By Khalida Sarwari
Most startups can’t wait to go public or get sold to a large company, but 3 and me isn’t like most Silicon Valley startups. And whereas most new startups look to the future, 3 and me borrows much of its philosophy from a practice that originated thousands of years ago.
Launched in April, 3 and me is a natural skin care product line created by Vita Bruno, a 20-year resident of Saratoga, whose products that the company claims contains three or fewer ingredients.
“It’s our way of reminding ourselves to keep things very simple and that sometimes simplicity and simple products work best,” Bruno said about the company’s name.
Standing behind its philosophy of making “products with a purpose,” the company also has a philanthropic agenda whereby it plans to devote all of its profits to entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities in the form of grants. Bruno hopes to eventually offer 50 to 100 grants a year.
“I’m dedicated to taking all the profits and creating grants for people that have these great ideas, that have similar philosophies, who are willing to help others,” she said.
Bruno has already chosen her first grant recipient: Cindie Heaverly, a resident of Los Gatos.
Heaverly is a yoga and pilates instructor who wants to create a company that offers hard-to-find yoga and pilates products.
“She’d like to create a company that employs people that are going through the same hardships she’s gone through,” Bruno said. “People that are recovering, that have been homeless, and helping them be responsible for their own lives. She’s the one that every venture capitalist would overlook, so it’s a perfect fit for what 3 and me believes is important.”
Bruno, a mother of three who held director-level positions at companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hewlett-Packard and Kaiser Permanente for three decades, started 3 and me after experiencing long-term stress and burnout. She said she started noticing a transformation in the workplace to where there was more emphasis on money and less on people. The unhealthy lifestyle changes that resulted from this shift started to take a toll on her, she said, to the point where she took a yearlong break from working.
During her hiatus, she researched preventative health care and even traveled to India, where she learned about ayurveda, considered a form of alternative medicine with roots in India. In a three-week course on ayurveda, she learned that although the tradition has been around for about 5,000 years, it had been suppressed in western countries, where she said a “one size fits all” approach in medicine is more common. The ayurveda tradition is more holistic, she said, and helps restore balance in all areas, from nutrition to helping people find their purpose in life.
“It’s just a great philosophy,” she said. “Based on that, I looked at the self-care area and the products that have been used for 1,000 years.”
Upon her return, she became more vigilant about checking the ingredients on the products she used. Most, she realized, don’t offer any nutritional value and in fact, prevent bacteria from leaving. And that’s when her mission was born: “Get people off of chemicals and get them on healthy, nutritious products.”
So far, 3 and me offers only three items: a rosewater toner, lip balm and an organic rose oil for skin, hair and nails. All three products are certified organic and chemical-free. They run between $8 to $39, or $68 for all three. They can be found on her website or at two local retail outlets, Worlds Yoga in Saratoga and Main Street Annex Salon in Los Gatos.
Bruno said she plans to expand her product line. She’s working with a base of suppliers here in California and in Oregon who grow most of the ingredients she uses. She imports some ingredients, such as rose oil, from Bulgaria, where she’s been working with a grower.
“The whole mission of the company is to give back, so I think for me, the bigger it is, the more people I can help,” she said. “It’s really about raising awareness of products people are using and raising awareness that there are great ideas that need to be funded.”
To learn more, visit 3andme.org.
Link:
Saratoga: It’s simple: 3 and me is a start-up set up to help others get started
