Soul & Science : #103: BetterHelp Chief Growth Officer Sara Brooks | Scaling Empathy
SHOW NOTES
Empathy at scale isn’t easy—but it’s the heart of BetterHelp’s mission.With two decades of marketing leadership at Facebook, The RealReal, and Beyond, Sara Brooks has helped brands grow from startup to IPO and beyond. Now, as Chief Growth Officer at BetterHelp, she’s using data and storytelling to make mental health care more accessible around the world.
In this episode, Sara joins Jason Harris to talk about leading with empathy in a data-driven world, the power of authentic storytelling, and how vulnerability has become one of the most effective tools in brand building. She also shares lessons from campaigns with Lewis Capaldi and college athletes that prove empathy—and humor—can coexist with rigor and scale.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Empathy and data aren’t opposites—they’re accelerants
✅ Authenticity can’t be automated, but it can be scaled
✅ Vulnerability builds affinity faster than perfection
✅ Destigmatizing mental health starts with honest storytelling
Memorable Moments:
💡 “When you feel better, everyone in your life feels better as well.”
💡 “Vulnerability isn’t a risk—it’s the whole point.”
💡 “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Just get started.”
💡 “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
”Brought to you by Mekanism.
In this episode, Sara joins Jason Harris to talk about leading with empathy in a data-driven world, the power of authentic storytelling, and how vulnerability has become one of the most effective tools in brand building. She also shares lessons from campaigns with Lewis Capaldi and college athletes that prove empathy—and humor—can coexist with rigor and scale.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Empathy and data aren’t opposites—they’re accelerants
✅ Authenticity can’t be automated, but it can be scaled
✅ Vulnerability builds affinity faster than perfection
✅ Destigmatizing mental health starts with honest storytelling
Memorable Moments:
💡 “When you feel better, everyone in your life feels better as well.”
💡 “Vulnerability isn’t a risk—it’s the whole point.”
💡 “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Just get started.”
💡 “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
”Brought to you by Mekanism.
Soul & Science
Does marketing live in the heart, or in the head? Should you trust your instinct, or your integers? If the answer is both, should you lead with one more than the other? As a creative agency, Mekanism has been asking these questions of ourselves and our clients for over 10 years. Join co-founder and CEO of award-winning creative agency Mekanism, Jason Harris, on his quest to answer these questions with the world’s leading marketers from the brands we’ve all come to love. Named CEO of the Year by The Drum Magazine, Jason will draw from his experience during these easily digestible 20-minute episodes to explore the Soul of these famous brands and the Science of staying relevant, exploring how they’ve become culture defining emblems in our modern world.
Brought to you by Mekanism
Brought to you by Mekanism
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