Meet Alice Kao | Co-Founder, CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alice Kao and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alice, what role has risk played in your life or career?
People often tell me that I’m a big risk taker in business, but honestly, I don’t really experience it that way.

When I believe deeply in something, I have a tendency to talk myself into it so completely that I stop seeing obstacles as reasons not to do it. I just see them as problems that need to be solved along the way.

That doesn’t mean I’m reckless, though. Before making a big decision, I usually spend time thinking through the worst-case scenario. What happens if the business fails? I could lose my job, investors could lose money, I could lose my pride or damage my reputation. Those are all real consequences, and I take them seriously.

But after I sit with those fears, I usually arrive at the same conclusion: I’ll still be alive. I’ll still have my family, my relationships, my ability to rebuild and try again. Once I realize that, the fear loses a lot of its power over me.

I think taking risks has played a huge role in both my life and career. Sender One itself was a risk. Public speaking was a risk. Sharing my personal story publicly was a risk. Almost every meaningful thing in my life came from stepping into uncertainty before I felt fully ready.

I’ve learned that courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s deciding that the possibility of growth, impact, or connection matters more than the discomfort of uncertainty.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m the co-founder and CEO of [Sender One Climbing](https://www.senderoneclimbing.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com), an indoor climbing company with six locations across Southern California. We offer climbing, yoga, fitness, youth programs, and interactive climbing experiences for all ages, but at its core, our mission is much bigger than teaching people how to climb. Our purpose is “to discover ourselves and connect with others through climbing.”

What sets us apart is that we’ve always tried to make climbing feel approachable and human. When many people think about climbing gyms, they picture elite athletes hanging off tiny holds. But we’ve built Sender One to feel welcoming to beginners, families, kids, and people who may have never thought they belonged in climbing. Some of my favorite moments are watching a child climb for the first time, or seeing someone overcome a fear they’ve carried for years.

I’m especially proud of the community we’ve built. During COVID, when gyms were shut down and we had no idea what the future looked like, our members continued supporting us because Sender One meant something deeper to them than just a place to work out. That experience reminded me that we weren’t simply building gyms — we were building connection, belonging, and healing for people.

Getting here definitely wasn’t easy. I actually didn’t come from the climbing industry at all. I studied economics at UCLA, worked in investment banking for a couple of years, and then spent time in sales and marketing in the toy industry. When my husband and I started Sender One, we had no idea how difficult it would be to build and operate climbing gyms. We made countless mistakes along the way.

There were moments when we were overwhelmed financially, moments when expansion projects became far more complicated than expected, and moments when I questioned whether I was capable of leading the company through the challenges in front of us. But I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that resilience is often less about confidence and more about willingness to keep solving problems. Entrepreneurship has taught me that you rarely feel fully ready for the next step. You just learn, adapt, and keep moving forward.

Another important lesson is that success is never built alone. Early in my career, I thought leadership meant having all the answers. Now I realize leadership is really about surrounding yourself with people whose strengths complement your weaknesses, building trust, and creating a culture where people feel seen and valued.

More than anything, I want people to know that our story — and my story — is not really about climbing walls. It’s about people. It’s about overcoming fear, rewriting the stories we tell ourselves, and creating spaces where others feel empowered to grow. Climbing just happens to be the vehicle we use to do that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of the best things about living in Los Angeles is the incredible variety of experiences you can have within a single day. You can swim in the ocean in the morning, hike or climb in the mountains in the afternoon, and if you really wanted to, drive out and see snow by the evening. There aren’t many places in the world where you can experience that kind of contrast so easily.

If my best friend were visiting for a week, I’d want them to experience all the different sides of LA — not just the stereotypical Hollywood version.

We’d definitely spend time at the beach, probably somewhere on the west side like Manhattan Beach or Santa Monica Beach, where you can really feel the laid-back California energy. Then I’d take them climbing or hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains because I think that landscape is one of the most underrated parts of LA. Being out in nature here can feel surprisingly peaceful considering you’re in the middle of a giant city.

I’d also want them to experience LA’s arts and culture scene. I love that you can spend the morning outdoors and then go do something really urban and creative, like visiting The Broad or the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. LA has this amazing blend of nature, creativity, food, entertainment, and diversity that makes it feel endlessly interesting.

And of course, food would be a huge part of the itinerary. One of my favorite things about Los Angeles is how multicultural it is. You can eat incredible Taiwanese food in the San Gabriel Valley, amazing Korean BBQ in Koreatown, and authentic Japanese food on Sawtelle all within the same week.

I think what makes LA special isn’t just the famous attractions. It’s the combination of contrasts — ocean and mountains, nature and city life, ambition and creativity, cultures from all over the world all layered together in one place.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d love to give a shoutout to my mentor, Beate Chelette.

One of the greatest gifts someone can give you is to see something in you before you’re able to see it in yourself. Beate has done that for me over and over again throughout my journey. She has consistently challenged me to think bigger, step into opportunities I might have talked myself out of, and recognize strengths in myself that I sometimes overlook.

What’s been especially meaningful is that her belief in me has never felt conditional on success or achievement. Even during moments when I doubted myself, she believed in me endlessly. That kind of support changes people.

I think all of us carry voices from people who shaped us along the way, and Beate has definitely become one of those voices in my life — reminding me to trust myself, take up space, and keep growing into the person I’m capable of becoming.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-kao-ca