Probation360 – Investor Overview
Building the operating system for probation and community supervision.
- Automating daily drug test hotlines and check-ins
- Reducing technical violations with smart reminders
- Giving probationers and officers a single, clean source of truth
The Problem: Outdated Hotlines, Missed Calls, Unnecessary Violations
In the U.S., millions of people on probation or community supervision are still required to manually call a phone hotline or log into a clunky website every morning to see if they have to drug test.
These systems haven't meaningfully changed in decades:
- Busy phone lines and outdated IVR menus
- Confusing color/number systems for test days
- No built-in reminders or tracking
- No clean way to prove compliance day-to-day
The result: missed calls, confusion, and technical violations that send people back to court or jail—not because they committed a new crime, but because they missed a phone call.
Key Statistics
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics and criminal justice research organizations.
Market Size: A Massive, Under-Served Supervision Population
Total Addressable Market
5–7M
People annually with recurring check-in or testing requirements in the U.S. alone:
- Adults on probation
- Adults on parole
- Drug courts, diversion, and specialty court supervision
- Pretrial supervision with mandatory call-ins or testing
Serviceable Available Market
2–3M
Initial focus: U.S. adults on probation or parole who must call a hotline or portal daily for drug testing or check-ins.
Estimated SAM: 2–3 million people tied to phone- or web-based daily color/PID systems.
Serviceable Obtainable Market
20K–150K
Realistic penetration target (first 3–5 years):
- 1% of SAM → 20,000–30,000 paying users
- 3–5% of SAM → 60,000–150,000 paying users
At $7.99/month, this supports a multi-million-dollar ARR business with strong margins.
Product: Turning Daily Chaos into One Simple App
Probation360 removes the manual burden of calling hotlines and tracking everything by hand.
Key Features
The app calls the probation drug test hotline on behalf of the user, then sends a push notification: "Test today" / "No test today."
Automatic daily reminders to check results, never miss the window, and log attendance.
Calendar-based reminders for court dates, PO meetings, classes, and community service hours.
A simple view of tests taken, missed, upcoming obligations, and overall streak—designed to be shown directly to a probation officer.
A growing, user-powered database of probation hotlines, numbers, and color systems across the country.
Why Now?
Justice tech is behind: most probation tools serve agencies, not people actually on probation.
Technical violations are costly for courts, taxpayers, and families.
Probation360 = "Uber-grade UX" in a space still stuck in 2000-era phone systems.
Business Model: Simple Subscription + B2B Upside
Core Model
- Direct-to-consumer mobile subscription
- Price: $7.99 per month (with room to test annual plans, e.g. $79/year)
- Free trial: 7-day free trial to onboard people in crisis without friction
Revenue Channels
- Direct subscriptions via Apple App Store (and later Google Play)
- Future B2B/B2G: licensing dashboards or bulk access for:
- Probation departments
- Treatment / therapy providers
- Drug testing labs and UA centers
- Public defender and reentry organizations
For early-stage revenue under $1M/year, Probation360 can qualify for Apple's Small Business Program, reducing App Store commission to ~15% instead of 30% on iOS subscriptions.
Unit Economics & Revenue Scenarios (Illustrative)
Assuming: $7.99/month price, 15% App Store fee (Small Business Program), ~$1.50/user variable costs (infra, SMS/voice, support)
These scenarios are illustrative only and based on assumptions about pricing, app store fees, and operating costs. Actual results will vary as we scale.
Current Status: Built, Tested, and Ready to Scale
- Expand hotline coverage across more states and counties
- Launch publicly on App Store
- Begin focused outreach to probationers, UA centers, therapy providers, and legal professionals
Go-To-Market: Built From Inside the System
Founder Edge
Founder is currently on probation and built Probation360 to solve a real, daily pain.
Authentic demo content: real call-in experiences, real app workflows.
Deep understanding of how hotlines, UA centers, therapy classes, and POs actually work.
Acquisition Channels
Targeted outreach to: UA centers and testing labs, probation therapy/class providers, public defenders and reentry orgs
TikTok and short-form content showcasing "before/after" of hotline chaos vs app simplicity
Direct word-of-mouth among people on probation who share tools that actually help
Daily UA Market Snapshot – Top 10 States
Tens of thousands of adults on probation and community supervision across the U.S. must call a daily UA (urinalysis) hotline or check an online system to see if they are required to drug test that day. This creates a large, recurring behavior that is currently managed via legacy phone IVR systems and outdated websites. The following estimates are based on published state and federal probation supervision statistics and external research, not internal Probation360 projections.
High-frequency calling behavior dependent on legacy IVR hotlines; opportunity for automated mobile check-ins and reminders.
Large population with diverse county-level systems; significant opportunity for standardized digital solution.
Multiple county jurisdictions with fragmented hotline systems; automation can reduce confusion and improve compliance.
Statewide hotline infrastructure vulnerable to outages; mobile app redundancy offers user peace of mind.
NYC and upstate rely on regional hotlines; app modernization appeals to reform-focused agencies.
County-based probation offices vary in tech adoption; statewide app bridges digital divide.
Chicago's large urban population with aging hotline infrastructure; app modernization is priority.
Mix of urban and rural counties; mobile solution reduces barriers for low-connectivity areas.
State-managed system with room for digital innovation; app reduces call volume to hotlines.
Growing tech adoption in courts and probation; app aligns with modernization initiatives.
Why This Matters For Probation360
- The daily UA call-in system is repetitive, anxiety-inducing, and manually managed via legacy IVR hotlines. Probation360 replaces this friction with one-tap automated check-ins and instant push notifications.
- Even a small penetration rate (1–3%) into this daily-caller population across just the top 10 states represents tens of thousands of recurring subscription users, translating to meaningful SaaS revenue and user lifetime value.
- Courts, probation officers, and treatment providers benefit from better compliance data, fewer missed calls, reduced manual processing, and less time spent fielding repeat inquiries on hotlines.
Exit Strategy & Potential Outcomes
Strategic Exit Options
Potential acquirers:
- Justice tech platforms and case management vendors
- Electronic monitoring / supervision technology companies
- SaaS providers selling into courts, probation, and corrections
- Larger consumer apps expanding into legal/justice and compliance tools
- Private equity roll-ups in gov-tech / public safety tech
Example Valuation Scenarios
(Hypothetical, assuming strong retention & growth)
These ranges are illustrative examples using common SaaS multiples; they are not forecasts or guarantees.
Use of Capital (Friends & Family / Seed Round)
Product & Engineering
Backend scaling, hotline coverage expansion, QA
Voice/SMS/Infra
Costs and monitoring for automated hotline calls
Marketing & Growth
Content, ads, outreach to centers and providers
Legal & Compliance
Legal, compliance, and insurance
Founder Support
Modest founder support to stay full-time on Probation360 during early growth
Interested in Learning More?
Let's discuss how you can be part of building the future of probation technology.
Contact Founder