After losing a devastating lawsuit that “annihilated” her life over 10 years, serial entrepreneur Staci Wright could have retreated from business entirely. Instead, she used the experience to revolutionize how companies treat their people. Her organization, Heart Profit, now helps businesses combat the mental health crisis by bringing connection back to the workplace. In an eye-opening conversation on Biblical Money with Rabbi Rami Goldberg of Israel365, Wright shared how her painful lessons transformed into a mission to save companies—and their employees—from disconnection and despair.
Six Businesses and Hard-Earned Wisdom
Wright’s entrepreneurial journey spans 20 years and six different ventures, from insurance agencies to a $5 million product-based business. But success in traditional business metrics didn’t prepare her for the human cost of “command and control” leadership. “I grew up in the command and control era of business where it was all about the bottom line and people were expendable,” Wright explained. “We drew a hard line and profit was what was most important.”
The breaking point came through an employee lawsuit that stretched over a decade. Wright admits the company operated under a model where “people were expendable” and there was “a lack of connection, a lack of care.” The legal battle taught her that being right doesn’t always mean winning, and more importantly, that sustainable business requires genuine relationships with employees.
“You can be right and still lose,” Wright reflected. “We were standing on what was true and what was right, but it didn’t matter. Now I understand more why people settle even when they’re right early on in a lawsuit.”
The Mental Health Crisis Meets Business Reality
Wright’s transformation from profit-focused entrepreneur to compassionate leader coincided with her growing involvement in community service. Volunteering at child therapy centers, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters revealed two alarming trends: needs were growing faster than resources, and charitable organizations were applying “bandages and band-aids” rather than addressing root causes.
“Why can’t we use the power and sustainability of problem solving that business provides in the social area?” Wright asked herself. The answer became Heart Profit—a nonprofit that serves the for-profit community by teaching businesses how to blend compassion, connection, and performance.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. Wright cites disconnection as a primary driver of the mental health crisis. “Humans are designed for connection,” she noted. “If disconnection is the primary driving force of the mental health crisis, logic would have it that if we bring connection back and connect people together, we can help stave off this crisis.”
Beyond Therapy Sessions in the Corner Office
Wright’s first attempt at compassionate leadership nearly derailed her business. When she shifted from command and control to pure compassion, she found herself “doing therapy two hours a day” while performance plummeted. “We had a whole lot of compassion and connection, but we didn’t have a whole lot of performance,” she admitted.
This experience taught her that sustainable compassionate leadership requires new tools, not just good intentions. Heart Profit now teaches businesses how to maintain high expectations while showing genuine empathy, and how to garner commitment rather than mere compliance from employees.
“We teach how to have empathy with your people and also have high expectations, and to coach them into succeeding as opposed to commanding them to do XYZ,” Wright explained. “It’s a shift in perspective, a shift in leadership.”
Radical Transparency as Connection Strategy
One of Heart Profit’s core principles challenges traditional business secrecy. Wright advocates for sharing financials and being “super transparent” with employees about business realities. While this requires more explanation and education, the payoff is enormous.
“When they truly understand, it’s a whole different ball game,” Wright said. “When you have employees that understand all of the pieces, they’re a lot more understanding of your position and where you’re coming from.”
This transparency extends to how relationships end. Wright has maintained friendships with people she’s had to let go, even serving as references for former employees who initially left on difficult terms. “I’ve been able to let people go and still be their friend and still say I care about you,” she shared.
The Million Who Care Movement
Heart Profit’s most ambitious initiative involves crowdfunding a movement of one million people contributing $5 monthly—generating $5 million per month to support businesses implementing heart-centered practices. The community votes on funding requests, potentially supporting everything from on-site daycares to mental health programs.
Wright sees this as democratizing business transformation. “Money is power, and if you want to bring power to a movement, you need to bring money,” she explained. The platform allows businesses to request grants for initiatives that support employee wellbeing but require upfront capital they can’t currently afford.
With a goal of 100,000 participants in the next six months and 50 certified Heart Profit businesses by year’s end, Wright is scaling a movement that addresses business sustainability and social impact simultaneously.
Faith Without Preaching
Throughout her conversation with Rabbi Goldberg, Wright demonstrated how to integrate faith into business without imposing beliefs on others. “I prefer to be the hands and feet of love in everything that I do, including my business,” she explained. “I like to live like Jesus lived, but I don’t want to talk about Jesus to anybody because I want to be respectful.”
This approach—showing love, compassion, and grace without formal religious practices—allows her to honor her faith while respecting employees’ diverse backgrounds and experiences. “I think there are many different pathways in life to get to God,” Wright noted, acknowledging that many people have been hurt by religion and need healing, not preaching.
The Business Case for Heart
Major corporations are taking notice. Wright recently spoke with a global aerospace company employing 92,000 people. “They said, ‘We have a people problem, and we’ve got to figure out our people problem. If we don’t take care of our people problem, we are not going to have a business in three to five years,'” Wright reported.
This represents a fundamental shift from treating people as expendable resources to recognizing them as the foundation of sustainable business success. Companies are discovering that command and control strategies simply don’t work with today’s workforce, which craves connection and purpose alongside paychecks.
Building the New Earth
Wright sees her work as part of a larger transformation in how humanity operates. “I think we’re at a pivotal point in humanity,” she told Rabbi Goldberg. “We’re really going to be seeing in the next decade some big changes in the way that we operate, in the way that we treat each other.”
Her vision extends beyond individual companies to a broader cultural shift where businesses serve as vehicles for human flourishing rather than just profit generation. By proving that compassion and performance can coexist—and that connection actually drives better business results—Heart Profit is writing a new playbook for the future of work.
The entrepreneur who once lost everything through disconnection is now helping thousands of business leaders discover that caring for people isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s the smart thing to do.
Watch the full interview with Staci Wright on Biblical Money, where Rabbi Rami Goldberg explores how leaders integrate faith, values, and sustainable business practices to create meaningful impact in their communities.
