Kristy Kim is the CEO + Founder of TomoCredit, an AI-powered financial wellness platform that helps immigrants, women, and other underserved groups get access to credit. TomoCredit was born from Kristy’s own experience as a South Korean immigrant, who, despite having a great job working as an investment banker, faced housing insecurity due to the lack of a credit score.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I start most days before the sun comes up. I usually go for a run, get some movement in, and use that time to think through whatever challenge I’m working on. After that, it’s a mix of meetings, product discussions, customer conversations, and building. I don’t really separate “thinking time” from “working time.” Some of my best ideas come while running, golfing, traveling, or even during yoga. Productivity isn’t about squeezing more into the day—it’s about creating enough energy and clarity to focus on the things that matter.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I move quickly from idea to testing. Most people spend too much time debating whether an idea is good enough. That’s not something you’re going to find out in a vacuum. I prefer to put something in front of the team and the customers and learn from real-life feedback. The fastest way to find out if an idea works is to expose it to the world.
What’s one trend that excites you?
AI is becoming a true financial advisor and creating financial access for everybody, which is exactly what we’re building at TomoCredit with TomoIQ. For years, people have had to make financial decisions on their own or have substantial portfolios to access financial advice. We’re speeding toward a future where personalized financial guidance can be available to everyone, anytime. That’s beyond exciting.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Movement, every single day. Running, yoga, golf, strength training—it doesn’t really matter what it is. I live within walking distance of my office, so I walk to work. Building a startup creates every emotion imaginable: excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, and, of course, lots of pressure. Movement helps me process those emotions, clear my head, and make better decisions.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Stop waiting for permission – from anyone. The opportunities that changed my life came from taking action way before I felt fully ready. People think action comes from confidence, but it’s actually in reverse. Confidence comes from consistently taking action.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.
I don’t believe in work-life balance.
I think balance suggests that work and life are competing. For me, the goal is integration. Some of my closest friendships have come through work. Some of my best business ideas came while traveling or exercising. I don’t try to separate everything into neat little lanes. I try to build a life where the things I care about support each other.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Get outside and walk without your phone.
My best and biggest breakthroughs in my business didn’t happen at my desk. They happened when I stepped away, got some air and a break, and had enough time without my phone to actually think.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I move. Usually, a run or yoga.
Founders often try to solve overwhelm by working harder, but sometimes the fastest solution is stepping away for an hour. I almost always come back with more clarity than I had before.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Building relationships and reaching out to people before I need them.
Too many people network when they want something. I’ve always focused on creating genuine relationships and helping people whenever I can. Over time, those relationships compound in ways you can’t predict. Many of the biggest opportunities in my career came from connections I made years earlier.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
When I first started TomoCredit, I spent too much time trying to make everyone happy. Customers, partners, investors, employees—everyone had an opinion about what we should do. And the thing is, everyone will always have opinions. That part is unavoidable.
Eventually, though, I learned that trying to please everyone usually means you’re not serving anyone particularly well, and you’re not listening to your intuition – and intuition really is the key to knowing what to do next. I learned to listen carefully, but make decisions based on conviction and intuition. Everyone might have an opinion, but great companies aren’t built by consensus.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
An AI-powered financial health score for teenagers.
Not a credit score—but a real-world money score that teaches budgeting, saving, investing, and responsible spending through gamification. Schools don’t teach enough practical financial literacy, and there is a huge opportunity to help younger generations build healthy financial habits way before they even enter the “real world.”
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
ChatGPT and Claude.
I use both of them as thinking and brainstorming partners — especially since my brain never really turns off, and it’s great to be able to interact and idea dump with someone at 2 am if I need to.
What is the best $100 you recently spent?
A yoga membership.
It’s probably one of the highest-return investments I make. It helps my physical health, mental clarity, stress management, and overall performance as a founder. The ROI is hard to beat.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz.
Every founder experiences hard moments when things don’t go according to plan (understatement of the century here). I really appreciated how honest the book is about the realities of building a company. It reminds you that challenges aren’t signs you’re failing—they’re just a normal part of the job.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
The Bear.
On the surface, it’s about a restaurant, but it’s really about all the things that go into making a business work — leadership, pressure, teamwork, and pursuing excellence. Every founder can relate to the chaos, ambition, and non-stop effort it takes to build something great.
Key learnings:
- Movement is a competitive advantage for founders because it improves decision-making, resilience, and focus.
- The fastest way to validate an idea is to get real customer feedback.
- Strong relationships compound over time and create unexpected opportunities.
- Work-life integration can be more powerful than work-life balance.
- Taking action before you feel ready is often the key to growth.