In 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to California and made their initial forays into the tech and media sector against the backdrop of the pandemic, announcing a big deal with Netflix in September and an exclusive podcasting partnership with Spotify in December. By the following April, they made another serious commitment to a tech company when Harry announced his role as chief impact officer at the online mental health and career coaching start-up BetterUp.
At the time, CEO Alexi Robichaux said Harry was taking on a “meaningful and meaty role” at the company that matches customers with career coaches. Ever since, Harry has participated in plenty of public-facing events for BetterUp, including a December 2021 interview where he made headlines for noting that “job resignations” are a sign that many people are “putting their mental health and happiness first.”
But on Saturday, the Daily Beast reported that according to some staffers, Harry’s duties with the company were nebulous, and one former employee told the outlet that the prince’s day-to-day responsibilities included “zero things.” The report came amid tumultuous times for the company, which recently laid off approximately 16% of its workforce after, according to two of the outlet’s sources, the company failed to meet last year’s revenue projections. Moreover, the company faced a “revolt” by the coaches who are contractors after modifying their pay. (BetterUp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Some staffers added that Harry’s star power did help close a few deals and increase the company’s reach in Europe, but another said that his presence in the tabloids might have been more trouble than it was worth. “Every article mentions his role at BetterUp, then goes on to roast [him and Meghan Markle],” a recent employee told the outlet. “The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”
Though the Daily Beast pointed out that the company was most recently valued at $4.7 billion, the trouble at BetterUp, which still lists Harry as chief impact officer on its website, is another sign that Meghan and Harry’s professional challenges have stemmed at least partly from a widespread market correction in the tech industry. The couple’s initial move to the US coincided with the advent of stay-at-home orders that left people around the world newly dependent on technology for both work and leisure. Major tech companies saw their valuations skyrocket, web-based start-ups were making big expansions, and media companies were upping their spending on content, with companies like Facebook making bets on a permanent reorientation toward digital living.
Ultimately, that financial energy seemed to be illusory, and the last few years have seen major layoffs across the tech sector. The readjustment has led to changes in strategy at the companies Meghan and Harry have worked with. In May 2022, Netflix canceled one Archewell Productions series after a disappointing earnings report led to the company’s stock plummeting. In June 2023, Spotify canceled Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, just ten days after it announced that it was retooling its entire podcast strategy.
Last week, one Hollywood insider told People that “the royal element and, in some ways, the drama around them inflated the price, deals and expectations.” Now, amid a larger economic reckoning for the tech sector, Harry and Meghan might have another opportunity to prove what they are worth.
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Erin Vanderhoof
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