Five Things Startup Founders Need to Know in 2026

Hosted by Michael Sattler

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Founder School 101
Michael Sattler
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What you'll learn

How to fight the myth of the solo entrepreneur

Why the mythmaking around famed entrepreneurs hurts our chances of success, and how you can go in with eyes open.

How investors think

Why the way you think about investors is probably wrong and how to get inside their heads.

How the Age of AI upends most startup assumptions

Why the old rules are out of date, why most people haven't noticed yet, and how you can take advantage of it all

Why this topic matters

The world is desperately in need of innovators (we're the only ones who actually solve problems for a living!) but the startup environment has a 90% failure rate. Why? It's because fundamental misunderstandings about how new ventures work are perpetuated and repeated, dooming founders to fail for preventable reasons. Don't go into 2026 without knowing the insider knowledge you need to succeed.

You'll learn from

Michael Sattler

30 year serial entrepreneur and startup advocate

Michael Sattler is a six-time startup founder (one IPO, two sales, and three shutdowns), a fractional executive, advisor, and investor in startups including several innovative AI ventures in the past 18 months. His companies have helped millions of people across the world in the web services, fintech, healthtech, and other industries.

Previously at

Princeton University
Babson College
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