AI With Guardrails: Designing Tech for Sensitive Markets

In this episode of The Future of Marketing, host Andres Figueira interviews Greta McAnany, CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Fever, a youth-centric mental health platform that's bridging the gap between social media and clinical care. Blue Fever has grown from a simple text message service to a sophisticated AI-powered companion app serving nearly half a million young people, backed by investors including Amazon and Serena Williams. Through innovative positioning between social media and clinical mental health care, Blue Fever is creating a new category of preventative mental wellness that meets Gen Z where they are—while building sustainable business models through municipal partnerships rather than traditional consumer monetization. Topics Discussed: Building a mental health platform that sits between social media and clinical care Evolving from SMS-based service to AI-powered community platform Creating guardrails and safety protocols for youth-focused AI Monetizing youth mental health tools through B2G (business-to-government) partnerships Developing clinically-informed AI that knows when to escalate vs. support Understanding Gen Z's relationship with technology and mental health Navigating the policy landscape for digital mental health tools