I increasingly believe that by 2026, the most powerful founders will be more than just CEOs—they will be influencers.

In the past business world, founders mostly stayed behind the scenes.
Brands handled marketing, the marketing department managed distribution, and founders were responsible for management.
But after the AI era, this model is rapidly becoming obsolete.
Because content production has become infinitely cheap, what is truly scarce is trust.
And the trend of founders as influencers essentially means users are starting to trust people more than companies.
Many of the fastest-growing companies today often have a founder who continuously shares viewpoints behind the scenes.
They personally write content, explain products, participate in discussions, and build communities.
Users don’t first trust the company—they first trust the founder.
This change is huge because the most influential founders today are essentially the company's distribution channels.
They are both brand ambassadors and the entry points for sales, recruitment, fundraising, and communication.
But there’s a misconception here: posting content every day doesn’t equal founder-led growth.
Truly influential founders don’t produce traffic or emotional reactions—they provide long-term, trustworthy judgments.
I even think that in the future, many companies without founder influence will find it increasingly difficult to build genuine user relationships.
Because AI will make products easier and easier to copy.
But a founder’s cognition, expression, and trust are very hard to replicate.