Career Confidential: Alyse Mason Brill

Full name?:

Alyse Mason Brill

Position / Job title?:

Founder, Fit Approach

Founder, SweatGuru

1) When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

So many things! I wanted to be a veterinarian until the first time I saw our vet take my cat’s temperature – that was a real deal breaker for me. After that, I wanted to be a teacher, a writer, and like every kid, The President of the United States.

 2) Fast-forward several years/decades. How did you land (or create) your current position?

Like so many things in life, it happened through hard work and a little bit of random chance.

I had the fantastic opportunity to help start Kaiser Permanente’s employee wellness department, and learned so much about starting something from scratch—albeit inside a huge organization! As that department grew and matured, I found myself with the itch to get creative again. Jamie and I sat down one night with a bottle of wine and dreamt up what we could build together…. and that crazy night of brainstorming led to Fit Approach and then SweatGuru!

3) Did you have to take on internships to get there? How important in general, do you think, are internships?

Yes! I have had a lot of internships and entry-level jobs. I think they are so crucial to helping you figure out what your skills and interests are, especially in the workplace. A job might seem glamorous or interesting from the outside, but the day-to-day reality could be so, so different from what you imagine. There’s nothing like getting your feet wet with real experiences to help you navigate and plan your career in a way that suits your abilities and interests.

4) Tell us what a typical work day looks like for you. What is your job REALLY like, both the glamorous and not-so-glamorous parts?

There’s really no such thing as a typical day in a startup, but I’ll give it my best try! We always start the day with a product meeting and set our priorities for the day. From there, it’s meetings with potential partners or investors, working on new features for SweatGuru, growing the #sweatpink community, reaching out to potential SweatGuru customers, and taking care of all the odds and ends involved in running your business (taxes and government paperwork, anyone?!).  The fun days involve going to try new fitness classes – one of the many perks of being in the fitness industry is it’s my job to go to fitness classes! At night, I usually watch TV and catch up on email, blog posts, and social media.

 5) What is the biggest career mistake you’ve ever made?

Waiting too long to move on. There was one position I was in where I felt very comfortable: I had a great team, great work life balance, and the best paycheck I’d ever had.  All those perks made it really hard to make a change, even though I knew I was ready for a new challenge. I finally got the guts to quit, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

6) What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to other career-minded women?

It’s never too late to start from scratch. This is actually one of my favorite pieces of advice in any context. We can be so afraid to make changes out of fear that we won’t be good at something, but we all have to start somewhere, and today is the best day to get started on whatever it is you want to be doing. I really believe the biggest regrets come from what we didn’t do.

7) Let’s talk about work/life balance. What does that mean to you? Is it important?

So important, and so scarce right now! For me, it means taking time to take care of myself and my loved ones. I’ve really been working on this lately,  but I’ve also accepted that there are periods in your life or your career where you’ll have less balance than others. This happens to be one of those unbalanced phases… but I do believe that all the work I’m putting in now will reap great rewards, including better balance in the future!

8) On that note, do you think women can have it all? Both the baller career, and the happy family?

I don’t think anyone can have it all, women or men.  Rather, I think it’s about knowing what will make you happiest and making that the priority, knowing that the other areas might get slighted somewhat. We all have to make priorities and compromises to go after what we really want.

9) If you could look into a crystal ball and see 20 years into your future, what would you want to see?

I hope I’m healthy and surrounded by people I love. I also hope that through Fit Approach and SweatGuru we’ve been able to help people live healthier, more connected lives.

10) Do you have any career role models? Who are they?

Yes! Lynn Perkins from UrbanSitter is an inspiration – talk about balancing career and family.

11) What is the best piece of advice that you have ever received – career-related or otherwise?

“You never regret a workout.” I like to apply this to just about everything: you never regret a ____. Putting yourself out there and trying can be scary and intimidating, and overcoming inertia can be challenging, but I do think you’ll never regret going for something, even if you fail.

12) Parents love to say, “just wait ’til you have to face the real world…” When you were in college or high school, what did you think the “real world” looked like? What is the difference between what you thought and reality?

I had no clue how to approach the real world! My parents both have very traditional careers: a nurse and a teacher, so I had no real concept or exposure to the other kinds of careers out there. It was a steep learning curve discovering the other career options out there!

13) Should you work for the money, or do what you love?

I think if you have the opportunity to do what you love, you should seize it. It’s not an option for everyone, but I do believe that if you chase your passion and work really hard at it, the money piece will figure itself out.

14) How important is money to you when considering a job?

Not so important. Of course, we all need to live – but I’d so much rather be challenged and enjoying my work than bringing home the big bucks and hating life.

15) What is the single most important factor of a job?

For me, it’s feeling challenged and inspired. I love always having new projects or problems to solve, and I find the creativity involved so motivating and energizing.

16) If you married a millionaire husband and didn’t have to work, would you? (Be honest.)

Yes, definitely.  That opens up the ultimate freedom to do whatever you love, without having to worry about paying rent. Honestly, I would just get bored not working, and I would probably want to try to out-earn him anyway!