For early-stage beauty and wellness brands, saying no is as important, if not more important, than saying yes.
“I want to be avoiding costly mistakes,” said Smitha Rao, founder of skincare brand Parëva during a December 2025 episode of Beauty Independent’s webinar series In Conversation recounting lessons from Bridge Mentorship, which was created by beauty and wellness venture capital firm True Beauty Ventures in partnership with Beauty Independent to help brands become funding- and scale-ready. “How do you build a brand that’s enduring? Being very disciplined about pushing things off and honing in on building that breakeven profitability. That’s the biggest takeaway.”
Happy Aging founder Martha Graeff, who joined Rao and Tyler Edwards, founder of haircare brand Nous, on the webinar and in Bridge Mentorship’s cohort last year, has learned the value of restraint. Before participating in the program, she had an expansive vision for her longevity brand’s assortment and distribution that could have sunk her not-yet-two-year-old business. She was on the verge of signing a deal to place Happy Aging in 300 stores.
“I wanted to be the brand that will have all the products that I personally need every day: protein powder, electrolytes, bars, matcha,” said Graeff. Reflecting on the potential 300-store rollout, she added, “I truly think that that would have been a very bad decision.”
TBV advises brands to concentrate on proven distribution and marketing channels and to treat inbound retail interest as validation, not a mandate. Cristina Nuñez, co-founder and partner at the firm, said, “Keep retailers informed, excited, but it doesn’t mean you have to jump into anything very quickly.” Rich Gersten, co-founder and general partner at TBV, stressed, “Prioritize anchor retail partners, keep refining your social strategy, lean into the content that drives the strongest conversion.”
Along with distribution and product mix, Bridge Mentorship pushes founders to evaluate their businesses across branding, financial metrics and team structure. Rather than focusing on fundraising mechanics, the program emphasizes investors’ mentality in vetting brands and pressure-testing financial models, including margins and growth assumptions, before seeking outside capital.
Applications for the next Bridge Mentorship cohort open today and close on April 24. The program will select a small group of brands for its intensive, six-month curriculum. Happy Aging, Nous and Parëva are only the latest participants in Bridge Mentorship. The program launched in 2023 and counts Nopalera, Nette, Sahajan, Educated Mess, Dr. Idriss, KJH Brand, Lion Pose, Damdam and Sofie Pavitt Face among its alumni.
Launched by Sandra Velasquez in 2020, premium body care and fragrance brand Nopalera recently secured a $4 million series A funding round led by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund and co-led by existing investor L’Attitude Ventures. During her time in Bridge Mentorship, TBV worked with Velasquez to nail down high-performing channels and stay close to Nopalera’s core customers.
“Her series A is an incredible milestone, but more importantly, it reflects a founder who has evolved into a strategic operator,” said Nuñez. “Sandra has always had the grit. Bridge helped sharpen the focus, patience and network needed to scale it into a durable business.”
Like many budding brands, Nopalera was flooded by opportunities, and Velasquez tended to consider most of them. “Sandra’s trajectory is a powerful example of what happens when a founder pairs hustle with discipline. One of the most important shifts during her time in Bridge was learning the power of focus,” said Nuñez. “What we worked on together was getting clear on where she could win and having the conviction to say no to the rest.”
Informed by the program, Happy Aging decided to double down on direct-to-consumer distribution, layer in TikTok and Amazon, tighten its hero product story and invest in education before expanding its assortment. The strategy aligns with a market that no longer rewards growth without precision.
“Understand what is really resonating with consumers and give a clear message,” said Graeff. “You need to give it time, especially with longevity. It’s something you feel in your cells.”
If focus is the foundation, authority and structure are key to scaling a brand. In a market shifting away from clean beauty toward science-backed efficacy, founder credibility has become central, but credibility at the top isn’t enough. It has to be operationalized. Increasingly, that’s being done with fractional leadership in central functions rather than full-time team members.
Edwards said, “I obviously know that I’m not great at everything, and so I would like to find a team that is really great at doing the things that I’m not.”
At Bridge Mentorship, founders are urged to translate expertise into narratives balancing brand story with product-level education in a way that feels both credible and accessible. For Nous, that means leaning into stylist credibility and community. For Happy Aging, it requires simplifying complex longevity messaging into language consumers can understand and act on.
The challenge is particularly acute for science-led brands like Parëva, founded by veteran product developer Rao. “My biggest takeaway is the why,” she said. “Why should anybody try Parëva? Why does it matter?”
Front-facing founder-centered storytelling can be uncomfortable for founders used to being behind the scenes, but TBV notes the opportunity is significant. Translating deep expertise into content forges trust and drives conversion.
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