Since childhood, Woori Moon was taught that meaningful work should leave a lasting impact on the world. This lesson took root in her heart as a powerful commitment. To fulfill this promise, Woori has always leveraged her unique strengths. When tackling problems, she didn’t rely on conventional methods but sought to create better solutions on her own. Her resourcefulness and determination to pursue what she wants define her strength. Her mindset guided her to found Fortify, after much deliberation, as her way of creating meaningful impact in the world.

In her school years, she pondered careers where she could make a difference and decided to become a doctor. She chose her path because she believed that as long as she fulfilled her role, she would naturally bring happiness to others. After entering Seoul National University’s College of Medicine, she began seriously considering how to maximize her positive impact as a doctor. Recognizing that medicine, like any service field, requires customer service skills, she chose to work part-time at a restaurant to learn the principles of service. Unlike most medical students who spent their pre-med years enjoying free time, she worked at Marche restaurant, juggling various roles, including serving, washing dishes, and even working at a playroom to learn how to attend to people.

In medical school, she continued to broaden her perspective by interning at a law firm during the breaks, observing healthcare-related legal cases and attending court sessions. A volunteer trip to Cambodia allowed her to experience healthcare from a broader perspective, where she realized how many people needed medical services but had limited access. She became convinced that solving this problem would be her way of making a meaningful impact. To explore this, she founded a student club called Global Health Forum, which focused on public health, and during her fourth year, she interned with the UN in Germany to gain hands-on experience in public health. Despite being a student, she sought out work, proposing a disaster medicine project, organizing a conference based on the project, and drafting a white paper. Her UN experience inspired her to pursue public health studies abroad.

Woori went to Johns Hopkins University to get a master's in public health. However, she felt that NGOs and public health organizations were less efficient and results-oriented than she had hoped, and often lacked a sustainable structure. This led her to look again at her own unique approach. She decided that business might be the best way to address these challenges - allowing for more efficient operations, quantitative measurement of results, and sustainable structures. Eager to gain business experience, she completed a dual degree in business administration and spent three years at McKinsey, gaining compressed experience across industries including IT, duty-free and pharmaceuticals, and honing her execution skills.

Through these varied experiences, she came to understand the profound impact of mental health on one’s quality of life. She realized that if she wanted to create meaningful impact, she needed more expertise. Once again, she chose her own path, one that others might have avoided: she returned to medical practice to become a psychiatrist, completing her residency at Seoul National University Hospital. Her broad experience and perspective proved invaluable during her residency, and she continually thought about building a mental health business that could reach those who had difficulty accessing hospital services. After completing her psychiatric training at Seoul National University Hospital and working as a fellow at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, she became convinced that mental healthcare needed to be fully digitalized to support those who couldn’t easily reach physical facilities. Her hospital experience revealed that services not fully digitalized have clear limitations in accessibility. A fully digitalized solution was essential to overcome human resource constraints.

Woori Moon envisions mental healthcare seamlessly integrated into daily life, where everyone can take care of their mental well-being. She is dedicated to creating a service that serves as both a guide and companion on one’s life journey. Her vision of a world where “anyone can become an expert in their own mind” led to the founding of Fortify. Launching Fortify has been a challenging journey, even for someone as resilient and determined as Woori, but a dedicated team of exceptional individuals gathered around her, inspired by her mission. Fortify now has around twenty members. They are currently developing and operating Mindling, a service that empowers people to become experts in their own mental health. Fortify collaborates with various large corporations on B2B projects centered around Mindling, and the company has garnered attention, winning the CES 2023 Innovation Award and Woori Moon was named the winner of the Cartier Women's Initiative(CWI) East Asia.