Ariana Vargas is a mental health technology entrepreneur, documentary filmmaker, and the founder of the STIGMA app. Born in Costa Rica with lived experience of anxiety disorder and panic attacks, this visionary created a platform that connects people struggling with mental health to others who share similar experiences. Google named her app “Best App for Good” in 2022, just 120 days after launch.
Who Is Ariana Vargas
Ariana Vargas is a Costa Rican-born business leader who transformed personal mental health challenges into a mission to help others find hope. The innovator lives with diagnosed anxiety disorder and panic attacks, has an autistic son, and grew up with a father who suffered from schizophrenia.
Her unique background combines award-winning documentary filmmaking with mental health advocacy. The name Ariana, derived from Greek and Latin meaning “most holy,” seems fitting for someone dedicated to sacred work in healing. Her founding vision blended storytelling expertise with lived experience, positioning this mental health advocate perfectly to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health conversations.
Before founding STIGMA, she worked in brand strategy and creative roles at companies like Clearcover, TransUnion, and currently serves as Principal, Head of Brand Media & Events at Populous in Kansas City. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Studies from Boston College, where she initially considered pursuing medicine before pivoting to liberal arts.
Early Life and Mental Health Journey
Born in Costa Rica to an American mother and a Vargas family patriarch who battled schizophrenia, Ariana experienced mental health challenges from multiple perspectives early in life. Her father’s battle with schizophrenia gave her firsthand insight into how mental illness affects entire families, not just individuals.
Growing up, she witnessed both the power of empathy and the destructive effects of fear on a person’s wellbeing. This experience initially motivated her to pursue medicine with hopes of helping people heal. However, during her studies at Boston College, she discovered her true calling lay in storytelling and connecting with others through shared narratives.
Her personal struggles with anxiety disorder and panic attacks continued into adulthood. As a mother of an autistic son, she gained additional perspective on neurodiversity and the importance of creating inclusive spaces for people with different mental health needs. These combined experiences became the foundation for her leadership role in mental health technology.
Building a Media Career in Social Impact
Before entering the startup world, Ariana Vargas established herself as an award-winning documentary filmmaker specializing in social impact content. Her work focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives, creating stories that helped companies build more compassionate cultures.
Her career path took her through various brand strategy and creative leadership roles. At Clearcover, she led the creation of brand identity and creative strategies in the challenging car insurance industry. Her ability to tell compelling stories in traditionally “boring” industries demonstrated her unique talent for finding human connections in any context, distinguishing her approach from more traditional approaches to corporate storytelling.
Throughout her corporate career, this pioneer consistently focused on projects that highlighted inspiring individuals and helped workplaces nurture compassionate company cultures. This work prepared her for the transition from telling other people’s stories to creating platforms where people could share their own experiences directly with others who needed to hear them.
The Birth of STIGMA App
The transformation from filmmaker to mental health technology founder began when Ariana Vargas founded a documentary series planning project called “STIGMA.” Each episode was designed to show a complete picture of someone living with a mental health condition, moving beyond surface-level discussions to authentic, lived experiences.
When the first short film premiered in 2021, featuring a survivor of sexual abuse living with complex PTSD and depression, the response was immediate and overwhelming. People reached out across social media and email asking to speak directly with the film’s subject and sharing their own stories. One particularly moving response came from a man in his sixties who wrote: “I can’t believe you talked about it. No one ever talks about it. The same thing happened to me and I never told anyone until now.”
This moment crystallized her vision. Rather than just creating content about mental health, she realized the real need was for direct connection between people with shared experiences. In May 2021, she left her full-time job to focus on building what would become the STIGMA app, establishing herself among Latino entrepreneurs and mental health app founders making significant impact in healthcare technology.
How STIGMA Works
The STIGMA app functions as an asynchronous messaging platform that connects people struggling with mental health challenges to others who share their lived experiences. Members of this mental health community can send and receive messages of hope through text, audio, and video formats.
Key features include a moderated community environment with no friending or private messaging to maintain healthy boundaries. The platform supports multi-modal content to ensure accessibility and inclusivity. Topics covered range from panic attacks and ADHD to workplace trauma and loneliness.
The STIGMA team works with vetted mental health and wellness providers to offer trusted resources alongside peer support. Members can customize what they need, offer tips and resources, or simply receive encouragement in their inbox. The goal is creating “living proof” that what someone is going through is something they can get through.
Recognition and Growth Milestones
In August 2022, Ariana Vargas and her team officially launched the STIGMA app to the public. The timing proved exceptional – just 120 days after launch, Google Play named it “Best App for Good” for 2022. This recognition came with a 4.1 out of 5 star rating and over 1,000 downloads.
The rapid recognition validated her approach of combining storytelling expertise with mental health technology. The app’s success demonstrated that people were hungry for authentic connections around mental health experiences, not just clinical resources or generic advice.
Following the Google Play recognition, STIGMA was accepted into the AWS Impact Accelerator Latino Founders cohort. This program helped the team scale their platform and incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning to better match users with relevant content and support.
The accelerator experience also improved their ability to pitch to investors and build strategic partnerships. As this change-maker noted, “I walked out of the program with the best pitch I’ve ever had, and I have the video to use again. There are investors who say to me, ‘I saw the AWS pitch, let’s talk.'”
Technology and Innovation in Mental Health
STIGMA’s approach to mental health technology goes beyond basic peer support platforms. The team integrates AI and machine learning to learn from user engagement patterns and recommend stories and resources most relevant to individual needs. This personalized approach helps ensure people find the specific type of support that resonates with their particular situation.
One innovative feature currently in beta testing is “Narrate,” inspired by narrative therapy principles. This tool helps people reframe negative stories they tell about themselves into more positive narratives. During beta testing, 94% of users reported experiencing a meaningful increase in hope after using this feature.
The platform prioritizes user privacy and ethical AI implementation. All community interactions are moderated to maintain safety, and the team works only with vetted mental health and wellness providers. This careful approach to data security and user protection sets STIGMA apart in the crowded mental health app marketplace.
The technology stack focuses on creating an API-based application that supports the community’s diverse communication needs while maintaining the boundaries necessary for healthy peer support relationships.
Recent Developments and Current Work
As of 2024, Ariana Vargas transitioned from her CEO role at STIGMA to embrace new challenges as Principal, Head of Brand Media & Events at Populous, a renowned sports architecture and design firm based in Kansas City. Her tenure as STIGMA’s founder officially concluded in April 2024, after successfully establishing the platform from May 2021 through early 2024.
This career move, which began in November 2023, represents her return to brand strategy work while maintaining connections to the mental health advocacy community. Her role at Populous involves overseeing brand media and events across the Americas, applying the storytelling and community-building expertise she developed as both a documentary filmmaker and startup founder.
Her experience at SXSW 2024 and continued involvement in mental health conversations suggest she remains committed to the cause that sparked STIGMA’s creation. The transition reflects the natural evolution of an entrepreneur who built something sustainable and chose to apply her skills to new challenges in sports and architecture branding.
STIGMA continues operating with the foundation and features she helped establish. The app maintains its focus on connecting people through shared mental health experiences and continues developing new features like the “Narrate” tool for narrative therapy.
Key Takeaways About Ariana Vargas
Ariana Vargas represents a new generation of mental health advocates who combine personal experience, professional expertise, and technology to create meaningful solutions. Her journey from documentary filmmaker to mental health app founder demonstrates how lived experience can drive innovation in healthcare technology.
Her approach to building STIGMA emphasizes authentic connection over clinical intervention, peer support over professional therapy, and hope over medical treatment. This doesn’t replace traditional mental healthcare but creates a complementary space where people can find immediate connection with others who truly understand their experiences.
The recognition STIGMA received, including Google Play’s “Best App for Good” award, validates the market need for platforms that prioritize authentic storytelling and peer connection in mental health technology. Her work proves that sometimes the most effective solutions come from people who have personally navigated the problems they’re trying to solve.
As mental health awareness continues growing, entrepreneurs like Ariana Vargas who blend personal experience with professional skills will likely play increasingly important roles in shaping how technology supports human wellbeing. Her transition to new professional challenges while maintaining advocacy work shows how founders can scale their impact beyond single products or companies.
The STIGMA platform stands as a testament to the power of turning personal struggles into tools that help others find hope, connection, and the strength to continue their own healing journeys.
