Founder Vision 2026: Women Entrepreneurs on New Moves in New Year

By: WE Staff

Aakanksha Gupta, Founder & CEO, The Other Circle (She is a marketing and communications leader with 15 years of experience, known for strategic storytelling, lateral thinking, and crisis leadership.)

Most Crucial Learning in 2025: The Importance of Connection & Credibility

2025 reinforced one truth very clearly - trust cannot be manufactured. Audiences, employees, and even institutions are far more discerning than we give them credit for. When everyone claims to be authentic, authenticity itself becomes diluted.

The biggest learning for me was that credibility is built quietly through consistency, restraint, and decisions that hold up even when no one is watching. Performative purpose doesn’t just fall flat; it actively erodes trust. What works instead is alignment between what you say, what you do, and what you’re willing to stand by over time.

Founder Vision for 2026: Rebuild Trust with Brands in the AI Age

My vision for 2026 is to focus on rebuilding trust within brands, leadership, and communication itself. As AI accelerates everything, human judgment, ethics, and clarity will matter more than ever. At TOC, we want to help build brands that choose depth over noise, conviction over convenience, and long-term credibility over short-term visibility. For us, the future isn’t about being louder - it’s about being more meaningful, more accountable, and more human in an increasingly automated world.