Nixon sets the pilot's 67% sustained engagement against a 3% industry standard. She says participants used the app four to six times a week.
On March 19, 2026, Fast Company published a Work Life column by Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist and CEO of Figure 8 Thinking. Nixon writes that she sat down with Natallia Miranchuk, founder of Soula, and describes Soula as an AI-powered emotional support platform that combines neuroscience, health expertise, and artificial intelligence to address workplace wellbeing.
The Pilot Reached 67% Sustained Engagement
According to Nixon, Soula completed a pilot program with InDrive, which she calls a global unicorn with over 2,000 employees. The result was 67% sustained engagement among participants, against what she calls the industry standard of 3% for wellness apps like Calm or Headspace.
Participants returned four to six times a week, Nixon writes. Miranchuk calls the format "self-reflection therapy". Sessions run about 10 minutes and need no scheduling.
Miranchuk Links Care to Performance
Nixon quotes Miranchuk on care and performance:
"When a person feels genuinely cared for," she told me, "they can do whatever they want."
"She told me" is Nixon's phrase. Her own reading follows: feeling psychologically safe and supported activates the neural pathways behind creativity, risk-taking, and resilience.
Nixon Points to the Timing of Support
Nixon calls the most surprising finding the timing of support. Participants did not wait for scheduled sessions. They used the app in real time, several times a week.
She reports that Miranchuk's research with women found large differences in biological cycles, hormonal patterns, and stress responses. Miranchuk uses the term "soft resilience" for the capacity to sustain performance over time.
Nixon describes one practice from the pilot: asking "How are you today?" and listening for three minutes. She writes that participants then formed support networks outside the program and helped each other with childcare, meals, and logistics.
The column closes with three suggestions for leaders, including opening a team meeting with "How are you today?"
About Soula
Soula is an AI-powered emotional support platform that combines neuroscience, health expertise and artificial intelligence to address workplace wellbeing, according to Fast Company. Natallia Miranchuk is the founder of Soula.
Media contact: n.miranchuk@soula.care · soula.care
Sources
- Natalie Nixon, The case for giving yourself permission to breathe, according to neuroscience, Fast Company, March 19, 2026.