Headspace. The customer is your boss.
A Buddhist monk founded it and left. Now Headspace is going public, and the customer isn't you, it's your employer.
THE GIST ON HEADSPACE: "The Customer Is Your Boss"
What happened to Headspace?
Headspace was founded by a Buddhist monk in 2010, and the monk left in 2022. This year the company is going public for billions. And the customer isn't you, it's your boss. Because peace of mind is now a productivity tool.
How did meditation become a subscription?
In 2009, a former British monk, Andy Puddicombe, started running meditation events in London and handing out USBs. A year later he launched Headspace. He took something free, ancient and religious and turned it into a monthly subscription.
In 2021 it merged with a corporate mental health platform at a $3 billion valuation. A year later Andy left, and Glassdoor is now full of employees saying that working at the mindfulness app is sending them to therapy.
Where is the money?
Last year they launched an AI companion called Ebb, with the real voices that taught you to meditate in the code. It's going public this year, with 70 million downloads and contracts with the US Navy, Cigna and TikTok.
But the biggest growth area isn't personal downloads. It's HR departments buying access for thousands of employees. The company makes more money the more stressed your workforce is.
What is the trap?
It's the trap of the wellness economy: companies that sell you calm also have a financial interest in your being stressed. Headspace can't fix the boss, the hours or the emails at midnight. Those conditions are what the corporate customer is paying for.
Mindfulness used to be a way out of suffering. Now it's a way of maintaining production through it. The cure depends on the disease. What if the cure is the disease?
Should employers pay for staff mindfulness apps?
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Quick answers
Who founded Headspace?
A former British monk, Andy Puddicombe, who left in 2022.
Who is Headspace's biggest growth market?
HR departments buying access for thousands of employees, not individual downloads.
What is the trap of the wellness economy?
Companies that sell calm have a financial interest in the stress staying, because the corporate customer is paying to cope with it.
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