
618: (Solo) What 5 World-Class Founders Taught Me This Year
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Outro
Nathan links all five interviews in show notes, invites feedback, and signs off with optimism for 2026.
Every year I sit down with some of the world’s most fascinating founders — but this year’s interviews hit me harder than most. Reinvention, resilience, copycats, failure, loneliness after exits, scrappy launches, identity crises… these conversations changed the way I think about leadership and what it means to keep building when things get tough.
In this episode, I break down the five interviews that had the biggest personal impact on me — from Christina Karlsson losing Kikki K twice and rebuilding anyway, to Phoebe Gates earning credibility outside her last name, to Jake Kassan facing an identity crisis after selling MVMT, to Tori Gill launching a regulated sunscreen brand from scratch, to Amy Smilovic doubling down on community and originality when PrettyLittleThing copied her.
Here’s what you’ll take away: • Why failure is often the beginning of clarity — not the end • Why your credibility comes from what you build, not your background • The surprising emotional cost of a big exit (and what founders don’t talk about) • How scrappy execution beats credentials every time • Why copycats can steal your product but never your community or conviction
If you listen closely, these five interviews can act as a roadmap for 2026 — a reminder that resilience, originality, and belief matter more than luck, timing, or even resources.
This is a brand new solo series I’m testing, and I’d love your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it.
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