Episode
854 Krystal Gillis: Founder & CEO of Tighties
- Podcast
- The Kara Goldin Show
- Published
- Jun 19, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1565
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://karagoldin.com/podcast/854
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Summary
Turning activewear into technology that actually supports how you move — that’s the magic 🏃♀️✨ On The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Krystal Gillis, Founder and CEO of Tighties, a movement technology company redefining performance apparel through alignment, muscle activation, pain management, and movement support. Krystal’s journey started long before Tighties. She founded and sold her first company at just 24, went on to work in the medical device world with companies including Abbott and Stryker, and later consulted on the launch of multiple companies, products, and a foundation. But it was while leading a product launch for an orthopedic company that she saw a gap she couldn’t ignore: active people needed something between traditional activewear and medical-grade support. That insight became Tighties — wearable movement technology designed to help active people stay active. Created with clinical experts and manufactured in San Diego, Tighties is built to support better movement, improve alignment, activate muscles, and help people train, recover, and move with more confidence. We talk about what Krystal saw in orthopedics that sparked the idea, how she brought biomechanical and clinical experts into product development, and why she doesn’t think of Tighties as just apparel. We also get into the realities of building a first-to-market category, responding to skepticism during R&D, and what it takes to communicate science-backed performance benefits in a way consumers can actually understand. Krystal also shares what it’s like raising capital as a female founder, the lessons she’s carried from building and selling her first company, and where she believes the future of performance technology is headed. If you are interested in what it takes to build a brand at the…