paid offerings, and ultimately to heavy-paid subscriptions.”
Within YiXinLi, the primary business revenue streams come from three major segments: psychological counseling, YiXinLi Academy, and YiXinLi Assessments.
1. Psychological Counseling
In terms of the "Internet + Healthcare" model, mental health services are perhaps among the most suitable for online delivery. The sharing economy concept in modern society can help users build trust in remote relationships.
It has been revealed that psychological counseling services are a key business focus for YiXinLi.
Since its launch in 2016, Yi Xinli’s counseling services have expanded to 14 countries, helping over 60,000 users worldwide address psychological issues related to emotions, relationships, marriage and family, and personal growth. In 2017, psychological counseling accounted for one-third of total revenue, with an overall user repurchase rate maintained at 50%. Highly engaged users even sought consultations three to four times per month.
In selecting professionals, YiXinLi does not pursue the quantity of onboarded counselors but prioritizes “quality.” Xie Haoran revealed a detail: after launching its psychological counseling services, the platform’s counselor base once reached 15,000. To ensure service quality, YiXinLi assembled a professional review team that, referencing European and American screening standards for psychological counselors, rigorously selected just over 600 high-quality counselors from tens of thousands of certified practitioners across China and premium overseas counselors. The overall acceptance rate was no more than 2%.
Xie Haoran told reporters that Yi Xinli has four criteria for selecting counselors:
First, possession of the basic state-certified psychological counselor qualification certificate. Although the Chinese government discontinued the issuance of this certificate in 2017, experienced practitioners in the field of psychological counseling typically hold this credential, which remains a fundamental requirement. Second, educational background: at minimum, a full-time bachelor’s degree or higher; most psychological counselors who specialized in psychology during their studies hold a master’s degree or higher. Third, no less than 800 hours of individual counseling experience. Fourth, completion of more than 60 hours of individual supervision, or participation in at least 60 sessions of group supervision.
After meeting the above criteria, counselors must also pass a rigorous interview conducted by YiXinli’s expert panel before they are permitted to provide services on the platform. All professional profiles of counselors are publicly accessible and subject to public oversight.
2. YiXinli Academy
According to reports, Yi Xinli’s primary strategic focus this year is on paid content, specifically its Yi Xinli Academy business. Compared with counseling services, the knowledge-payment model has been thoroughly validated in the market, and users have become relatively more receptive to this category of service through market education.
Yixinli Academy’s business operations encompass paid knowledge products in psychology and professional training courses in the field. All members of the academy’s R&D team hold degrees in psychology and possess extensive experience in research, development, and operations. The team previously served as the invited psychological expert group, providing professional support for Kevin Tsai’s course on emotional intelligence.
Knowledge payment services focus on users’ self-growth, emotional well-being, and family issues, helping them find scientifically grounded solutions and enabling more people to access professional psychology education. The average transaction value per customer for the overall course offerings exceeds RMB 200.
The professional curriculum offers specialized training courses tailored for psychology professionals, taught by senior psychology experts from both China and abroad. Developed over three years, the program adopts a phased learning model, dividing the counselor’s professional coursework into three stages: Beginner—“Introduction to Psychological Counseling for Absolute Beginners”; Intermediate—“Psychological Counselor Skills Enhancement Bootcamp”; and Advanced—“Young Whale Program: Advanced Practical Training Workshop for Psychological Counselors.” During the training, participants accumulate case experience, thereby developing robust practical counseling expertise and capabilities.
3. YiXinli Assessment
Yi Xinli Assessment is a psychological assessment service platform in China that combines fun with scientific rigor. It currently offers over 2,000 psychological assessment resources, focusing on areas such as personal psychological growth, career development, romantic and marital relationships, and parent-child relationships. With a rigorous professional attitude towards psychology and flexible assessment methods integrated from self-media, it creates a platform for the general public to facilitate their self-guided growth. The team consists of more than ten authoritative experts in psychological assessment, ensuring the professionalism of the tests.
Leveraging its brand strength, YiXinLi boasts a high repurchase rate for its psychological tests. Additionally, by providing monetization tools for WeChat Official Accounts, YiXinLi has established partnerships with many well-known accounts (such as Zhang Defen Space). The revenue from YiXinLi’s psychological assessment business grew by 400% last year and is projected to increase by over 300% this year.
In addition to monetizing its services, the platform also generates advertising revenue by leveraging Yi Xinli’s “traditional” content business. Previously, Yi Xinli collaborated with Procter & Gamble on a campaign centered around the topic “Should Women Fear Turning Thirty?” initiated by the brand. This partnership featured subtle product placements and embedded video ads within WeChat official account articles, sparking widespread discussion.
In its third year of exploring commercial pathways, YiXinLi generated tens of millions in revenue by leveraging a diversified business matrix. Revenue from psychological assessments and psychology courses has become the primary source of cash flow for the YiXinLi platform.
Given the platform’s user profile—“70% are young adults aged 18–35,” “70% female,” “70% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher,” and “single”—Yixinli relies more heavily on online promotion for customer acquisition.
Among these, content monetization is the primary avenue. In addition to its own media matrix with 4 million followers, YiXinLi continuously produces practical and professional popular science articles on psychology for social media platforms.
Yixinli has accumulated over 24 million users through light apps on UC Browser and QQ Browser; it has nearly 80 million cumulative reads and 270,000 followers on Jinri Toutiao; as a verified institutional account on Zhihu, it has garnered over 60,000 followers, with its original popular science articles frequently featured in Zhihu Daily; on Douban, it is a popular account in the field of psychology, engaging tens of thousands of psychology enthusiasts in discussions on trending psychological topics.
High-quality content is undoubtedly YiXinLi’s “golden brand.” Compared with other platforms in the industry, YiXinLi holds a slight edge in both coverage and content open rates.
In addition to its own content output and search engine optimization, Yi Xinli has partnered with major influencer platforms such as New World (Xin Shixiang) for coordinated brand promotions via official verified accounts; exchanged program resources with online variety shows like iQIYI’s “U Can U Bibi” and Tencent Video’s “Celebrity Gym” to increase exposure; and launched interactive campaigns such as “Book Crossing” to directly acquire new users.
Offline, Yi Xinli primarily organizes events such as the PSY+TALK Conference and interactive psychology activities to help more people understand psychology and become familiar with the Yi Xinli platform.
PSY+TALK Conference
Among its platform-wide fan base, the conversion rate to paid users stands at approximately 15%. It was disclosed that Yi Xinli achieved profitability in Q1 2018, marking its first profit since it began exploring content monetization pathways in 2015.
Regarding the numerous vertical psychological platforms on the market, Xie Haoran believes that YiXinLi’s advantages lie in two aspects:
First is the platform’s professional endorsement. The founding team of YiXinLi has been dedicated to psychology for over 12 years, with more than 50% of its members holding bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees in psychology. The team currently comprises nearly 130 members. He believes that the team’s unified background in psychology is one of the key advantages that have earned YiXinLi recognition within the industry. In his words, “The team’s DNA determines whether the products and services provided will strictly adhere to professional standards.”
Second, the standardization and systematization of service processes. In designing its service framework, Yi Xinli adopts a service and feedback mechanism similar to that of e-commerce platforms. It provides customer support to address user inquiries and complaints, implements a stringent two-sided operational system, and monitors the quality of services provided by psychological counselors based on user ratings and reviews. Counselors found in serious violation of regulations are subject to penalties such as point deductions or removal from the platform.
Furthermore, since most online psychological counseling services in the industry merely provide users with information sources rather than serving as direct channels, counseling sessions are typically conducted through one-on-one interactions between users and counselors, making platform supervision challenging. In this regard, Xie Haoran revealed that YiXinLi is developing its own system to facilitate direct communication between users and psychological counselors on the YiXinLi platform, thereby enabling a one-stop service experience.
We can discern the current consumption landscape of China’s mental health market from a set of data:
“The U.S. mental health market is valued at $179 billion, while China’s stands at $14 billion.”
Per capita spending in the U.S. mental health market stands at $560, compared with $11 in China.
U.S. per capita spending is 50 times that of China.
The prevalence of mental disorders among adults in the United States and China is very similar, with 18.1% in the U.S. versus 17.5% in China;
"But 40% of patients in the United States seek help, while only 8% do so in China."
From a numerical perspective, the gap between China and foreign countries is enormous, yet domestic demand for psychological services is actually robust. Having completed three rounds of financing, Yi Xinli has accelerated its development thanks to strong investor confidence. It has evolved from a “slow” company offering free psychological content into a leading platform in the specialized psychology sector, with annual revenues reaching tens of millions of yuan. For Yi Xinli, the goal is to act as a “pioneer” in the mental health industry—establishing industry standards and promoting the advancement of mental health care before any unicorn emerges in this field.
Historical Financing Rounds of YiXinLi (Data Source: VCBeat Database)
Xie Haoran revealed that over the next two to three years, Yi Xinli will focus on developing its “Internet + Psychological Counseling” business line. The user lifecycle for psychological counseling products is approximately 6–12 months, with each user making an average of 4–8 purchases on the platform. Compared to segments such as knowledge-based paid content and psychological assessments, which typically involve higher one-time payments, the “Internet + Psychological Counseling” product offers a longer user lifecycle and better aligns with current market trends.
Due to the reserved nature of traditional Chinese culture, individuals who suspect they may have a mental health condition often choose to conceal it rather than seek help. Therefore, in this sector, the industry should prioritize market education to gradually cultivate public awareness of mental health. By focusing on major societal mental health issues—such as anxiety and depression, relationship and marital challenges, and workplace stress—and offering professional, effective solutions, the industry aims to foster deeper societal attention to mental well-being.
“The World and I Love You” and “I See You”—these two slogans, one in Chinese and one in English, align perfectly with the brand image of Yi Xinli (Simple Psychology). For this market, the greater expectation lies in letting people know that when they feel helpless deep inside, there is still a place where they can seek help. Internet platforms are merely a form that enhances the accessibility of services; the core of mental health still resides in human connection. What Yi Xinli is doing remains steadfast in its mission: “To help users find a way out in life’s most significant challenges through Yi Xinli’s products.”
Mental Health + Case Series: Related Links
Selected Reports on the Mental Health Industry:
【AI + Mental Health】Widespread Anxiety: Can AI-Driven Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Be of Use?
Yali Psychology: Helping You Digest the "Pressure" in Your Heart