Prince Harry Is Taking A Job At A Silicon Valley Startup
Prince Harry is now the Chief Impact Officer at mental health startup BetterUp
As headlines about Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the Royal Family continue to swirl after that big Oprah interview, it seems Harry is moving right along with his California life including getting a job at a startup.
That’s right. Prince Harry is now the Chief Impact Officer at a mental health startup called BetterUp. The Wall Street Journal refers to the company as a “fast-growing coaching and mental health firm.” Omid Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family, says Harry’s role will include “product strategy, public advocacy and more.”
“I intend to help create impact in people’s lives,” Prince Harry said in an email to the WSJ in response to questions about why he’s taking the job. “Proactive coaching provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness, and an all-round better life.”
Indeed, Harry’s bio on the startup’s website says the Duke of Sussex is, “…focused on driving systemic change across all communities through non-profit work as well as creative activations.”
Name-checking Archewell, the nonprofit Meghan and Harry started together last year, the bio continues, “The mission across Archewell—which currently includes Archewell Foundation, Archewell Productions, and Archewell Audio—is united behind the deeply held belief that compassion is the defining cultural force of the 21st century.”
So clearly, both compassion and mental health are big focuses for the Sussex couple, who discussed those topics at length in their explosive Oprah interview earlier this month.
Meghan shared the heartbreaking revelation that she struggled with suicidal thoughts during her time as a working royal and Harry has long been open about his own mental health. This startup feels like a great fit for him.
“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,” Prince Harry tells WSJ about the importance of maintaining mental health. “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 news of Harry’s position at BetterUp comes after deals with both Netflix and Spotify where Harry and Meghan will produce content specific to their own missions and ideas. Sounds like they’ll be staying busy in California regardless of any drama with family across the pond.
