Everything you need to know about BetterUp — Prince Harry’s new employer

Just yesterday, the world watched — perhaps in confusion — as HR tech platform BetterUp announced its latest hire: Prince Harry.

The Silicon Valley-based company, backed by the likes of Sapphire Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Salesforce Ventures, recently closed a $125 million Series D at a  $1.73 billion valuation. So, if your question is whether the company can afford its latest hire, the answer is likely ‘yes.’

In his interview with the Wall Street Journal, BetterUP CEO Alexi Robichaux, said Prince Harry will not manage employees or have direct reports but he is likely to spend time at the company’s HQ when it’s safe to do so

Robichaux told another newspaper that he and the royal spent months ‘crafting’ his first job together.

Unsurprisingly, Robichaux has not disclosed salary details but it’s worth noting that similar roles at other California-based firms can command six or seven-figure salaries.

Harry was introduced to Robichaux through an unnamed mutual friend last year, and after they discussed the ‘four buckets of opportunities’, they agreed to start working together.

Robichaux grew up in Dallas, Texas, where his father was a biblical linguist and his Greek mother worked for Texas Instruments. He has compared BetterUp to ‘Tinder for Millennials’ and spoken about his Christian beliefs. In fact, the idea for BetterUp came to him while undertaking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Galicia, North Western Spain.

Robichaux and his co-founder Eduardo Medina attended the University of South California (USC).

It’s fair to say that Harry’s new role as chief impact officer is somewhat rare in the corporate world. In fact, it’s much more common in non-profit organizations but is likely to be worth millions in free publicity for BetterUp.

An overview of BetterUp

Since bursting on the scene in 2013, BetterUp has received $269.8 million from backers. In June 2019, BetterUp closed a $103 million Series C, which was preceeded by a $26 million Series B in March 2018, and a $12.9 million Series A in November 2016.

The platform brings together coaching, AI, and behavioral science experts to help individuals work on resilience, adaptability, and effectiveness.

“The results? People living more meaningful, vibrant lives with greater clarity, purpose, and passion,” reads BetterUp’s website.

The company claims that 90% of its members see a reduction in stress, 149% increase resilience, 181% improve their focus, and 222% increase team agility.

BetterUp has some impressive names in its client roster. In November 2020, it announced a partnership with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration to provide professional coaching at scale to their workforces.

A few days after that, the company published a blog post detailing its partnership with NetApp, a publicly-traded, Fortune 500 software company, employing over 10,000 across the globe. Other clients include Workday, Lyft, Google, Hilton, oil firm Chevron, and Warner Brothers.