Country of Residence
United States
Age
20
Project title
Bemellou
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Bemellou makes the easiest first step in starting your mental health journey. After 500 interviews, we determined the binding constraint to getting help was psychological permission rather than access. So, we start with something people already want: a soft plushie, the kind 70% of Gen Z owns, and connect it to a free app with gentle, psychologist-backed support, tools, programs, and community. There's no appointment, and no energy required to prove your struggle is "big enough".
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://bemellou.com/
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Established (We have regular weekly or monthly impact that we are reliably measuring)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
As a kid, I was kidnapped and saw a psychologist. And honestly, it helped me more than I can explain. I learned early that talking helps. So years later, when I spent about a year feeling lonely and missing real friendships, you'd think I would have asked for help. But still, life isn't that simple, and in reality I didn't. This seemingly small problem made my days a little more blue, but it felt way too small to get support for compared to what had happened before. Looking back, that was the spark. What affects you matters as much as it matters to you, not as much as the world decides it should. My "small" struggle took a bigger toll on me than I ever admitted. I realized I must be one of billions feeling this. So, I started asking other people about it. More than 500 interviews later, two things stood out. First, most people weren't missing access to help, same as myself. They and I were missing permission to start. Second, people who weren't getting help were still comforting themselves with something soft: a plushie, a blanket, a pillow they held on hard nights. Again, this included me. That was my "aha" moment. What if that soft thing could be a doorway instead of a hiding place? What if getting support for the things we think are too small were as easy as holding something you already love? That question became Bemellou.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Most people who struggle never take the first step toward feeling better. It isn't that they don't know help exists. They tell themselves their problem isn't serious enough, or that starting takes energy, money, or an appointment they can't face right now. So they wait, and small struggles quietly grow. Our 500+ interviews kept pointing to the same barrier: not access, but permission. Most mental health support is built for people who have already decided to get help. Therapy, apps, and hotlines all ask you to show up ready. Almost nothing is built for the moment before that, when you're having a hard week and don't think it "counts." This matters to me because I lived it. I knew therapy worked, and I still kept a year of feeling like I lacked true friendships to myself because it didn't seem big enough. It matters to my community too. On a college campus, I see it constantly. Friends are stressed, lonely, or homesick, but they would never call it a mental health issue or book a session for it. Those are exactly the people who could feel better with a little support, and exactly the ones who never reach for it. I want a world where taking care of yourself doesn't require proving first that you're struggling enough. I want a world where its easier to feel better.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Bemellou meets people where they already find comfort. It starts with a mellou, a soft, huggable plushie. Each mellou connects to the Bemellou app, which turns that comfort into real, gentle support. Here's how it works in action. Someone gets a mellou for themselves or a friend, through our website, a clinic, a wellness place, a campus partner, or one of our in-person tables around Evanston. In the app, we guide them through programs, sessions, a community that meets them where they are, and short exercises with voice guidance: breathing, grounding, reflection, and more. Nothing requires an appointment or a diagnosis. You can open it on a bad day, spend two minutes, and that counts. When someone is ready for more, the path is already there. Our counselors run live sessions, and plans will add one-on-one time with them. The plushie is the first step, and the app is the bridge to the next one. We also designed the model around trust. The app is free during our early launch. When that changes, anyone who owns a mellou keeps everything it unlocks, permanently, with no subscription. We never want money to be another reason someone doesn't start. Our voice is warm, not clinical, and our promise is simple: "We don't fix you. We're just here for you." That tone matters, because people who don't think they "need help" won't open something that feels like a doctor's office. Finally, we bring Bemellou to places where people already gather. We're piloting with the UC Berkeley ASUC Wellness Room, in Northwestern clubs, and in wellness spots, all while also translating the app into Spanish and French so the first step is easier in more languages.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
We launched the Bemellou app in August 2026, after 24 App Store rejections that taught us patience. In the first month, about 1,500 people downloaded it, many of them finding us on their own. Our Pinterest content has passed 500,000 impressions, mostly organic. That tells us our message resonates with people who aren't searching for "therapy" but are searching for comfort. Our counselors are gonna start running live sessions in the next couple of weeks, and more are ready as we grow. We've secured a pilot with the UC Berkeley ASUC Wellness Room, Northwestern, wellness places around the US, and have a run of 3,000 redesigned plushies arriving in November. We also have been accepted to programs like the Enlight Fellowship, Sillicon Valley Fellowship, and Seed Spot. Before we built anything though, we listened. More than 500 interviews shaped every decision. And the impact we're working toward over the next year: 25,000 people using the app, 2,500 mellous in people's hands, and 250 people choosing a paid plan because the support is worth it to them. Behind every one of those numbers is someone who would have waited, and didn't. We think it will work because we aren't asking people to change who they are. People already hold something soft when life feels heavy. We're just making sure that comfort can lead somewhere that results in long-term healing.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Most mental health solutions start at the point of decision. Therapy, telehealth, and most wellness apps assume you already know you need help and are ready to act. Bemellou is built for the moment before that, which is where most people get stuck. Three things make us different. First, we combine a physical object with digital support. Plushies and mental health apps both exist, but nobody has connected them. Our interviews showed that people who weren't getting help were already comforting themselves with something soft. Instead of fighting that instinct, we turn it into a doorway. A plushie on your bed is a gentle, daily reminder that support is there, in a way a notification never is. Second, we're redefining who mental health support is "for." Most products signal that you need a real problem to belong. Our brand is deliberately warm, playful, and non-clinical, carried by our mellous, so people with "small" struggles feel welcome. Our promise is "We don't fix you. We're just here for you." Third, our model removes money as a barrier at the start. The app is free during launch, and when paid plans arrive, plush owners keep everything their mellou unlocks forever. It's one purchase with no subscription trap. We're also innovative in how we operate. We're a small student-led team, so I built and manage a system of AI agents that runs much of our growth work: content, search, community monitoring, and finding creators to partner with. That lets a handful of people reach hundreds of thousands. And instead of waiting for people to find us online, we bring mellous to clinics, campuses, and local farmers markets, where people can hold one before they ever download anything.
How many people are on your team?
7
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
We have a founding team of five. I'm CEO and lead product and growth. Jose Ramon Nuñez (COO) runs operations, Juan Arismendi (CFO) manages finance and manufacturing, Jose Loreto Arismendi (CSO) guides strategy, and Jorge Vergara leads partnerships. Our counselors shape the psychological experience. Each leader owns their area and makes the calls in it, while still giving and receiving feedback to make all work feel like it's made by a team.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, our goal is to grow from a launched product to a habit people rely on: 25,000 app users, 2,500 mellous in people's hands, and 250 people on a paid plan. To get there, we're focusing on five things. Getting mellous to people. Our 3,000 redesigned plushies arrive in November. We'll sell them online, through clinics, and at in-person tables at farmers markets and local venues around Evanston, with support from Northwestern's Garage. Campuses. We'll turn our UC Berkeley ASUC Wellness Room pilot into a repeatable model for other universities. More languages. We're translating Bemellou into Spanish, then French. As someone who grew up between Caracas and Madrid, I know how much easier it is to open up in your own language. Deepening support. We'll grow our psychologist team, keep adding exercises, and introduce paid plans with one-on-one time, while keeping the core free for mellou owners. Funding. We're raising a $75K pre-seed round, alongside support from the Silicon Valley Fellowship, the Enlight Fellowship, and SEED SPOT. Most of all, we want to keep listening, like we did in our first 500 interviews.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Bemellou started with listening, and that is still how we bring people in. More than 500 people have shared their stories with us in interviews, and many of them became our first users and testers. We invite people to talk about mental health in a softer way. Our content, led by Benny and Vita, treats "small" struggles as real, and it has reached over 500,000 people on Pinterest. When someone shares a mellou with a friend, they're also passing along permission to take care of themselves. We bring creators along too. We've partnered with YouTubers and podcasters who talk honestly about mental health. Through the Enlight Fellowship, we're also running the Bemellou Creator Cup, a video competition where students make their own content about taking the first step. We also show up in person. We're setting up tables at farmers markets and local spots around Evanston, where people can hold a mellou, ask questions, and talk about something they usually keep to themselves. On campuses, we partner with wellness spaces like UC Berkeley's ASUC Wellness Room. Finally, our team itself is proof that people want to join. Five co-founders, licensed psychologists, an intern, and outside partners chose to build this with us because they believe the first step should be easier for everyone.
