Meet Kristen Olson of KO Alliance llc, and The Turmeric & Tequila™ Podcast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Olson.

Hi Kristen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am the oldest of four, with 3 younger brothers- so my competitive athletic journey began early:) I was always passionate about team sports and community events- from tournaments to concerts to fundraisers to parades. So, somehow it all blended together to bring me where I am here today! I started a lacrosse business right out of college (CRS LAX, LLC) and with little money and resources I quickly learned creative strategy and the importance of key partners. I learned how to secure sponsors so we could further share the amazing game of lacrosse to ALL kids that might be interested. From there the CrossFit bug bit and I saw some of the same challenges as lacrosse, an up and coming sport, but gaps in the ability to align with bigger partners/athletes/gyms and access to the sport in general. After working with bigger brands like Reebok, and C9 by Champion, to further align in the high intensity training space, I established KO Alliance. LLC. We are a full service marketing and branding consultant with an expertise in strategic partners and influencer strategy.

As a professional within the fitness (wellness and fashion) business arenas, former D1 Top 20 Collegiate athlete, and currently a high-level competitive CrossFit athlete, I have the unique ability to intentionally align fitting professional strategic partnerships for fitness/wellness/creative humans – with equality at the forefront. Key community leaders (influencers) are another specialty because we are not only connected to the ones we work with- they are friends, family, and fellow competitors that I compete with!

This is a huge fitness/wellness/creative market space with a massive upside and is led by a small tight group of leaders (influencers) with the highly conscious, savvy consumer. To gain entry into these fickle markets, a brand requires a well-thought-out strategy- led by authentic core values. With powerful partnerships, the fitness/creative passion spreads. Working together (brands and fitness/creative enthusiasts), everyone can achieve top results- and even positive social impact. This is the gap that KO Alliance fills. In addition, KO Alliance’s resident podcast, Turmeric & Tequila™, highlights and features mission-driven, varsity humans questioning a better way.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a competitive athlete is never easy and there is certainly more failure than success, but when the success does come- it makes it all worth it! I am so thankful for my athletic beginning because it was the best prep for entrepreneurship. I don’t think I would have been able to be an entrepreneur of 25+ years if I didn’t have the the life skills I gained from playing sports. Early challenges like finding funding, setting up a business, learning how to market it and connect with your audience, manage social media and mental health- all of it has been a challenge. However, I have learned more than I ever thought I would just by showing up each day ready to do whatever is needed. The landscape of this world changes fast, you really have to stay flexible and open minded to change. It’s a great daily reminder to stay mobile and not too attached to any plan.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
KO Alliance, strategically aligns, partners, builds, and activates brands into the fitness, wellness, creative, and lifestyle spaces, creating mutually beneficial relationships for athletes, gyms, and companies at large. We focus on mission driven businesses and humans. We are strategic partnership experts: Cultivating culture, brand ambassadors, sponsorship, community building, and social media content and strategy.

And the podcast… Turmeric and Tequila™ is Graceful Disruption™ . We are a community of varsity humans questioning reality as we know it and proving it possible for seemingly opposing things to harmoniously coexist, in this world and within ourselves. It’s all better together. Reality is nothing more than applied meaning, so let’s break though society’s antiquated implied rules and expectations and break into authentic self-expression to see what’s possible for personal, professional, and worldly positive change. Join me and my guests as we share our purpose seeking journeys chasing the pull from within of success, failure, and truth- with self-expression, mental/physical health, entrepreneurship, diversity, and community as the foundations of the mission… we are challenging status quo one gracefully disruptive conversation at a time.
You will be inspired to be you and chase the dream, even if it doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world- it will soon.
Mission: To inspire positive radical social evolution.

T&T is in the TOP 2% of podcasts globally! We are in our 5th year of podcasting, award nominated (year 1), consistently in the Mental Health Apple Podcast Charts Top 200, over 250K downloads, and have over 2 million combined views on our YouTube page- and this is THE FIRST year I am opening it up to partners/sponsors. I have kept the cast and cast team tight and focused- AD free because like athletics, I needed the reps and wanted to get T&T to a place where we could not only bring on like minded, mission driven BIG partners, but also maintain my commitment to my own core values and deep responsibility to serving the community first- with the best team in the game.
On that note, I am more than thrilled to announce our very first Title Sponsor, LuxNeuro (www.LuxNeuro.com)! I am longtime advocate for brain and mental health and recipient of neurofeedback – so partnering with LuxNeuro was a perfect match! If you vibe with the T&T mission, vision, values and my like-minded audience, and are seeking a mutually beneficial relationships (teammate), don’t hesitate to reach out (info@koalliance.com). A T&T partnership/sponsorship is far more than basic branding and ads- I work to facilitate custom creative strategy with my 20+ years of marketing/branding experience blended into the podcast landscape- we aren’t playing the game, we are building.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Oh man, if one things is true, it’s that you really need a team or a village to make the dream happen. I have had so many great leaders, coaches, mentors and family along the way that help support the cause and shape the mission. I think much of my strength comes from my family- my Mom is a strong woman and raising four kids is no joke. She always participated in all the sports my Dad did, so it was great for me to see “women can do this too’- from the beginning. My high school and college coaches were also key players in my life lessons, and just failure and success along the way have been coaches in the game of life. I do have to give credit to my own heart- I saw a dream early and was never good with being told what to do or how to be- and because of that, I have chosen the alternative path, but am all the better for it… I was never really designed to fit in, but I’m not convinced anyone really is:).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.turmericandtequila.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turmerictequila/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/turmericandtequila/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kolson23/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurmericTequila
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0syPzuYBD7w-PWBE2UBPog
• Other: www.koalliance.com