Entrepreneurs Brian McGrath Davis and Cristina Poindexter have both played integral roles in building buzz-worthy consumer products already. After serving as Director of Business Development for Atlanta-based Scoutmob, Davis went on to be GM for Blakely Ventures, the personal business incubator of SPANX founder Sara Blakely. Poindexter’s career included rising in ranks at Headspace, a popular meditation and self-care app.
But the two both recognized a problem: No one in the startup world was adequately addressing brain health. That was a huge problem, considering that brain atrophy can start as early as your 30s.
“Cristina and I first met in March 2021 as Founders in Residence at a VC firm in Los Angeles, where we were struck by a very simple observation: As valuable as our brains are, most of us don’t know how to care for them on a daily basis. We spoke to hundreds of consumers to learn more, and it became apparent that the problem to solve was how to make everyday braincare simple and effective,” Davis told Hypepotamus.
That led the two to found Parable, an Atlanta-based personal nutrition brand designed specifically for brain health. Its first product, Daily, is a supplement designed to address focus, individual stress response, brain fog, and mental well-being. Created by neuroscientists, active ingredients include B vitamins, curcumin, ginseng, green tea extract, lemon balm, and phosphatidylserine. Davis said these are the “key nutrients our brains need to think, feel, and be well.”
The powder can be mixed into hot and cold drinks or put on top of foods.
Getting to know Parable
While the FDA doesn’t require clinical trials for supplement brands, Parable has made such testing standard practice. The team is also dedicated to changing how we talk about proactive brain care.
“For us, braincare should refer to products and practices rooted in scientific evidence that promote our health for decades. Given that the brain starts to age at 30, it’s really important for us to proactively care for our brain in our 30s, 40s, and 50s. Our brains are fragile and complex organs; to function properly, they have real and specific needs that need to be met,” said Poindexter. “While we may feel it’s typical to care for sleepiness in the morning with some caffeine or alertness at 10pm with melatonin, those practices aren’t actually benefitting our brains for the long term. That need for stimulants or anxiolytics is just a sign of a neglected brain.”
Atlanta’s Personal Health Startup Scene
Parable is launching with the help of a newly announced $2.7 million seed round. California-based M13 and Colorado-based Break Trail Ventures are part of the round.
M13’s portfolio has several consumer health brands that are household names today, including Capsule, Tonal, and ClassPass.
Parable has adopted a remote-first work environment, but Davis is based in Atlanta and Poindexter is building the business from her home in Denver.
Metro Atlanta has an emerging personal health scene starting to form. Hypepotamus recently covered ModifyHealth, a “food as medicine” meal delivery service that raised a $10 million Series B this January. It is also home to companies like Supersapiens (a glucose monitoring system also co-founded by Davis), and The Lemon Perfect Company (an enhanced-water brand), and women’s wellness supplement brand Semaine Health.
