Faith Mason of Koreleo: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make That Happen
Exercise the gift of empathy. Understanding and putting yourself in others shoes, whether it’s economic, ethnically or disabled, it gives rise to understanding and I believe this can foster successful leaders.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Faith Mason.
Faith Mason, the visionary Founder and President of Koreleo, embarked on a career journey spanning over three decades from her roots in San Jose’s tech industry to excelling in corporate communication and channel marketing. Beyond her corporate success, Faith’s lifelong athleticism, showcased through collegiate tennis and diverse sports pursuits, shaped her transition to establish a successful tennis academy before pivoting to address athletes’ needs with Koreleo amid the challenges posed by Covid.
Faith’s resilience and commitment to innovation shine as she presents Koreleo’s mission to angel investors, aiming to revolutionize athletic apparel by addressing athletes’ specific needs, particularly regarding back inflammation and pain. Despite hurdles, Faith’s leadership drives Koreleo forward, attracting endorsements from Olympians and national team members, inspiring athletes worldwide to strive for greatness.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Absolutely, My name is Faith Mason, I grew up on the island of Oahu. From an early age, I participated in a variety of competitive sports. Tennis became my focus, and I later opened a modest but successful teaching facility in San Jose, Ca. While working 7 days a week, and still competing in tennis and triathlons, I incurred a Spondy (herniated disc) from over training. Fortunately, my back surgery was successful, and I experienced a full recovery after a year of debilitating pain. Around the same time my daughter was showing promise as a rising gymnast. It was actually Maya’s journey which resulted in the formation of Koreleo. Maya too, suffered a Spondy at a young age of 14. Her elite training took her down a path that is unfortunately very common in intensive programs, such as gymnastics, dance and figure skating. So many of her teammates were suffering and often hiding that fact that they were in great pain. It was then that I thought how I could create training apparel that specifically addressed the demands of today’s artists and competitors?
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
There are a few! I’ve met some interesting people at airport or vendor gigs that I often do. I have a lead sheet in my booth for folks to sign up to join my email list. I had a woman come up to my booth at gymnastics event. She stopped by three different times and each time she would bark out questions about my company. She finally wrote her name on the lead sheet and she was an angel investor, fairly well known one. Our relationship grew and she took it upon herself to mentor me. I wasn’t prepared to accept an investment and give up 20% of my company, but the relationship with Dianna was invaluable. I was forced to think much bigger. Her faith and confidence in Koreleo’s promise was liberating and exciting. She helped me realize that it’s okay to think big, to know that I could do hard things, and that there are resources to fill in the gaps where I lacked know how.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I thought that I had been ‘punked’ when I got a call from the casting producer from Shark Tank. I had been on a cycling track in the mountains where I did not have cell service for a few days. When I was finally able to check voice mail, there was a message from the Tank. I called him back and was fairly sarcastic during the call because I didn’t believe it was true. Good thing he had a sense of humor. Although I passed three extensive application requirements, I was not selected for the live show. I will say that the application process proved to be beneficial in helping prepare for me for investor questions. It was enlightening to learn more about where my strengths and weakness lay. Manufacturing, profitability, inventory management and an exit strategy… so many details that I had not previously addressed.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I would say my father. Although he passed before Koreleo’s inception, he’s always supported my business ventures and ideas. He was a trailblazer of sorts too and instilled that I should try knew things, surround myself with smart and good people, and listen to my creative self. I read somewhere that a father is a primary influence on a daughter’s self image. I am blessed to of had a father, stability and a safe place to thrive.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Shoe Dog, the Phil Knight story of Nike. I had a parent of a gymnast recommend the book to me about 5 years ago. I read it in 2 days. Although the book was written over 2 decades ago, I felt like my Koreleo journey is very similar. I resonated with the passion and drive Phil possessed. He also surrounded himself with 2 key trustworthy people that could fill in the places of shortcomings. To this day, I still do vendor gigs, like Phil did from the trunk of his car. I could relate to the struggle of finding manufacturers, procuring my unique textiles and figuring out how to scale and so much more.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
1. From John Wooden, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
2. Good things happen to good people. Good character attracts good character. My daily mantra.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
In all honesty, I can not claim that my success has made the world a better place. I’m not comfortable saying that I am successful yet. I will say, though that I do have an idea on how to give back and pay any rewards forward.
I believe there are many former athletes who suffer from depression. Whether their careers ended because of injuries or because there was no professional future, these young adult have so much potential but because they are often defined by their sport, they feel lost and insecure. I have a plan to help. I can’t wait tell you about it during the interview.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
Inherently, I believe that women face the same challenges with having to juggle motherhood and a career. In my experience, my creative juices are best served when I have time and space to think without boundaries. When I was younger and my kids were small, my primary focus was on their needs. And the inspiration and motivation was put on the back burner while I tended to carpools, homework and play dates. And while my tennis academy was a success, my bucket still lacked the innovation, I yearned to becoming a founder. I realize the importance of networking and being in an environment with fellow forward thinkers…again, there can be a barrier of sorts for women to be invited to the table. I also believe that because I practiced healthy habits like exercise, cycling and boating, that my stamina remained intact so that I could start Koreleo at the age of 56. I figure it’s my time now and I think that for many women, it’s difficult to put ourselves first. There is a trade off that some are willing to investigate and others who prefer not. To add, I think financial security is a significant concern. I’ve always wanted to be fully accountable and capable to care for myself. I was fortunate to have parents who instilled in me the virtues of confidence and faith. We need to do a better job at reminding young girls and women that you’ll never know what you can achieve unless you try. And there’s no failure in trying if you learn a thing or two along the way. You can and will land on your feet with most set backs. I have no regrets because I’m giving it a solid chance, I would have regretted a different choice.
Can you share with our readers what you are doing to help empower women to become founders?
I wish I could say that I have examples of helping to empower women founders. What comes to mind is, I often encourage young and promising female coaches and athletic trainers to continue to seek new methods programs and strategies to rise performance and keep the health and well being of athletes as a priority. I encourage them to change the paradigm, to be creative and question old methods while introducing innovation. Ideas can be turned into a business…it takes a leap and it’s a bit scary, but start with a step.
This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
It’s funny, I have both mom’s and young female athletes react with astonishment that I started Koreleo and that I have a patent. I’m not sure if it’s because I am of color, an older woman or for some other reason. When their questions come up, I often take the time to tell them that I believe women make the best Founders because many of us practice empathy. I further say that if you feel and see a need to protect or help…that is the beginning of a plan, service or product. I proclaim that women can do hard things, and we often do so on a daily basis but sometimes we don’t acknowledge it. Finally, I remind young women to pay attention to opportunities. Sometimes they are right in front of you, but if you are not open and receptive, you’ll miss the chance.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share 5 things that can be done or should be done to help empower more women to become founders? If you can, please share an example or story for each.
- I think an after-school type program starting in elementary school would be good. Back in the day we had Junior Achievement. I think reinventing that program with a focus on young girls would be great. I think exploring creativity that doesn’t have to be related to math and science, has value. I think that it’s okay to understand that earning a profit is not a bad thing and that it can be achieved even in philanthropic ventures. Profit can return and paid forward.
- Exercise the gift of empathy. Understanding and putting yourself in others shoes, whether it’s economic, ethnically or disabled, it gives rise to understanding and I believe this can foster successful leaders.
- I’d like to see big business companies set aside resources for women to participate in internships, access to Think Tanks and access to business collaborations.
- More access to capital. Raising money and applying for grants is daunting. I’ve tried on many occasions, it’s very challenging and fruitless on most occasions.
- I feel like the decision makers for granting money, building leases, and even securing manufacturing facilities lie with men. I believe it’s important to have women in leadership and decision making positions that can promote and support female founders.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I’m fairly passionate about women’s health and the ability to control their choice to bear or not bear children. In my perfect world, I would want every woman to have access to free birth control. Imagine if the manufacturers of sanitary products would donate a portion of all sales to supplying free birth control all over the world.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Wow, what a fun question. I’m going big and say Michelle Obama (I’d take Barack too). I’d be curious to talk with her about motherhood, what else is on her bucket list and if she believes there’s hope for our fractured country. My second choice would be Serena Williams. Her investment company is very compelling to me. Moreover, her journey of transitioning from the greatest tennis player to wife of a prominent businessman, to motherhood, to a venture capitalist. I’d love to ask her what drives her and how does she manage it all and of course, what advice she has for founders.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
@compressionleotard
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Faith Mason of Koreleo: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make That… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.