CONSULTING EXPERIENCE
Kalon is a corporate communications and creative director with specific experience in media, finance, entertainment, real estate, major league sports, and Fortune 500 consulting environments.
After attending Southern Methodist University, Kalon honed his craft while swimming with sharks like Mark Cuban, collaborating with media moguls like Harvey Levin, and directing a diverse portfolio of consulting, marketing, and public relations campaigns for partners including Viacom, Willis Towers Watson, and the NFLPA.
As a former on-air news producer, FORBES contributor, and financial services activist, Kalon is recognized for his innovative and often contrarian analysis of the variables that shape our culture and economy.
Kalon's sharp grasp of the American zeitgeist equips his partners with the strategy and conviction necessary to act, invest, and create with confidence. As a result, Kalon was hired by Financial Finesse in 2016 to lead a series of critical growth initiatives, communications campaigns, and strategic partnerships that collectively helped empower the small private company to successfully challenge industry giants like Ayco, Prudential, and Fidelity.
After living and working in Los Angeles for eight years, Kalon returned to Austin in 2021 to launch two new initiatives; AROMER Alternative Investments and IRLyfe Creations.
INVENTOR & INVESTOR
Kalon announced the launch of IRLyfe Creations and his partnership with DEN Property Group while speaking on the 2022 SXSW panel: The future of blockchain technology & real estate.
The DEN X IRL partnership empowers clients to explore buying and selling real estate with crypto and introduced Austin's first NFT art gallery + blockchain education space.
"A hybrid of education x entertainment, our goal is to accelerate the adoption curve of blockchain technology within the real estate industry by helping curious clients safely create a crypto wallet, buy and sell NFT's, or simply explore the metaverse in a non-intimidating social environment."
Austin Business Journal article announcing DEN X IRL.
Kalon is also an early VC investor in Austin based tech firm Virtuix, creator of Omni. Backed by Mark Cuban and other notable investors, the Omni is an omni-directional treadmill that lets players walk and run in 360 degrees inside video games and other virtual worlds.
Separately, in an effort to help solve the retirement savings crisis, Kalon invented and published the AROMER Alternative Retirement Investment Strategy. AROMER was recognized and published by the Society of Actuaries as part of their search for new products, tools, and strategies designed to help reduce retirement risks.
AUTHOR
In addition to serving as a Forbes and New York Times Best Selling contributor, Kalon also published:
Doge Goes To The Moon, A Children's Book For Adults
What Golf Taught Me About Financial Planners, FORBES.com
Guess My Name, A New Genre of Interactive Fiction
AROMER: How to Fix the Retirement Crisis Tomorrow, Society of Actuaries
PHILANTHROPIST
While working for BASE Projects, a VC incubator dedicated to developing concepts rooted in social entrepreneurship, Kalon witnessed the power of "one for one" business pioneers like TOMS Shoes, Giveback Homes, and Bombas.
As a result, Kalon parlayed his entrepreneurial spirit and love for animals into his "50/50 Pledge," which donates 50% of profits from all affiliated projects to Kalon's various charities of choice: Austin Pets Alive, Citizens For Animal Protection, Storybook Rescues, and Community First Village.
LEARN MORE
"The art of storytelling is crucial to cultivate a successful brand. A good story well told can humanize a company, inspire change, and ultimately connect with consumers in a way no shoe or car ever could."
Kalon McMahon, FORBES 2017