THE EMERGING TECH STARTUPS WE’RE HAVING OUR GEN Z TEAMS STALK: PART 14

Everyone’s mental health is in decline; we know this already, right? Not just right now as a product of Covid-19 and quarantine, but in general AND generationally.

Gen Z is following perfectly in the steps of Millennials with worsening mental health compared to older generations. However, there is a fortunate consequence of this: like Millennials, Gen Z is far more likely to talk openly about mental health and seek help for it (APA). 27% more likely, to be exact–which makes sense considering the serious issues most affecting them (housing instability and mass shootings).

Aside from this increased mental health awareness and the slow decrease in stigma, there is one other good outcome to these depressing numbers: the innovative world of startups is going all in on mental health services, showing a worth of 2.1 billion in 2019 and continued projected growth (Grand View Research). And while names like Better Help are already on the scene in direct-to-consumer services, the emerging tech is still largely untapped in B2B avenues.

Round Whatever of ‘Not Sponsored, Just Stalking’

That’s where we found Ginger, an on-demand mental health service operating primarily through employer-provided health insurance plans, who recently landed another $50 million in funding. While it doesn’t seem as snappy and easy as B2C apps where you can text a therapist anytime, it does fill a desperate gap where people needing help give up because maneuvering their insurance companies proves too difficult and time-consuming.

Ginger’s technology fills this gap with technology allowing for instant contact with a counselor who can either help directly, or funnel you straight to a specialist who can.

Our Spidey Senses Are Telling Us Ginger Is The One To Follow

As we’ve said in a few ways including in this blog, we don’t take the ethics of great marketing lightly. We understand our power as a top naming firm and inbound marketing agency, and that such power must be used responsibly (we all learned more from Spiderman than we let on, I think…). So naturally, looking at this booming industry, we’ve been pondering the touchy idea that maybe people shouldn’t be profiting so much off of someone’s mental health struggles.

On the other hand, a good capitalist competition should result in some great new services for people. The crucial aspect we believe to look out for, if we’re being responsible industry leaders, is that services follow through with people — not just profit off them and leave them hanging right when they managed to seek mental health help. No matter what sales cycle brings them the highest ROI.

The Social Truth That Marketing Matters

Can we trust all of these emerging startups to do that? Probably not. But can we call out those that don’t and hope that the ones coming out on top are there because they’re truly helping people live better, easier lives? Yes. We’ll start with Ginger, acknowledging how dope they are for making their business about easing the process of seeking treatment.

So between doing the best geographic segmentation and content marketing in Austin, that’s where you’ll find us– living up to our promise of being Anti-Template and Pro Marketing Matters. See you on the other side.