Kombo Ventures

Kevin Gould, Kombo's Co-Founder and CEO, leads daily operations and investment decisions. Gould is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded and exited consumer companies, giving him direct operational experience in the same categories Kombo targets. Co-Founder Mark Mastrov, who built 24 Hour Fitness into a global gym chain, provides strategic guidance on fitness and wellness ventures.

Kombo sources through the personal networks of its founders and the talent management ecosystem in Los Angeles. The firm identifies high-profile athletes, entertainers, and media personalities who possess a genuine, authentic connection to a product category. Rather than issuing a broad call for deals, Kombo proactively matches operator talent with market opportunities in wellness, CPG, and luxury.

Kombo functions as a hybrid: structurally it is closer to a venture studio than a blind-pool fund. The firm co-founds companies alongside its celebrity partners, contributing operating capital and a full suite of back-office services in exchange for material equity. It does not operate on a traditional fundraise-and-deploy cycle, but instead raises capital on a per-deal or per-vehicle basis.

Kombo explicitly creates and co-owns new companies. This distinguishes it from a typical talent agency or brand consultancy. For instance, the firm co-founded MindArmor, a mental wellness brand, with an NFL player. Kombo takes an active, sweat-equity role in product development, supply chain, and digital distribution, not merely a passive licensing cut.

Kombo has a known joint venture relationship with major UFC athletes to incubate consumer brands. This partnership gives the firm privileged access to fight fans and the broader mixed-martial-arts audience. The firm leverages the massive social following of these athletes as a direct-to-consumer launchpad for new products, providing an initial customer-acquisition channel that replaces a costly paid-media rollout.

Instead of charging a standard licensing fee or a management fee on committed capital, Kombo takes a significant equity stake in each venture it co-founds. The firm can also charge for its shared services — marketing, supply chain, creative — on an at-cost or margin basis. This aligns Kombo's ultimate payout with a successful exit or dividend from the operating company.

Mark Mastrov is a Co-Founder of Kombo Ventures alongside Kevin Gould. Mastrov's background lies in scaling fitness and wellness brands from single locations into global category leaders. At Kombo, his operational blueprint and real estate expertise inform the firm's fitness-related incubated brands, giving the portfolio a direct link to one of the most successful physical-retail builders in the industry.