Bridge Mentorship, the fundraising readiness and scaling guidance program from True Beauty Ventures and Beauty Independent, has named Happy Aging, Parëva and Nous as members of its second 2025 cohort.
The brands were selected to the six-month program, which will run from July to December, because they address distinct white spaces in beauty. Co-founded entrepreneur and wellness advocate Martha Graeff and functional medicine specialist Daniel Yadegar, also founder of hair wellness brand Wellbel, Happy Aging is redefining ingestible beauty through the lens of longevity, offering elevated wellness shots created specifically for women to support their cellular function and stress resilience.
Started by former StriVectin VP of product development and regulatory affairs Smitha Rao, Parëva takes a clinical, results-focused approach to skin longevity, pairing high active concentrations with clean formulation standards and full transparency around ingredient percentages. From Los Angeles hairstylist Tylor Johnson, Nous tackles practical, everyday haircare gaps with at-home color-refresh gloss and an SPF 30 dry shampoo that protects the scalp from damage from ultraviolet radiation.
“These founders are building with purpose and clarity,” says Caroline Weintraub, VP at TBV. “They’re not just following category trends, they’re shaping them, whether it’s through new delivery formats, radical transparency or performance-driven simplicity.
”Consumers are moving away from idealized routines and toward solutions that actually fit their lives,” says Cristina Nuñez, co-founder of TBV. “That means products that work, are easy to use and don’t require a trip to the salon or dermatologist. Convenience without compromise has become the new benchmark, and each of these brands delivers on that.”
That demand for effective, streamlined solutions comes at a time when mergers and acquisitions are heating up in beauty (see Rhode, Medik8 and more), but early-stage investor discernment remains the order of the day. “We anticipate investment activity will stay highly selective through 2026, with a clear bias toward substance over story,” says TBV co-founder Rich Gersten. “Brands that are capital-efficient, demonstrate strong consumer pull and show a path to profitability are still attracting interest, especially as we see renewed M&A momentum from strategics. That tailwind could extend to earlier-stage opportunities for brands that earn investor conviction.”
Bridge Mentorship aims to prepare emerging brands for precisely that moment. Through monthly group sessions, one-on-one partner diagnostics and hands-on examinations of go-to-market strategies, margin architecture, marketing spend and capital planning, the program provides tactical support rarely accessible to founders outside traditional networks.
“Bridge isn’t about generic advice, it’s about founder-specific, business-specific feedback,” adds Nuñez. “By creating intentional spaces for learning and connection, we’re not only helping individual brands accelerate, we’re also helping build a stronger, more informed ecosystem across beauty.”
For the participating founders, the program supplies more than mentorship, it can be helpful launchpad for long-term growth. At Happy Aging, CEO Eduardo Vanzak is intent on scaling a science-first brand in the United States and sharpening retail and funding objectives. He says. “We’re excited to join a like-minded community of founders and investors who believe in purpose-driven innovation and are building the future of wellness and beauty.”
At Nous, Johnson hopes to deepen his understanding of the operational backbone it takes to grow a brand that lasts. He explains, “My goal is to come out of this program better equipped to make strategic decisions that drive sustainable growth and establish a lasting presence in the beauty space as a category disruptor.”
For Smitha Rao, the mentorship journey is about tightening Parëva’s approach and laying the groundwork for sustainable scale. “I’m looking to work closely with TBV mentors to develop a clear, actionable path to scale my business,” she says. “A key focus will be identifying and strengthening weak points in my strategy to proactively de-risk potential challenges.”
Happy Aging, Parëva and Nous will share insights and milestones from their experience in a live In Conversation webinar in December.
