# Bridge Builders Collaborative

Bridge Builders Collaborative is an Asset Manager based in Minneapolis, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Minneapolis, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Minneapolis, MN, United States
- **Founded:** 2013
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** bridgebuilderscollaborative.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridge-builders-collaborative

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Bridge Builders Collaborative was founded in 2012 by three investors interested in whether the science of mind-training had enough validation for scalable applications. The firm funds companies creating mindfulness and mind-training solutions through technology. It has grown to 15 investment partners who have made 26 investments together.

## Sectors

- Mental Health & Wellness
- Digital Health
- Education
- AI/ML
- Enterprise Software

## People

- Charlie Hartwell — Managing Partner
- Maureen Pelton — Co-Founder
- Austin Hearst — Partner
- Scott Kriens — Partner
- Jeff Walker — Partner
- Randall Mays — Partner
- Sabrina Gracias — Partner

## Questions

### Who makes investment decisions at Bridge Builders Collaborative?

Charlie Hartwell and Maureen Pelton serve as the primary deal leads and managing partners. The collaborative operates with a streamlined decision process given the syndicate structure — each partner reviews opportunities and opts in on a deal-by-deal basis. No external investment committee or LP advisory board governs allocations.

### How does Bridge Builders source deals differently from traditional VCs?

The collaborative's narrow thesis and operator-heavy partner base create founder-led inbound deal flow. Portfolio founders and wellness-industry networks — including Charlie Hartwell's participation in the Global Wellness Institute — feed the pipeline. The group's early backing of Calm and Headspace established credibility that attracts entrepreneurs building mental-health technology before they shop to generalist VCs.

### Does Bridge Builders operate as a venture fund or a family-office syndicate?

Bridge Builders is structured as a syndicate, not a blind-pool venture fund. Partners invest personal capital through special-purpose vehicles on a per-deal basis. There is no committed fund vehicle, no LP base beyond the named partners, and no external fundraising cycle — a structure that enables speed and thesis purity at the expense of institutional scale.

### What is the Hearst family's role in Bridge Builders Collaborative?

Austin Hearst, a member of the Hearst Corporation board and grandson of William Randolph Hearst, participates as a named partner alongside his wife, designer Gabriela Hearst. The Hearst connection brings media, luxury, and cultural-institution relationships that complement the syndicate's wellness focus. Hearst Tower in New York and the Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires reflect the broader asset base of the collaborative's members.

### What sectors does Bridge Builders Collaborative explicitly avoid?

The collaborative does not invest outside human wellness and brain health. Explicit gaps include enterprise SaaS, industrial technology, fintech, and life-sciences therapeutics. Even within digital health, the group avoids provider-focused clinical workflow tools and payer-tech platforms, concentrating exclusively on direct-to-consumer and research-backed interventions for mental and cognitive well-being.

## Related profiles

- [Bridford Investments](https://altss.com/profile/bridford-investments-ltd)
- [Bright Oriental Capital](https://altss.com/profile/bright-oriental-capital)

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Updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:20.694Z

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