True Beauty Ventures Urges 2026 Mentorship Cohort to Narrow Focus

The 2026 cohort was the ninth edition of Bridge Mentorship and was selected from more than 100 applicants. It is the first group to include a brand based outside the United States, with London-headquartered Rhute joining Académie Hair and Lenox and Sixteenth. The program, established in 2022, guides emerging beauty founders through brand building, retail strategy and fundraising.

Speaking on a graduation webinar last Thursday, True Beauty Ventures co-founder and managing partner Rich Gersten said a strong product is now a minimum requirement rather than a sufficient advantage. He said building awareness, establishing credibility, creating community and converting engagement into loyal customers have become just as important.

Nader Naeymi-Rad said identifying an unmet need, developing an effective product and investing in clinical testing no longer set a brand apart on their own. The founder behind the brand has become a key variable, he said, with the question now covering both whether the founder has the right to compete and whether they have what it takes to win.

The parting guidance to the cohort was to sharpen positioning, sequence product and retail launches, and resist the urge to pursue too many initiatives at once. The program’s diagnostic phase functions as a condensed due diligence process.

Gersten said the bar for emerging beauty brands keeps rising, making execution beyond the product increasingly important for founders trying to stand out in a crowded market.