Silicon Valley start-up that has hired Prince Harry What is BetterUp?
BetterUp describes itself as company that 'combines coaching with dynamic and personalized digital experiences to accelerate members' long-term professional development and drive personal growth'.
In practice, they sell executive coaching and therapy services to individuals and large companies.
It employs clinical therapists and 'executive coaches' on contract to provide those services.
One blue chip company that recently employed their services was charged $2,000 for six months of unlimited coaching for each employee.
Those who sign up for their app can receive one-to-one video therapy or coaching through the app.
Who was it founded by?
It was founded by two USC graduates Alexi Robichaux and Eduardo Medina. Robinchaux grew up in Dallas, Texas, and has described growing up with his father a biblical linguist who translates from Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew. His mother is an immigrant from Greece who was an executive assistant at Texas Instruments. In high school he started a non-profit called Youth Leadership for America.
Medina is also a USC graduate who worked at management consultant companies Altamont Capital Partners and Bain & Company before starting BetterUp.
How big is BetterUp?
BetterUp says it has raised a total of $300m in venture capital, and claims to be valued at $1.7bn. It has not reported any corporate results or profits.
Last year, Robinchaux told Inc that the company had 200 employees and more than a thousand therapists and executive coaches on contract.
Its investors include snowboarder Sean White, NBA player Pau Gasol and a series of venture capital companies including frims called ICONIQ Growth, Lightspeed Venture and Mubadala Capital.
Prince Harry announced his first job in the corporate world today by revealing he had taken an executive position at a Silicon Valley start-up that claims to be worth $1.7billion.
The Duke of Sussex will be 'chief impact officer' at mental health services business BetterUp, where he will help promote an app used by corporate giants including Hilton, Facebook and oil firm Chevron to improve the wellbeing of their staff.
The company's chief executive Alexi Robichaux has declined to say how much the royal will be paid, although similar roles at other California firms would command six or seven-figure salaries.
Harry was introduced to Mr Robichaux through an unnamed mutual friend - and it is not yet known if he has invested in the company, where other backers include the Dubai sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital and Olympic snowboarder Shaun White.
In a statement introducing himself to his new colleagues, Harry also revealed that every employee of his Archewell foundation will get access to its services.
Mr Robichaux said Harry has already helped make decisions at the business, including at a recent strategy meeting where he 'recommended that executives frame the tool in terms of resilience and overcoming adversity and setbacks in a challenging time'. He added that the sixth-in-line to the British throne 'comes from a very different background' to his colleagues.
Mr Robichaux has compared the app to a life coaching Tinder for millennials to keep them happy at work and said the firm came to him as an epiphany while doing the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in Spain.
Harry, who has served in the British Army but has no corporate experience, will not manage any employees but will be expected to appear at special company events and spend time at the firm's San Francisco offices for meetings once Covid restrictions are lifted.
The Duke, 36, revealed he has been using BetterUp's services including talking to one of its 'truly awesome' coaches for a couple of months who gave him 'sound advice and a fresh perspective'.
He wrote in a blog post how he will focus on 'driving advocacy and awareness for mental fitness', helping to guide the firm's 'social mission and impact', 'influencing the vision of BetterUp's platform, community and member experience' and expand its 'global community of thought leadership, coaches, customers, and members through outreach and strategic planning'.
Explaining why he took the job, Harry told the Wall Street Journal in a suitably corporate response: 'I intend to help create impact in people's lives. Proactive coaching provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness, and an all-round better life'.
He added: 'This is about acknowledging that it isn't so much what is wrong with us, but more about what has happened to us over the course of life. Often because of societal barriers, financial difficulty, or stigma, too many people aren't able to focus on their mental health until they're forced to. I want us to move away from the idea that you have to feel broken before reaching out for help'.
The prince, who says he has been using BetterUp's app since January, began talks with them about a role last autumn after being introduced to USC graduate Mr Robichaux 'through a mutual friend'.
BetterUp employs therapists and executive coaches on contracts, who are paired with clients to provide mental health coaching by video link through the app. Most of its clients are in the United States, but it does have executive coaches employed in the UK.
The tech firm that works with corporate giants including Facebook, Google, Snap Inc, NASA, Hilton and Warner Brothers. There will be some raised eyebrows because Harry has spoken widely on the need to protect the environment, but BetterUp has also worked with oil giant Chevron.
A bizarre list of values on BetterUp's website including: 'courage, playfulness, empathy, craftspersonship, grit and zest.'
The Duke of Sussex was unveiled on Tuesday morning as the chief impact officer at BetterUp with this corporate black and white photograph of Harry released at the same time.
A statement on the company's website said: 'Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex is a humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate, and environmentalist'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9393225/Prince-Harry-gets-job-San-Francisco-based-mental-health-firm-Better-Up.html