The question that became the product
Entrepreneur's 2018 account, by Jessica Abo, sets out the sequence plainly. A condition that caused daily fainting arrived when Lucas was fifteen. What followed was not only a medical problem but a social one: she was, in the article's words, terrified of being alone. At a low point, alone in her room, she considered self-harm.
The question she formed out of that moment is quoted directly: what if there was a button she could press and someone would immediately know she was not okay. It is a product specification disguised as a cry for help, and it contains the entire design — one action, no explanation required, an instant result.
What the app actually does
She shared the idea with her brother, Charlie, and the notOK App was built. The mechanism is deliberately narrow. A user nominates up to five contacts in advance. Pressing the notOK Button sends each of them the same short message: "Hey, I'm not OK. Please call me, text me or come find me," together with a link to the sender's current location.
Every part of that is a decision about the worst moment. The message is pre-written, because someone in crisis should not have to compose one. The contacts are chosen in advance, because choosing in the moment is its own obstacle. The location is attached, because "come find me" is useless without it. What the app does not do is route the user to a stranger, a queue or a form.
Why a pre-written message matters
Crisis tools generally fail at the same point: they ask for effort at the moment effort is least available. Helplines require a phone call and an explanation. Messaging a friend requires deciding who, then finding words that do not feel like an imposition. Both are small tasks, and both are large ones in the state they are meant to serve.
The design Lucas described removes the decision entirely. The contacts were chosen on a good day, the wording was written on a good day, and the only thing left for the bad day is a press. That the specification came from someone who had just been through the situation it addresses is the reason it is so specific.
What is documented — and what is not
The firm facts are her age when the condition began, the daily fainting, the fear of being alone, the question she asked, her brother Charlie's role as the person she took it to, and the exact behaviour of the app, including the wording of the message and the limit of five contacts. All of it comes from the Entrepreneur interview published on 4 May 2018.
Much is missing. The article does not name the medical condition, give Charlie's age, state when the app launched, report download figures, or list any funding, accelerator or award. No source in this record gives her birth year, her home town or her school, and nothing here speaks to her health since 2018. Those gaps are left open.
Why the story travelled
Two things made this an unusual founder story in 2018. The first is that the product was not adapted from an adult idea for a younger market; it was specified by a teenager for the exact situation she had been in weeks earlier. The second is that it was built by siblings, which put a support structure inside the company rather than outside it.
The result is a piece of software whose entire interface is one button and whose entire promise is that five people will know. Whether that is enough is a question the reporting does not attempt to settle, and this page does not settle it either. What is documented is the design, the reason for it, and who built it.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moziah Bridges | United States | Founding Mo's Bows at nine; NBA licensing deal for team bow ties | Age 9 |
| Bella Tipping | Australia | Every travel review site asked adults what they thought. Hers asked the ch | Age 13 |
| Ollie Forsyth | United Kingdom | The Budding Entrepreneur Club, an invitation-only founders' network | Age 18 |
| Aryan Sharma | India | Co-founding Induced AI at 18 | Age 18 |
| Hannah Lucas | United States | Co-creating the notOK App, a one-press alert for people in distress | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Aged 15 when a condition caused daily fainting; described being frightened of being alone (Entrepreneur, 2018)
- Co-created the notOK App with her brother Charlie
- The app texts up to five pre-selected contacts a set message plus a GPS link
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- The medical condition is not named in these sources
- No launch date, download numbers, funding or awards are documented
- No birth year, home town or school is published in this record
- Nothing in these sources speaks to her health or work after 2018
Questions people ask about Hannah Lucas
What is the notOK App?
An app with a single button. Pressing it texts up to five pre-selected contacts the message "Hey, I'm not OK. Please call me, text me or come find me," with a link to the sender's location.
Who created the notOK App?
Hannah Lucas, with her brother Charlie. She had the idea; the article states she shared it with him and the app was built.
How old was Hannah Lucas?
Fifteen when the condition that prompted the idea began, according to Entrepreneur. No birth year is published in this record.
What condition does she have?
The article says only that a condition caused her to faint daily. It does not name the condition, and no other source in this record does.
When did the app launch?
No launch date is given in the source used here, and no download figures are published in this record.
How many contacts can be added?
Up to five, chosen in advance by the user.
Where is Hannah Lucas now?
No source in this record states what she is doing now. The documented trail is the 2018 Entrepreneur interview.
Is Hannah Lucas on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article was found for her. The source used here is Entrepreneur's interview by Jessica Abo.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Lucas’s story?
What does pressing the notOK Button do?
Who built the app with Hannah Lucas?
How old was she when the condition began?
Sources
- How Two Teenpreneurs Are Helping People When They Are 'Not Okay' — Entrepreneur, 2018-05-04
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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