Mental reps and truth bombs: How this AI ‘coach-in-your-pocket’ strength trains minds before life’s hardest workouts

Building mental resilience should feel as natural as going to the gym, said Craig Mason, noting his new venture flexes a “performance psychologist, coach in your pocket, 24/7.” 

The emphasis: training the mind before crises hit.

“Myndset is really designed to be a mental strength training platform,” said Mason, founder of the Kansas City-based startup. “It’s focused on growing mental strength, versus the traditional model we have in mental health that fills potholes and teaches you how to cope with issues.”

“This is about learning those skills, training them, so that when big moments come, you’re ready to rise up instead of crumble or spiral,” he added.

Mason isn’t building the company alone. His co-founders include Jeff Miner, a therapist and performance coach who served as psychologist for the U.S. Olympic team and Utah Jazz, and Damion “Coach D” Brown, CEO of a mental performance firm working with Fortune 500 executives, professional athletes, and other top performers.

The platform’s origins trace back to a coffee chat between Mason and Miner. What started with Mason cold-messaging Miner on LinkedIn quickly turned into a conversation fueled by mutual curiosity — then a shared mission to create something new in mental performance training. 

By June, Mason was coding and testing the concept. Now, Myndset has logged 1,000 interactions on its beta platform, and is preparing for a public launch this fall. The team is also in the middle of a pre-seed funding round. You can sign up here to join as a user.

Prep the path forward

Central to Myndset are short, daily exercises Mason calls “mental reps.”

Each session lasts three to five minutes and is guided by an AI co-pilot that tailors prompts to the user’s persona, whether they’re a burned-out overachiever, a people pleaser, or something else entirely.

“Think of this like infusing an AI co-pilot into journaling and self-discovery,” explained Mason, who previously co-founded Raise Health with Christa Williams to boost early detection of mental health struggles. “Myndset might guide you through visualization, self-talk, recovery, motivation, different pieces of the mental health and mental strength toolkit.”

The Myndset founders also have plans to gamify the platform.

The AI is trained specifically in performance psychology, built from the expertise of coaches who’ve worked with young athletes. Clear “bumpers” keep it in its lane, Mason noted, ensuring it’s not a replacement for therapy.

“If you’re in crisis, it will tell you to call 988 or talk to someone you trust,” he said. “It’s really good at recognizing when it’s outside its lane.”

Users also get short, memorable takeaways Mason calls “truth bombs” like, “Anxiety and excitement are the same chemical response; you get to choose the story that goes with it.”

Craig Mason, co-founder of Myndset, center, talks with Chuck Schneider, founder of Redpoint Summit and Guardian Alpha, and Jill Meyer, senior director of Technology Venture Studio at UMKC Innovation Center, during Digital Health Day at The Abbott; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

A lifeline without stigma

Mason’s vision is deeply personal. As a driven college freshman, he said, he appeared to be thriving, but mentally, he was struggling.

“Quite honestly, I’m lucky to be alive because somebody asked if I was OK at just the right time,” Mason shared. “We only see part of people’s battles. Myndset is designed to be that companion in your pocket for those hard moments.”

Student-athletes are a key audience. Mason pointed to research showing they face some of the highest academic, athletic, and social pressures of any group. 

“One out of every three athletes has some kind of serious mental health issue during their athletic career, but less than one in 10 ever get support,” he said. “This is a way to privately, without stigma, help them build up, relieve that pressure, and rise in those moments.”

The platform tracks progress with a “Myndset score” from zero to 100, plus streaks to encourage consistency.

“It’s just like going to the gym, every day you see your muscles grow, or your speed increase,” he said. “This is your measure of mental strength.”

From beta to big stage

Since opening its beta to the public about a month ago, Mason said users have already sent encouraging feedback.

“I’ve had people reach out and say, ‘This is exactly what I needed at this moment,’” he said. “We’re seeing repetition. People are logging in daily to get in their mental rep.”

Next, Myndset plans to evolve into a world-class mobile app, partner with collegiate and professional organizations, and launch research collaborations with universities. Kansas City University is already on board as the platform’s first collegiate enterprise user, Mason said.

“We’re excited and working as hard as we can to deliver the most possible impact,” he said. “Nobody is immune from mental health struggles. Not everybody needs therapy, but everybody needs a mental check-in. That’s what Myndset is here to give.”