Four Lessons On Building a $1.75 Trillion Company

On May 20, 2026, SpaceX filed its S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the formal opening move toward what is projected to become the largest IPO in history, targeting a valuation of up to $1.75 trillion. 

Most headlines focused on the rockets, the Mars obsession and Elon Musk’s ironclad voting control. But if you’re a founder (which many WPO members are), an executive scaling a team or anyone building something intended to last, this 270-page document is a startup strategy masterclass hiding in plain sight.

Here's what SpaceX can teach you.

The 5 Roles On Your Personal Board

According to research from UC Berkeley’s California Management Review, a well-functioning personal board of directors typically includes four to seven members. The five core roles below are the foundation. Each one fills a gap the others don’t. 

1. The challenger
2. The connector
3. The domain expert
4. The emotional anchor
5. The honest mirror

Your career is the company. Act accordingly.  Read more to discover how to build your board with intention.

How Women Build Businesses in 2026

Women are starting new businesses.  They’re leveraging emerging technology.  They’re building lean, independent companies. 

So why do persistent gender gaps still show up in business ownership, scale, and funding?

The answer isn’t a lack of ambition, capability, or interest. Across two national surveys of U.S. adults and business owners, a more nuanced picture emerges.  

Learn more here.

Ward Off "Brain Fry" From Use of AI

AI can accelerate productivity across your organization – but if you’re not careful, it can also lead to what researchers call “brain fry.”

Read on to see how you can manage AI-induced "brain fry," redesign work for human and AI collaboration, set clear expectations about workload and more. 

Succession Planning: Build the Bench Before Anyone Knows You Need It

When Steve Jobs handed the CEO role to Tim Cook in August 2011, Jobs died six weeks later. Cook inherited one of the world’s most valuable companies with almost no runway—no public transition, no overlap, no road map. The succession worked only because Cook had quietly been running operations for years at Apple. The handoff was an emergency dressed up as a plan.

Recently, Tim Cook will step down from Apple and John Ternus – Apple's 51-year-old head of hardware engineering and a 25-year veteran will take over.

The transition, Apple said, follows “a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process” and was approved unanimously by the board.  

Do you have a thoughtful, long-terms succession plan in process at your business?  Most leaders avoid it.  The reason leaders avoid this conversation isn’t laziness. It’s ... read on.

Why Keeping Bad Clients Could Be Costing You

Business owners realize some revenue comes with a cost that does not show up on a P and L.  It shows up in your team, your culture and your ability to focus.

Being willing to let go of relationships that no longer make sense is a smart business decision.  Because real growth begins when you stop asking how to keep every client and start deciding which ones are actually worth keeping.

2026 WPO Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum (EEF) May 7-8

Are you attending?  I will be along with a dozen WPO Chicago members and hundreds more of WPO members spanning globally.

WPO's signature annual event – 2026 WPO EEF – brings together hundreds of extraordinary women business leaders from around the world for two days of inspiration, collaboration, and growth.

Designed to give women entrepreneurs a transformative experience away from daily operations, the 2026 Forum will feature inspiring keynote speakers, interactive breakout sessions, peer-to-peer learning, and unmatched networking opportunities. Attendees will leave with actionable insights, renewed energy, and strategies to elevate their businesses.

The Forum will also celebrate the remarkable achievements of women-led enterprises, including the annual recognition of the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies, honoring the innovators driving business growth and industry transformation.

Join us for this unparalleled gathering of women entrepreneurs shaping the future of business. Click here to register.